Professor Howell G. M. Edwards
M.A.,
B.Sc., D.Phil., C.Chem., FRSC.
Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy
Email: h.g.m.edwards@bradford.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1274 233787
Fax: +44 (0)1274 235 350
Professor Edwards graduated in Chemistry at the University of Oxford where he carried out research in Raman spectroscopy of inorganic and organometallic compounds. Following a Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge he joined the University of Bradford where he is now Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy.
Research
Professor Edwards is interested in the applications of Raman spectroscopy and Raman microscopy to chemical problems, particularly those of an interdisciplinary nature, including the characterisation of biomaterials in an archaeological context, the role of chemical enhancers in transdermal drug delivery systems, the microstructural analysis of minerals and pigments, the characterisation of transition metal coordination compounds and the analysis of lichen encrustations on rock substrata in hostile environments. His pioneering studies in the application of Raman spectroscopy to biological-geological interfaces under stressed terrestrial environmental conditions have been extended to a space environment in an involvement with a European consortium for an exobiological International Space Station experiment (SEBA/EXPOSE-ENDO). He is also an adjunct scientist for the Mars Express Beagle 2 lander mission, scheduled for 2003, and a contributor to the ESA FOTON 12-Biopan international consortium for the analysis of Martian lithic analogues.
He has published over 430 research papers in Raman spectroscopy and is on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, Spectrochimica Acta: Biomolecular Spectroscopy, the Internet Journal of Vibrational Spectroscopy and the Asian Journal of Spectroscopy. He has supervised 40 research students for Ph.D degrees. Currently, he has research collaborations with groups in Spain, France, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Brazil and the USA. He has lectured widely on Raman spectroscopy and its applications including Plenary and Invited Lectures in Brazil, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Spain, France, South Africa, U.S.A and Germany. Sponsors of his research work include Bruker (Germany), Stiefel Pharmaceuticals, British Nuclear Fuels plc, ICI, BP, Purolite Intl. (USA), British Antarctic Survey, Repsol (Spain), the British Council and Elf Aquitaine (France).
Professor Edwards is a national committee member of the Molecular Spectroscopy Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry and also of the UK Astrobiology Panel.
Recent Publications
H. G. M. Edwards, D. W. Farwell and D. D. Wynn-Williams, FT-Raman Spectroscopy of Avian Mummified Tissue of Archaelogical Relevance, Spectrochimica Acta, Part A , 55 , 2691 (1999) .
B. Prieto, M. R. D. Seaward, H. G. M. Edwards, T. Rivas and B. Silva, An FT-Raman Spectroscopic Study of Gypsum Neoformation by Lichens Growing on Granitic Rocks, Spectrochimica Acta, Part A , 55 , 211 (1999) .
H. G. M. Edwards, D. W. Farwell, M. M. Grady, D. D. Wynn-Williams and I. P. Wright, Comparative Raman Spectroscopy of a Martian Meteorite and Antarctic Lithic Analogues, Planetary and Space Sciences , 47 , 353 (1999) .
H. G. M. Edwards and E. M. Newton, Application of Raman Spectroscopy to Exobiological Prospecting . In "The Search for Life on Mars", ed. J. A. Hiscox, British Interplanetary Society, London, pp 83-88 (1999) .
H. G. M.Edwards and F. Rull Perez, Lichen Biodeterioration of the Convento de la Peregrina, Sahagun, Spain, Biospectroscopy, 5 , 47 (1999).
B. Prieto, M. R. D. Seaward, H. G. M.Edwards, T. Rivas and B. Silva, Biodeterioration of Granite Monuments by Ochrolechia Parella (L.) Mass. An FT-Raman Spectroscopic Study, Biospectroscopy, 5 , 53 (1999).
H. G. M. Edwards, Art Works Studied Using IR and Raman Spectroscopy in "Encyclopaedia of Spectroscopy and Spectrometry", Eds. J. C. Lindon, G. E. Tranter and J. L. Homes, Academic Press, London, pp 2-17 (1999).
H. G. M. Edwards, D. W. Farwell, F. Rull Perez and S. Jorge Villar, Raman Microscopy of a Mediaeval Spanish Cantoral , Applied Spectroscopy, 53, 1436 (1999).
D. D. Wynn-Williams and H. G. M. Edwards, Proximal Analysis of Regolith Habitats and Protective Biomolecules in situ by Laser Raman Spectroscopy: Overview of Terrestrial Antarctic Habitats and Mars Analogs , Icarus, 144 , 486 (2000).
H. G. M.Edwards, F. Garcia-Pichel, E. M. Newton and D. D. Wynn-Williams, Vibrational Raman Spectroscopic Study of Scytonemin, the UV-Protective Cyanobacterial Pigment , Spectrochimica Acta, Part A , 56 , 193 (2000) .
J. M. Holder, D. D. Wynn-Williams, F. Rull Perez and H. G. M.Edwards, Raman Spectroscopy of Pigments in Oxalates In Situ within Epilithic Lichens: Acarospora from the Antarctic and Mediterranean , New Phytology , 145 , 271 (2000) .
P. Vandenabeele, B. Wehling, L. Moens, H. G. M. Edwards, M. De Reu and G. Van Hooydonk, Analysis with Micro-Raman Spectroscopy of Natural Organic Binding Media and Varnishes Used in Art , Analytica Chimica Acta, 407 , 261 (2000) .