Patrick Timmins

I am a PhD candidate passionate about soil sciences, ecology, and Australian landscapes.

My PhD research is looking at how nitrogen isotopes in Australian natural systems can be used to track the movement and transformation of nitrogen through soil and plant processes. The relative concentrations of the two stable isotopes of Nitrogen (¹⁴N and ¹⁵N) in soil and plant samples allows the importance of both biological and chemical processes to be assessed. Measurement of nitrogen isotopes across small spatial areas provides insights into the heterogeneity of nitrogen transformations and pathways in Australian environments, which will allow for future modelling of nitrogen processes across the broader Australian landscape. My honours research used Mid-infrared spectroscopy to investigate the effectiveness of a simple method for direct quantification and identification of microplastics in soil samples.

I have experience and am further developing skills in stastical analysis and modelling, with competency in R programming language. I have employed analytical chemistry methods in the analysis of soil and plant samples.