Staff Profile
Professor Peter Nelson
Head of Graduate School of Environment
| Room: | E8B 304 |
|---|---|
| Phone: | +61 2 9850 6958 |
| Fax: | +61 2 9850 7972 |
| Email: | pnelson@gse.mq.edu.au |
Profile
Peter Nelson was appointed Professor of Environmental Studies, Macquarie University in 2001. He was previously Senior Principal Research Scientist in CSIRO Energy Technology, where he managed projects on energy and the environment, air pollutant measurement, mechanism of formation and control. Professor Nelson has had more than 25 years experience in research on the assessment and control of air pollution and on environmental issues associated with energy use.
Effective environmental management requires knowledge of pollutant formation, release, transport and transformation in air, water and soil. Professor Nelson's research group is currently working on a range of problems related to the generation of pollutants during fuel combustion, and the measurement and modelling of atmospheric processes which influence air quality issues.
Professor Nelson is also Project Leader (Emissions and Waste) and Manager (Education) in the CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development. He has managed projects for the National Energy Research Demonstration & Development Program, the Australian Coal Association Research Program, Pacific Power, Orica, New South Wales Environmental Research Trust, the Roads & Traffic Authority, Commonwealth EPA, NSW EPA, Federal Airports Corporation and the National Greenhouse Inventory Committee. Dr Nelson is the author of more than 100 peer reviewed journal papers, 100 conference papers and 70 reports to government agencies and industry on aspects of fuel and atmospheric chemistry and urban and industrial air pollution measurement, assessment and control.
Research Interests
Atmospheric Chemistry & Air Quality
This work includes:
- atmospheric chemistry of pollutants and greenhouse gases, including characterisation of the composition of gas and particulate phase trace pollutants,
- methods for the measurement and estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from energy and waste sources
- inventory development, and methods for determining source contributions to atmospheric concentrations,
- modelling of atmospheric transformations.
Professor Nelson also initiated and directed a project to construct an environmental chamber to study formation of secondary organic aerosols, and the fate of trace toxic species in the atmosphere. He has been responsible for the management of projects related to Reactive/Predictive NOx management in the context of industrial development of (for example) gas-fired cogeneration and combined cycle plants; impact assessment of secondary air pollutants associated with power production; and analysis of air quality monitoring data using various modelling approaches.
Energy & the Environment
Current research interests here include trace emissions from coal combustion, with a particular emphasis on mercury; motor vehicle emissions, particularly associated with alternate fuels and improved fuel quality; sources and atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic compounds; and interactions between air pollutants and global climate processes.
Teaching
Convenes or contributes to the delivery of:
- GSE805 (Air & Water Quality)
- GSE823 (Corporate Environmental Management)
- GSE829 (Pollution Control and Waste Management)
- GSE844 (Environmental Management Practice)
Selected Pulications
- Duffy B.L. Nelson P.F. Ye Y. and Weeks I.A. (1999) Speciated hydrocarbon profiles and calculated reactivities of exhaust and evaporative emissions from 82 in-use light-duty Australian vehicles. Atmospheric Environment, 33, 291-307.
- Cowan A.D. Cant N.W. Haynes B.S. and Nelson P.F. (1996) The catalytic chemistry of nitromethane over Co-ZSM5 and other catalysts under the conditions of the methane-NOx SCR reaction. J. Catal., 176, 329-343.
- Cope M.E. Hess G.D. Lee S. Tory K. Azzi M. Carras J. Lilley W. Manins P.C. Nelson P.F. Ng L. Puri K. Wong N. Walsh S. and Young M. (2004) The Australian Air Quality Forecasting System. Part I. Project description and early outcomes. J. Applied Meteorology, 43, 649-662.
- Park D.-C., Day S.J. and Nelson P.F. (2005) Nitrogen release during reaction of coal char with O2, CO2 and H2O. Proc. Combustion Institute 30, 2169-2175.
- Nelson PF (2007) Trace metal emissions in fine particles from coal combustion. Energy & Fuels, 21, 477-484. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef060405q
- Nelson PF (2007) Atmospheric emissions of mercury from Australian point sources. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 1717-1724. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.10.029
- Amanda Keogh and Peter F Nelson (2007) Engaging stakeholders in air pollution research – participatory assessment of mitigation measures. 14th International Union of Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Associations World Congress (IUAPPA2007), Brisbane, 9-13 September 2007.
- Beer T. Grant T. Morgan G. Lapszewicz J. Anyon P. Edwards J.H. Nelson P.F. Watson H. and Williams D.J. (2001) Comparison of transport fuels. Report EV45A/2/F3C to the Australian Greenhouse Office, 485 pp.
- Peter F. Nelson, Merched Azzi, John Carras, Martin Cope, Stuart Day, Brendan Halliburton, Glen Huber, Anne Tibbett, Simon Bentley, Ian Galbally, Rob Gillett, Sarah Lawson, Mick Meyer, Paul Selleck, Ian Weeks and W Kirstine (2004) Biogenic emissions in the greater Sydney region. Final Report to the Environmental Research Trust, ET/IR 686R, May 2004, 220 pp.
- Malfroy H. Cope M. and Nelson P.F. (2005) An assessment of the contribution of coal-fired power station emissions to atmospheric particle concentrations in NSW. Report to Delta Electricity, Eraring Electricity and Macquarie Generation, March 2005, 100 pp