Dr Alastair Wark
Senior Lecturer
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Personal statement
Alastair Wark started his career with a BSc in Applied Chemistry in 1996 at the University of Strathclyde. He completed his PhD research in 2000 under the joint supervision of Dr Len Berlouis and Dr Frank Cruikshank at Strathclyde and also working with Prof. Pierre-Francois Brevet at the EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. Following post-doctoral research at EPFL he was awarded a Lindemann Trust Fellowship in 2001and joined the laboratories of Prof. Rob Corn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After moving across to the University of California-Irvine with Rob’s group and a Project Scientist position, Alastair returned to the Chemistry Department in late 2007 as a Lecturer in Nanometrology.
Prize And Awards
- Lindemann Trust Fellowship
- Recipient
- 2001
- Ritchie Prize
- Recipient
- 2000
- Hamilton Barrett Chemistry Prize
- Recipient
- 1998
- Carnegie Undergraduate Scholarship
- Recipient
- 1994
- Andersonian Centenary Prize
- Recipient
- 1993
Publications
- Cost-effective titration analysis of paracetamol for schools
- Osinsao Rmela, McMillan Brian G, Ramsay Donna L, Scott Fraser J, Wark Alastair W, Thomson Patrick IT
- Journal of Chemical Education Vol 103, pp. 2796-2802 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01315
- Strengthening school-university collaborations
- Thomson Patrick, Wark Alastair, Kennedy Alan, Scott Fraser
- Nature Reviews Chemistry Vol 10, pp. 97-98 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-025-00788-2
- Robust development of gold nanorod-quantum dot assemblies for dynamic dual-modal single nanoparticle imaging and tracking applications
- Taysum Hannah L, Finnie Aryanne L, McKay Aimee, Wark Alastair W
- ACS Applied Nano Materials Vol 8, pp. 23832-23842 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.5c03231
- Wound Management, Healing and Early Prosthetic Rehabilitation : Continued Development of a Pilot Study Protocol for Evaluating Wound Healing and Early Prosthetic Rehabilitation in Primary Unilateral Transtibial Amputees
- Williams-Reid Hannelore, Johannesson Anton, Lechler Knut, Wark Alastair, Buis Arjan
- CDT in P&O 3rd Conference: Users at the Heart of P&O (2025)
- Jacobaea vulgaris derived carbon dots with nitrogen and sulfur doping for toxin sensing
- Chauhan Pooja, Vijeata Anjali, Chaudhary Ganga Ram, Wark Alastair, Chaudhary Savita
- Microchemical Journal Vol 217 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2025.115040
- Development of a pilot study protocol for evaluating wound healing and early prosthetic rehabilitation in primary unilateral transtibial amputees
- Williams-Reid Hannelore, Buis Arjan, Wark Alastair, Taysum Hannah, Johannesson Anton, Lechler Knut
- ISPO 20th World Congress (2025)
Research Interests
My research focus is based around the synthesis, functionalization and analytical applications of novel nanomaterials alongside the development of techniques capable of optically imaging and tracking single nanoparticles and molecules. The advantages of these materials for nanometrology and bioanalytical science is that optical measurements can be performed to monitor biomolecular interactions in real-time. As well as developing robust methodologies for ultrasensitive bioaffinity detection at target concentrations approaching just a few molecules, we are also exploring the use of multimodal imaging techniques for monitoring nanoparticle-cellular interactions. This involves developing hybrid nanostructures which can be used for tackling research challenges requiring dynamic measurements in complex biological environments. Consequently, my research is highly multidisciplinary and I have enjoyed successfully collaborating with researchers from across the biology, physics, engineering and medicine research fields.
Professional Activities
- ESPRC grant review
- Recipient
- 2/2026
- EPSRC grant review
- Recipient
- 7/2025
- Practical project work in the final years of Scottish schooling
- Invited speaker
- 4/4/2025
- External PhD Examiner - University of Glasgow
- Examiner
- 1/2025
- Spring SciX 2024
- Participant
- 17/4/2024
- External PhD examiner - UCL
- Examiner
- 4/2024
Projects
- WoSChem26: 26th West of Scotland Meeting for Teachers of Chemistry
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Thomson, Patrick (Principal Investigator) Scott, Fraser (Principal Investigator)
- 15-Jan-2026 - 15-Jan-2026
- UDLA 2527 University of Strathclyde | Turner, Calvin
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Weetman, Catherine (Co-investigator) Turner, Calvin (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2029
- The development and characterisation of aqueous electrolyte candidates for a thermally stable redox flow battery application.
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) McMillan, Brian (Co-investigator) Weetman, Catherine (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2029
- Arrayjet Slides production
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Lau, K H Aaron (Co-investigator)
- 28-Jan-2025 - 20-Jan-2025
- PTDF supported PhD studentship
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Zakari, Zainab Mikail (Researcher)
- 27-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2028
- 25th West of Scotland Meeting for Teachers of Chemistry
- Thomson, Patrick (Principal Investigator) Scott, Fraser (Principal Investigator) Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator)
- Hosted conference, funded with £1200 from the Royal Society of Chemistry
- 16-Jan-2025 - 16-Jan-2025
Contact
Dr
Alastair
Wark
Senior Lecturer
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Email: alastair.wark@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3084