Dr Grainne McGill

Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow

Architecture

Personal statement

I am a Strathclyde Chancellor’s Fellow (Lecturer) in the Department of Architecture, University of Strathclyde. I hold a BSc (hons) in Architecture and MSc in Sustainable Design. I completed my PhD at Queen’s University Belfast in April 2016, undertaking research that investigated the impact of energy efficient design strategies on indoor air quality in homes. Between 2014 and 2020, I worked as a Researcher at the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) at the Glasgow School of Art, where I taught environmental design and analysis in architecture and co-founded an MSc in Environmental Design. I am Committee Member and Membership Secretary of the UK Indoor Environments Group (UKIEG) and coordinator of the AHRC-funded Health Effects of Modern Airtight Construction (HEMAC) network. I am co-founder of the UK Air Quality Network (UKAQN) and an active member of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ). I am a member of the Editorial Board for the journal Architectural Science Review and regular reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals. I have acted as co-editor for special issues of Architectural Science Review and the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. I have also acted on various Scientific Review Committees and Organising Committees, chairing sessions at major national and international conferences. My research interests include low carbon design and evaluation post occupancy, indoor air quality and ventilation in housing, overheating and the impact of the built environment on health. I am particularly interested in multidisciplinary approaches to investigate the influence of architectural design on occupant health and wellbeing. I am open to supporting PhD students that are interested in the indoor built environment and health, particularly indoor air quality and ventilation performance in buildings.

Publications

Thermal comfort assessment of the first residential Passivhaus in Latin America
Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Sharpe Tim, McGill Gráinne, Musau Filbert
Journal of Building Engineering Vol 43 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103081
Indoor air quality assessment of Latin America's first Passivhaus home
Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Musau Filbert, Sharpe Tim, McGill Gráinne
Atmosphere Vol 12 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12111477
COVID-19, asthma, and return to school
Abrams Elissa M, McGill Gráinne, Bhopal Sunil S, Sinha Ian, Fernandes Ricardo M
The Lancet Vol 8, pp. 847-849 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30353-2
Influence of ventilation use and occupant behaviour on surface microorganisms in contemporary social housing
Sharpe T, McGill G, Dancer S J, King M-F, Fletcher L, Noakes C J
Scientific Reports Vol 10 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68809-2
Indoor air quality in Passivhaus dwellings : a literature review
Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Sharpe Tim, McGill Gráinne, Musau Filbert
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol 17 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134749
Home ventilation performance in practice
McGill Grainne
State-of-the-Art ventilation solutions : Meeting of the Low Energy Ventilation Network (2020)

More publications

Professional activities

Institute of Air Quality Management (Publisher)
Peer reviewer
6/2021
Frontiers in Built Environment (Journal)
Editorial board member
2021
Intelligent Buildings International (Journal)
Editorial board member
26/8/2020
Building and Environment (Journal)
Peer reviewer
21/8/2020
International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Building Simulation Conference 2021 (Event)
Peer reviewer
1/8/2020
Sustainability (Journal)
Peer reviewer
7/7/2020

More professional activities

Projects

Measure, inform, nudge: an integrated, human-centric air quality measurement and visualisation system
Sharpe, Tim (Principal Investigator) McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator)
SBRI Phase 2 Project - follow on from RKES 201683
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2022
Monitor and visualise domestic pollution to safeguard health (Phase 2)
McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2022
Environmental monitoring: National Core Transmission Study (Phase 2)
Sharpe, Tim (Principal Investigator) McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator) Tuohy, Paul Gerard (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2023
Research to identify if changes to guidance in Standard 3.14 Ventilation in 2015 have been effective in improving ventilation and indoor air quality
Sharpe, Tim (Principal Investigator) Howieson, Stirling (Co-investigator) McElroy, Lori (Co-investigator) McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator) Tuohy, Paul Gerard (Co-investigator)
Scottish Governement Tender response (consultancyu services)
18-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2023
National Core Study: Covid Transmission (Building a resilient future by understanding the environmental and transmission risk factors related to SARS-CoV-2 (Covid 19)
Sharpe, Tim (Principal Investigator) McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator) Tuohy, Paul Gerard (Co-investigator)
16-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2021
EPSRC Core Equipment Grant: Advanced IAQ monitor and remote air quality sensing system
McGill, Grainne (Principal Investigator)
Advanced indoor air quality monitoring kit
This advanced indoor air quality (IAQ) monitor allows simultaneous and instantaneous measurement of key indoor air pollutants (TVOCs, formaldehyde, PM2.5, PM10, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide), ventilation rates (carbon dioxide) and pollution pathways (differential pressure). The high-quality monitor can be used for both walk through surveys or long-term trend datalogging (hours/days/weeks), providing enhanced capacity for IAQ research projects, industry facing air quality or building performance evaluations and for validation of low-cost air quality sensors. The equipment provides a more cost-effective and efficient method of measuring multiple pollutants in real-time, significantly reducing the time required for analysis.

Indoor Air Quality Kit (using open source platform)
ESRU currently use an open source platform (OpenEnergyMonitor) for remote monitoring of batteries, thermal stores, heating use and indoor environmental quality (temp, RH) in buildings. Funding was acquired to develop an IAQ monitoring system using the same platform to monitor specific pollutants, including TVOCs, CO, PM2.5 and PM10. The system will be fully open-source and the hardware will be based on the Arduino and Raspberry Pi platforms. Funding was requested to purchase a suite of components, including displays, PCBs, power banks, enclosures and open source air quality sensors (such as Purple Air), to develop an air quality monitoring system that can be combined with existing energy and/or environmental quality kits. The open source software will provide the opportunity to create a unique monitoring solution that can respond to emerging research needs. The kit can be enhanced periodically to address any technical issues, improve functionality, and increase monitoring capacity.
01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2021

More projects