How to measure air quality

Inspiring Scientists is a series of resources to help develop students’ understanding and awareness of science and the diversity of scientists. The video profiles were commissioned by the Royal Society and carried out as an oral history project by National Life Stories at the British Library.

The resources showcase the life stories of British scientists with minority ethnic heritage and cover issues such as being a minority in science, influences in their childhoods and the fun and importance of science both to themselves and to the wider community. The activities that accompany the profiles relate to the area of research that the scientist is involved in.

Mark Richards is a scientist and a DJ (DJ Kemist). He was born in Nottingham in 1970 to parents who had emigrated from Jamaica and remembers successfully ‘battling with the boffins’ at his comprehensive school, often coming top in chemistry. Following a degree in chemistry, he has worked (getting a PhD along the way) on the development of instruments to detect very small amounts of particular chemicals in the air. He now splits his time between teaching physics to university students at Imperial College London, DJing and remixing music released under his own label - Xtremix Records, and developing air pollution monitoring instruments sold by a high-tech company that he co-founded.