Professor Ian Bull
B.Sc. (Bristol), Ph.D.(Bristol)
Expertise
I use analytical chemistry to study and further our understanding of complex natural systems, principally soil, to enhance carbon sequestration, mitigate against climate change, enhance nutrient resources and eliminate pollution.
Current positions
Professor of Analytical Chemistry
School of Chemistry
Contact
Press and media
Many of our academics speak to the media as experts in their field of research. If you are a journalist, please contact the University’s Media and PR Team:
Biography
I have remained in Bristol first as a PDRA then, from 2007, as a University Research Fellow. In January 2021 I became an Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry and then, in August 2024, a Professor of Analytical Chemistry. I currently lead the NERC-funded National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF).
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, The Royal Society of Chemistry, and the British Society of Soil Science.
I am also a Speciality Editor for Frontiers in Geochemistry and an Associate Editor for Organic Geochemistry and the European Journal of Soil Science.
Research interests
My research concerns organic compounds in soil and other related environments. Specific areas of interest include:
- the molecular fate of organic matter in soil,
- use of volatile compounds (VOCs) as proxies for soil function and health,
- chemical/microbiological consequences and fate of plastics in the soil,
- ancient/contemporary sewage pollution in soils, sediments and freshwater,
- the effect that soil fauna have on the decomposition of soil organic matter,
- decomposition and detection of human and animal remains in soils,
- development of organic and light isotope mass spectrometric analytical methodologies,
- ultra complex mixture analysis of environmental samples.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
MICRO-CYCLE: Unravelling the role of microbial genomic traits in organic matter cycling and molecular composition along the river continuum
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/01/2025 to 31/12/2027
AH/Z505808/1 AHRC Centre for Chemical Characterisation in Heritage Science (C3HS) at the University of Bristol
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ChemistryDates
01/09/2024 to 31/08/2026
Recommissioning of National Environmental Isotope Facility (OAFI)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ChemistryDates
01/04/2024 to 31/03/2031
Discovering the molecular basis for carbon storage in soil for food security and climate change mitigation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ChemistryDates
01/09/2023 to 31/08/2026
Discovering the molecular basis for carbon storage in soil for food security and climate change mitigation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ChemistryDates
01/09/2023 to 26/08/2026
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
06/03/2025Triterpenoid wax esters confirm Ficus religiosa in archaeological sequences within the Mayadevi Temple shrine, Lumbinithe birthplace of Buddha
Frontiers in Geochemistry
Coprolites
Must Farm pile-dwelling settlement
Global carbon cycle disruption during the latest Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) evidenced by simultaneous isotopic depletion in marine and terrestrial carbon pools
Global and Planetary Change
Indoor exchange rates and penetration from outdoors in an instrumented terraced house (townhouse) using gas tracers
Indoor air
Microbial degradation of bioplastic (PHBV) is limited by nutrient availability at high microplastic loadings
Environmental Science: Advances
Thesis
New molecular methods for tracing natural and anthropogenic inputs to soils and sediments.
Supervisors
Award date
01/01/1997
Teaching
CHEM10012 - Life Chemistry: Life Through the Chemical Lens
CHEM20015/16 - Core Concepts in Chemistry
CHEM20004/20006/20010 - Intermediate Practical and Analytical Chemistry
CHEM20012 - Environmental Life Chemistry (Unit Director)
CHEM30026 - The Art of Chemistry: Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEMM0051 - Advanced Topics in Current Research 2
I deliver tutorials at Level 1 and supervise 3 to 4 final-year undergraduate projects yearly.
I am also co-director of the new PGT course MSc in Environmental Analytical Chemistry
Related people
Dr Helen Whelton
Senior Research Associate
School of Chemistry
Dr Charlotte Lloyd
Royal Society Research Fellow and Proleptic Senior Lecturer
School of Geographical Sciences
Professor Richard Evershed
Professor
School of Chemistry
Dr Julie Dunne
Visiting Senior Research Associate
School of Chemistry
Dr Michaela Reay
Senior Research Associate
School of Geographical Sciences