Professor Paul S Monks CB

Professor Paul S Monks

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
125th Anniversary Chair in Environmental Science and Policy

Contact details

Email
p.s.monks@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal

Prof. Paul Monks, 125th Anniversary Chair in Environmental Science and Policy.  Wide ranging interest in how science can inform policy with experience in climate, net zero, energy, air quality, critical minerals and innovation policy. Science interests in air quality and climate, Earth Observation science and breath analysis as a medical diagnostic.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of Royal Meteorological Society
  • Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Fellow of the Institute of Physics
  • Chartered Chemist
  • D.Phil. in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Oxford, 1992
  • BSc. (Hons) in Chemistry, University of Warwick, 1988

Biography

Professor Paul Monks CB is 125th Anniversary Chair, Professor in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Birmingham.  He also serves as the Chair at the British Geological Survey and the Henry Royce Institute, as well as being a non-executive director at the HVMC Manufacturing Technology Centre.  He is a trustee at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Senior Adviser at Madano.

Paul served as the Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) delivering independent and impartial science and engineering advice to ministers and policymakers across the DESNZ policy and delivery portfolio and Clean Energy Superpower Mission. As CSA he advised on a wide range of topics including Critical Minerals, Nuclear Fission and Fusion, Climate Change, CCS, Energy systems and GGR as well as setting up a Science and Technology Advisory Council.

Prior to DESNZ, Paul was CSA for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from 2020 to 2023. Before joining BEIS, he was Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Leicester and a Professor in Atmospheric Chemistry and Earth Observation Science.  Paul led a significant research effort across atmospheric chemistry, Earth Observation and breathomics.  The research work was conducted nationally and internationally.

Paul was previously Chair of the Defra Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) and Deputy Chair of the Defra Science Advisory Council, alongside roles in the UKRI-NERC advice structures.  Paul was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the King’s New Year Honours 2025 for Services to Science in Government.

Paul undertook his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Warwick before completing a D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.  He undertook post-doctoral work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA and the University of East Anglia. 

Postgraduate supervision

Please contact me if you are interested in studying for a PhD with the group. I'm happy to discuss ideas for PhD research projects and applications for funded fellowship schemes, but please be aware we do not have funding other than for openly advertised positions.

Research

Atmospheric Chemistry

The primary research interests are the scientific questions underlying:

  • the role of photochemistry in the control of composition
  • the feedbacks between climate and atmospheric chemistry
  • organic complexity and the control of regional pollution
  • SOA and ultra-fine particle production and impact

Earth Observation science

  • Measurement of the troposphere from space
  • New instrumentation for atmospheric composition measurements

Breath analysis/medical diagnostics

  • Breath as a medical diagnostic
  • Interactions between air pollution and bacteria

Science and Policy

  • How science can inform climate, net zero, energy and air quality policy
  • Innovation and industrial policy
  • Critical Minerals

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Baguley, DA, Bard, D, Evans, GS, Monks, PS & Cordell, RL 2026, 'An Experimental Study of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from a Resin 3D Printer to Assess Exposure and Exposure Mitigation', ACS Chemical Health and Safety, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.5c00167

Panagi, M, Sommariva, R, Fleming, ZL, Monks, PS, Lu, G, Marais, EA, Hopkins, JR, Lewis, AC, Zhang, Q, Lee, JD, Squires, FA, Whalley, LK, Slater, EJ, Heard, DE, Woodward-Massey, R, Ye, C & Vande Hey, JD 2026, 'Daily evolution of VOCs in Beijing: chemistry, emissions, transport, and policy implications', Atmospheric Pollution Research, vol. 17, no. 3, 102783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2025.102783

Young, CJ, Cordell, RL & Monks, PS 2026, 'The impact of deprivation and socioeconomic factors on inequalities in volatile organic compound emissions in communities in England', Environmental Science: Advances, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1095-1105. https://doi.org/10.1039/d6va00041j

Gregg, DJ, Tompkins, J, Cordell, RL, Brown, AS, Smallbone, KL, Vande Hey, JD, Wyche, KP & Monks, PS 2026, 'The impacts of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and COVID-19 restrictions on air quality in central London – evidence for an increase in small particles', Atmospheric Environment, vol. 365, 121668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121668

Aliaroof, M, Ibrahim, W, Aung, H, Cordell, RL, Wilde, MJ, Richardson, M, Salman, D, Singapuri, A, Free, RC, Gaillard, E, Thomas, P, Monks, PS, Brightling, CE, Siddiqui, S & Greening, NJ 2025, 'Oscillometry to assess ventilation heterogeneity during hospital admission for acute cardiorespiratory illness', ERJ Open Research, vol. 11, no. 3, 00351-2024. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00351-2024

Peltrini, R, Cordell, RL, Wilde, M, Abuhelal, S, Quek, E, Zounemat-Kermani, N, Ibrahim, W, Richardson, M, Brinkman, P, Schleich, F, Stefanuto, PH, Aung, H, Greening, N, Dahlen, SE, Djukanovic, R, Adcock, IM, Brightling, C, Monks, P, Siddiqui, S, on behalf of the EMBER EPSRC/MRC Consortium & and the U-BIOPRED-IMI Study Group 2024, 'Discovery and Validation of a Volatile Signature of Eosinophilic Airway Inflammation in Asthma', American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, vol. 210, no. 9, pp. 1101-1112. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202310-1759OC

Chothia, SY, Emms, VL, Thomas, LA, Bulman, NFA, Monks, PS, Cordell, RL & Hopkinson, RJ 2024, 'Formaldehyde quantification using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry reveals high background environmental formaldehyde levels', Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, 20621. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71271-z

Bernard, E, Cordell, RL, Blake, RS, Wilde, MJ & Monks, PS 2024, 'Impact of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown on the concentration of non-methane volatile organic compounds in a UK urban atmosphere', Atmospheric Environment, vol. 338, 120836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120836

Riveron, TP, Wilde, MJ, Ibrahim, W, Carr, L, Monks, PS, Greening, NJ, Gaillard, EA, Brightling, CE, Siddiqui, S, Hansell, AL & Cordell, RL 2023, 'Characterisation of volatile organic compounds in hospital indoor air and exposure health risk determination', Building and Environment, vol. 242, 110513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110513

Angelucci, AA, Crilley, LR, Richardson, R, Valkenburg, TSE, Monks, PS, Roberts, JM, Sommariva, R & VandenBoer, TC 2023, 'Elevated levels of chloramines and chlorine detected near an indoor sports complex', Environmental Science Processes and Impacts , vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 304-313. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2em00411a

Cho, C, Fuchs, H, Hofzumahaus, A, Holland, F, Bloss, WJ, Bohn, B, Dorn, HP, Glowania, M, Hohaus, T, Liu, L, Monks, PS, Niether, D, Rohrer, F, Sommariva, R, Tan, Z, Tillmann, R, Kiendler-Scharr, A, Wahner, A & Novelli, A 2023, 'Experimental chemical budgets of OH, HO2, and RO2 radicals in rural air in western Germany during the JULIAC campaign 2019', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 2003-2033. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2003-2023

Chothia, SY, Carr, M, Monks, PS, Cordell, RL & Hopkinson, RJ 2023, 'Quantitative detection of formaldehyde using solid phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry coupled to cysteamine scavenging', Scientific Reports, vol. 13, 14642. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41609-0

Woodward-Massey, R, Sommariva, R, Whalley, LK, Cryer, DR, Ingham, T, Bloss, WJ, Ball, SM, Cox, S, Lee, JD, Reed, CP, Crilley, LR, Kramer, LJ, Bandy, BJ, Forster, GL, Reeves, CE, Monks, PS & Heard, DE 2023, 'Radical chemistry and ozone production at a UK coastal receptor site', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 23, no. 22, pp. 14393-14424. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14393-2023

Purves, J, Hussey, SJK, Corscadden, L, Purser, L, Hall, A, Misra, R, Selley, L, Monks, PS, Ketley, JM, Andrew, PW & Morrissey, JA 2022, 'Air pollution induces Staphylococcus aureus USA300 respiratory tract colonization mediated by specific bacterial genetic responses involving the global virulence gene regulators Agr and Sae', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 4449-4465. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16076

Review article

Baguley, DA, Evans, GS, Bard, D, Monks, PS & Cordell, RL 2026, 'Review of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from desktop 3D printers and associated health implications', Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00778-y

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Air Quality, Air Pollution, Science and Policy, Energy Policy, Innovation and Industrial Policy, Net Zero, Critical Minerals

Languages and other information

English

Media experience

Television, Newspapers, Radio – regional, national and international

Expertise

Science and Policy, Energy Policy, Innovation Policy, Net Zero, Environmental Policy, Critical Minerals

Policy experience

Served as Chief Scientific Adviser in UK government