Jim McQuaid

Jim McQuaid is an atmospheric scientist based in the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at the University of Leeds. His research is primarily focused upon observations of the composition of both gas phase and aerosol species in the atmosphere. Over the last 30 years he has participated in a large number of research campaigns both ground-based and airborne including ACSOE, EXPORT, SAFARI2K, NAMBLEX, ITOP, RICO, DABEX/DODO, AMMA, EUCAARI-LONGREX, OP3, VOCALS, AMISA, Fennec, SAMBBA, ICE-ACCACIA, ICE-D, ACAO, DCMEX and M-PHASE. Jim was the project atmospheric scientist for the Black and Bloom project which is a major consortium grant funded by NERC to understand how particles and microorganisms on the surface of the Greenland Icesheet affect its albedo. Black and Bloom has lead to a major EU funded Synergy Programme, Deep Purple and Jim continues to work with this group providing atmospheric inputs into their science.
Jim is passionate about science communication, in September/October 2013, Jim sailed across the US from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the Pacific coast in Monterey, California in a 60 metre long airship as one of the team for an exciting new BBC series. Operation Cloud Lab: Secrets of the Skies is "one of television’s most ambitious experiments on the atmosphere". This included the first in-situ measurements which allowed the team to weigh a cloud. He has also provided scientific and technical advice to a number of production teams over the years. He is a regular contributor to both regional and national media, providing academic insight into a range of atmospheric and climate related topics.Jim regularly presents research and science to schools, both primary and secondary on a range of topics including air quality and the myths/truths of climate change,
More locally, Jim represents the university at the Leeds City Council Air Quality and Health board supporting the local authorities air quality agenda. He works extensively with Leeds City Council and Leeds Beckett University on an ambitious deployment of low cost PM2.5 instruments and microclimate sensors across the city. Most recently he developed the Air Quality Stripes project in 2024, working with Dr Kirsty Pringle at EPCC (University of Edinburgh) and Richard Rigby of the Leeds CEMAC team which launched in August 2024. Jim is working with the Royal Meteorological Society to move air quality up the national agenda.