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Dr Nina Kinney

Dr Nina Kinney

Profile

I’m a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Atmospheric Ice Nucleation at the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science (ICAS). My current work focuses on developing lab-based instrumentation for the offline analysis of ice-nucleating particles under cirrus cloud conditions. I’m interested in the microphysics of ice formation and how it functions in the environment - from enabling plant freeze-tolerance to driving ice formation in clouds.
I’m originally from Glasgow and completed a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, followed by an MSc (Research) in Chemistry at the University of Glasgow investigating laser-induced nucleation. My PhD research, based at the University of Warwick and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, explored the ice-nucleating macromolecules produced by plant pollen and spores.
After my PhD, I joined the British Antarctic Survey, where I worked on the Southern Ocean Clouds (SOC) project investigating atmospheric aerosols in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. In 2024, I took part in the ship-based SOC field campaign aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough, contributing to the measurement and analysis of aerosols and precursor gases. I also led the sampling of mosses and lichens from sub-Antarctic islands for ice nucleation analysis.

Research interests

  • Ice nucleation
  • Cirrus clouds

Qualifications

  • PhD in Chemistry, University of Warwick (2024)
  • MSc (Research) in Chemistry, University of Glasgow (2020)
  • BSc (Hons) Chemical Physics, University of Edinburgh (2019)

Professional memberships

  • Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Institute of Physics
  • Society for Cryobiology

Research groups and institutes

  • Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science