Dr. David Naafs

Associate Professor

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Biography

I am an organic biogeochemist at the University of Bristol's Organic Geochemistry Unit, specialized in using organic geochemical techniques to investigate climatic biogeochemical processes in ancient and modern environments. I started my academic career at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, where I obtained a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences and an M.Sc. in Geochemistry, including a research stay at Yale University in Florida, USA. I completed my PhD in Bremen and then a one-year postdoc at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. In 2012, I moved to the University of Bristol as a research fellow and became a proleptic lecturer in 2018 after being awarded the Royal Society Tata University Research fellowship. My interdisciplinary research is driven by a desire to understand the natural processes and mechanisms that influence life and operate within Earth's climate system, utilizing state-of-the-art isotopic organic mass spectrometry to study lipids and molecular fossils (biomarkers) derived from organisms. My current research projects include investigating the source of organism functions in climate-related lipid studies and the bacterial response to past and future climate change.

Research Interests

Requirements for University of Bristol

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.3
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:6.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:19
Reading
Required:20
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:22
Total
Required:88
Prerequisites
Upper second-class MSci honours degree in physics or related discipline Or a relevant postgraduate MSc
Application Checklist
  • Online application form
  • Academic transcripts
  • Two academic references
  • Personal statement
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Research statement/proposal
Specialization Notes

Department of Physics research themes include Astrophysics, Materials and Devices, Particle Physics, and Quantum and Soft Matter.