Unit information: Aerosol Science: Research Methods in 2022/23

Unit name	Aerosol Science: Research Methods
Unit code	CHEMM0018
Credit points	30
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Professor. Reid
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	Core Aerosol Science I and II
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	School of Chemistry
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Unit Information

Aerosols are particles dispersed in a gas phase with sizes ranging from molecular clusters (>1 nm) to large droplets (>100 um). Aerosol science is core to a broad range of disciplines extending from drug delivery to the lungs, to disease transmission, aerosol routes to the manufacture of new materials, combustion, environmental science, and the delivery of consumer and agricultural products. This unit will provide training in research methodology and skills, programming and data analysis, and advanced computational skills, with an emphasis on training relevant to aerosol science. Students will access the BDC Personal and Professional Development Programme with training in over 100 courses including communication and presentation skills, scientific writing, and interview skills. Following a skills audit, students will choose appropriate courses after discussion with their mentoring team. A course on Skills for Interdisciplinary Research will explore the foundations for interdisciplinary research, understanding the nature of interdisciplinary research and developing the skills needed for interdisciplinarity. Students will also receive training in Programming and Data Analysis (from an introduction to software engineering through to programming) and Advanced Computational Tools for Aerosols (including creation and application of aerosol models, combined with analysis of datasets derived from exemplar instrumentation). Finally, students will participate in a weekly session of PhD Project Brainstorming, working with the CDT cohort to develop research proposals, and develop problem solving and leadership skills.

Your learning on this unit

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Apply theoretical knowledge of aerosol science across a range of research problems of a chemical, physical, biological or technological nature, such as using advance aerosol models to calculate the thermodynamic equilibrium size of aerosol in the lungs and in the environment.
• Undertake independent design and conduct experiments/models in aerosol science with technical mastery, as well as analyse and interpret data, such as developing software to analyse and interpret the changing of size of particles once dispersed from a point source.
• Communicate and share research knowledge to both expert and non-expert audiences, and guide the learning of those from outside their discipline, such as communicating with practitioners working in drug delivery to the lungs and in environmental aerosol addressing the problem of both how aerosols can be used to treat lung disease and how environmental aerosol can exacerbate lung disease.
• Function effectively and confidently in multidisciplinary teams, acting autonomously and taking responsibility for the scientific activity of others, such as developing the ability to talk about a problem in aerosol science to a broad ranging team (e.g. disease transmission across the disciplines of chemistry, physics, microbiology and environmental science).

How you will learn

E- learning:
Pre-class learning materials (powerpoints, videos, reading lists) to be provided on the CDT portal.

Breakdown of contributing activity:
Personal and Professional Development Programme – 60 hours split across directed sessions and self-study using online training
Skills for Interdisciplinary Research – 50 hours of contact time and course preparation/reading
Programming and Data Analysis – 40 hours of contact time and course preparation/practice
Advanced Computational Tools for Aerosols – 50 hours of contact time and course preparation/practice
Project Brainstorming and Research Proposal – 80 hours of contact time, preparation for brainstorming and research proposal writing

How you will be assessed

Students will participate weekly in the cohort activity PhD Project Brainstorming. Each student will lead a 1 hour session presenting the premise of their PhD to the cohort, critically evaluate proposed methods, and devise a workplan, forming the basis for group discussion. Not only will this contribute to the development of each project, it will develop problem solving and leadership skills, develop communication skills and a competency to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams. At the end of Teaching Block 2, all students will prepare a refined Research Proposal written in the form of a research grant proposal (60 % of assessment) and give an oral poster presentation on their proposal (40 % of assessment).

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CHEMM0018).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.