Greening of Regulated Analytical Chemistry Methods (GRAMS)

The GRAMS project addresses the need to implement green and sustainable laboratory practices for regulatory testing laboratories aligned with the European Union's Green Deal and Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Scientific laboratories are resource intensive spaces which use significantly more energy and water than office spaces and, collectively, millions of tonnes of plastic waste each year. GRAMS is driven by the need to align regulatory analytical methods with the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry which emphasize the use of safer solvents, greener procurement, finite resources, reduction of waste and water usage energy-efficient instrumentation and miniaturized analytical techniques. As there is limited shared knowledge about validated case studies where greener methods have successfully replaced conventional ones in a regulatory setting, GRAMS will fill this gap for analytical method validation in public sector laboratories through the use of the State Laboratory as a test-bed of an EU regulatory chemistry laboratory.

The MPhil will work under the supervision and direction of the project team to review current state-of-knowledge, develop greened methods for application in a regulated setting, conduct an assessment of these findings, develop a toolkit for use in other regulated settings and communicate project findings through peer-review publication, and presentations at national and international conferences, meetings and project workshops. The appointed MPhil student will be registered as a full-time student in TU Dublin and be primarily based in the State Laboratory in Backweston Laboratory Campus, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

2.1 Hons BSc in Chemistry, Analytical Science or a related discipline

Funding Agency: Environmental Protection Agency

Student Stipend per annum: € 25000

Materials & Travel Budget per annum: € 4100

Fees covered by the funding per annum: € 5500

Duration of Funding: 24 months

Deadline to submit an application: 3rd February 2026

If you are interested in submitting an application for this project, please complete an Expression of Interest.

 https://forms.office.com/e/0hCcrv2Gkp