Tel +64 3 479 7907
Location Science II, 5c4
Email christina.mcgraw@otago.ac.nz
For more information about the McGraw Research Group
https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/christinamcgraw/
Professional background
- 2023–present, Associate Professor, University of Otago
- 2017–2023, Senior Lecturer, University of Otago
- 2015–2016, Lecturer, University of New England, Australia
- 2013–2016, Visiting Lecturer and Biogeochemical Sensor Developer, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Australia
- 2011–2013, Assistant Professor of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Clark University, USA
- 2006–2010, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Otago
- 2005–2006, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dublin City University
- 1999–2004, PhD (Analytical Chemistry) and MSc, University of Washington, USA
- 1999–BSc (Chemistry), University of Alaska, USA
Research interests
With broad interests in analytical and marine chemistry, my research revolves around the design of field-deployable instrumentation for marine ecosystems.
Christina is also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-discipline research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.
Coastal People: Southern Skies
Current research projects include:
The effect of anthropogenic CO2 on our marine ecosystems
Since the industrial revolution, the oceans have absorbed about 1/3 of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. This decreases both seawater pH and carbonate concentration, significantly altering the chemistry of the world's oceans. Our group is developing new laboratory instruments and field-deployable sensors to measure fine-scale changes in carbonate chemistry and to study the impact of global climate change on the world's oceans.
Deployable environmental sensors
To understand fine-scale spatial and temporal changes, solid-contact fabrication techniques have been used to produce a range of low-cost, disposable ion-selective sensors, including carbonate, pH, lead, cadmium, nitrate, and reference electrodes.
Materials and methods for ion-selective electrodes
New methods for ion-selective electrode (ISE) construction are being used to reduce ion fluxes across the sensor's membrane, leading to 100-to-1000-fold improvements in detection limit. This work is complemented by new Bayesian models of the sensor's response, which further improves the accuracy and precision of the measurement.