Dr James Mc Grath

Experimental Physics, Physics, ICARUS

Assistant Professor

Science Building
2.11

Biography

Biography

Dr James A. McGrath joined the Department of Experimental Physics as an Assistant Professor/Lecturer in April 2023. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Physics with Astrophysics from Maynooth University (2008). He continued his studies and was awarded a PhD from the University of Galway (2013) from the School of Physics for his research on 'Development of a Probabilistic Multi-Zone Multi-Source Computational Model for Indoor Air Pollution Exposure Assessment. Prior to joining Maynooth University, he worked as a Research Fellow within the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies (CCAPS) at the University of Galway. In 2017, he completed a further qualification in Teaching and Learning from the University of Galway, the Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice, which included a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 


He coordinates the Certificate in Science Programme at Maynooth and lectures on the undergraduate physics modules within the Department of Experimental Physics. He conducts fundamental and applied research in the remit of the indoor built environment, focusing on indoor aerosol dynamics, air quality and building ventilation. He serves on the editorial board for the International Journal of Ventilation.


Postdoctoral Researchers

Contact me if you are interested in pursuing collaborative projects. 

Some funding options include:

Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship 


Prospective Graduate Students

Contact me to discuss potential opportunities for pursuing an MSc or PhD

Research Interests

Dr James McGrath is a member of the ICARUS Research Institute, which focuses on climate change adaptation and mitigation. His research activities include fundamental and applied research in the field of indoor built environment, where he focuses on indoor environmental quality, aerosol science and building ventilation. His recent work has focussed on assessing climate change adaptation measures and implications for large-scale national retrofit. 

 

He currently serves on the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) Board of Directors, the leading research society in his field. He is the lead Irish participant on an IEA EBC Annex86, ‘Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management in Residential Buildings’ and the Irish representative on the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) Board, and sits on the editorial board for the International Journal of Ventilation. His combined monetary achievements are over €2.1M as either PI or co-PI from SEAI, EPA, and SFI. 

 

He has been an invited expert advisor to the steering committee for the National Radon Control Strategy and NSAI Committees. He has a wealth of experience in public outreach and has played critical roles in scientific outreach at high-profile events. He regularly engages with multiple media outlets (TV productions, radio, and oline media) on the topic of indoor air quality and ventilation.

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
Enabling interdisciplinary analysis for whole life-cycle residential renovation - ENABLE Project Partner 01/04/2023 31/03/2027
TRANSFER - Investigating the National Implications For RadOn Concentrations Following Deep Energy-Efficient Retrofits; Multiple metric assessment approach PI 01/03/2023 28/02/2026 349651.91

Post Doctoral Fellows / Research Team

Researcher Name Project Funding Body
Seyed Mohsen Pourkiaei INFORM Project

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2023 Hammad Ud Din, T.M.; Byrne, M.A.; McGrath, J.A. (2023) 'Modelling the ingress and charge enhanced deposition behaviour of radioactive aerosols in dwellings'. Atmospheric Environment, 305 . [Link] [DOI]
2023 Sood, D.; Alhindawi, I.; Ali, U.; McGrath, J.A.; Byrne, M.A.; Finn, D.; O'Donnell, J. (2023) 'Simulation-based evaluation of occupancy on energy consumption of multi-scale residential building archetypes'. Journal Of Building Engineering, 75 . [Link] [DOI]
2023 O'Toole, C.; McGrath, J.A.; Joyce, M.; O'Sullivan, A.; Thomas, C.; Murphy, S.; MacLoughlin, R.; Byrne, M.A. (2023) 'Effect of nebuliser and patient interface type on fugitive medical aerosol emissions in adult and paediatric patients'. European Journal Of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 187 . [Link] [DOI]
2022 Alison Connolly; Holger M. Koch; Daniel Bury; Stephan Koslitz; Marike Kolossa-Gehring; André Conrad; Aline Murawski; James A. McGrath; Michelle Leahy; Thomas Brüning; Marie A. Coggins (2022) 'A Human Biomonitoring Study Assessing Glyphosate and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid (AMPA) Exposures among Farm and Non-Farm Families'. Toxics, . [Link] [DOI]
2021 James A McGrath; Miriam A Byrne (2021) 'An approach to predicting indoor radon concentration based on depressurisation measurements'. Indoor and Built Environment, . [Link] [DOI]
2021 James A. McGrath; Reihaneh Aghamolaei; James O'Donnell; Miriam A. Byrne (2021) 'Factors influencing radon concentration during energy retrofitting in domestic buildings: A computational evaluation'. BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT, . [Link] [DOI]
2019 James McGrath; Andrew O’Sullivan; Gavin Bennett; Ciarraí O'Toole; Mary Joyce; Miriam A. Byrne; Ronan MacLoughlin (2019) 'Investigation of the Quantity of Exhaled Aerosols Released into the Environment during Nebulisation'. Pharmaceutics, . [Link] [DOI]
2017 J.A. McGrath; J.N. Sheahan; C. Dimitroulopoulou; M.R. Ashmore; A.C. Terry; M.A. Byrne (2017) 'PM exposure variations due to different time activity profile simulations within a single dwelling'. BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT, . [Link] [DOI]
2014 (2014) 'A simulation study of the changes in PM2.5 concentrations due to interzonal airflow variations caused by internal door opening patterns'. Atmospheric Environment, . [Link] [DOI]
2014 (2014) 'Development of a probabilistic multi-zone multi-source computational model and demonstration of its applications in predicting PM concentrations indoors'. Science of the Total Environment, . [Link] [DOI]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
31/05/2018 Chartered Physicist Institute of Physics (IoP)
30/06/2015 Early Career Scientist Travel Award Aerosol Society of the UK and Ireland
01/01/2010 Research Student Conference Fund Institute of Physics (IoP)
31/05/2010 C N Davies Award Aerosol Society of the UK and Ireland
01/06/2016 Ryan Institute Travel Support Scheme Ryan Institute
31/07/2014 Early Career Scientist Travel Award Aerosol Society of the UK and Ireland
14/07/2011 Best Paper Award Indoor Air 2011

Committees

Committee Function From / To
ISIAQ STC 12 – Source, monitoring and evaluation Vice- Chair 14/07/2018 -
Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) Irish Representative on the Board 01/11/2022 -
Aerosol Society of UK and Ireland Committee Member, Co-leading the EDI activities of the Society 01/11/2014 -
International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) Treasurer, Voting Member on the Board of Directors 01/07/2020 - 30/06/2024

Employment

Employer Position From / To
Maynooth University Assistant Professor 17/04/2023 -
University of Galway Research Fellow 01/11/2020 - 14/04/2023

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
01/09/2009 University of Galway PhD Development of a Probabilistic Multi-Zone Multi-Source Computational Model for Indoor Air Pollution Exposure Assessment’
01/09/2015 University of Galway Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) Academic Practice
01/09/2004 Maynooth University Bachelor of Science (BSc) Physics with Astrophysics

Consultancy

Client Description
National Standards Authority of Ireland I was recruited as an Expert Advisor to provide feedback and revision into NSAI/TC 40 Retrofit of Existing Dwellings committee.

Editorial / Academic Reviews

Amount Role From / To
Building and Environment Reviewer -
International Journal of Ventilation Member of the Editorial Board -

Outreach Activities

Organisation Type Description
RTE Interview - Galway Bay FM Civic Society Keith Finnegan and Galway Bay FM interviewed me on several occasions regarding my indoor air quality research projects. In particular, my research findings regarding the consequences of energy retrofitting dwellings for radon concentrations.
Radio one Interview - Katie Hannon Show Civic Society I was interviewed regarding radon, energy-efficient dwellings and its implications for health after the new EPA radon maps were released.
TV Appearance - 10 things to know about Civic Society I appeared on a "10 Things to Know About" TV show. The show is an award-winning television series that showcases and celebrates Irish science by being entertaining while also being informative. This episode was repeated on TV on a number of occasions. There was an entire episode dedicated to indoor air quality, in which I presented an overview of the importance of indoor air quality, energy efficiency and ventilation, and my ongoing research project. I had a 5-7 minute segment on this show.
Newspaper articles - Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Irish Independent, Civic Society