Mark Fitzsimons

Mark is a Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the University of Plymouth and leads the Biogeochemistry Research Centre investigating organic geochemistry and environmental analytical chemistry. Mark is a leading researcher on the interactions of nitrogen and other chemical compounds in the marine and terrestrial environments, and has also contributed significantly to investigating the impacts and environmental pathways of pharmaceuticals entering rivers and waterways. Mark’s interest in nitrogen chemistry and the search for solutions to soil degradation and scarcity has brought him back to land, where he is Principal Investigator on the ERDF-funded FABSOIL and Interreg FCE-funded ReCon Soil projects. Mark is working with his collaborators to develop new soil recipes made from locally-sourced construction waste, dredged sediments and agricultural by-products. The soils are being thoroughly investigated in laboratories in Plymouth, and then at sites in the UK and France, to monitor their effectiveness and potential environmental impact. The project will also establish five new low-carbon technology networks with members from the construction, agricultural, conservation, and public sectors to take reconstructed soils from research to commercialisation.

Mark’s professional memberships include the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Soil Science, RSC Environmental Chemistry Group and Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. Mark is also a member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Peer Review College.