Prof Ann Webb
Professor of Atmospheric Radiation

Biography
Ann graduated from Reading University with a BSc in Physics and Meteorology, then gained a PhD in Environmental Physics from Nottingham University and, later, a DSc from UMIST. She spent 3 years as a researcher in a medical environment in USA, applying her knowledge of sunlight to understanding its effects on human health. She returned to the UK, Reading University and work with a more atmospheric focus before joining UMIST as a lecturer in Physics, and then moving into the School of Earth Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (now Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences) at University of Manchester where she is a Professor in the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences. From 2011-2018 she served as Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Ann continues to teach atmospheric physics to students in a number of Schools. Her research work remains at the interface between disciplines, with radiation and (sun)light as a central theme. She has strong collaborations with the Medical School and photobiologists as well as modelling and experimental work in the atmospheric sciences. A topical interest in which she specialises is vitamin D synthesis by the skin after exposure to (solar) UV radiation, while other work explores, for example, the scattering of radiation by ice crystals. The multidisciplinarity of Ann’s work is also apparent in the external positions she held. In addition to several roles at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), she was President of CIE (Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage, or International Commission for Illumination), 2011-15. She is currently UV Working Group lead for the International Radiation Commission and member of the Editorial Board for the WMO Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO) Guide.
Qualifications
BSc Physics and Meteorology (Reading); PhD Solar ultraviolet radiation and vitamin D synthesis in man (Nottingham); DSc (UMIST)
Related information
Publications
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work
Media coverage and contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
Press/Media: Expert comment
Press/Media: Expert comment
Student Theses
UoM administered thesis: Master of Philosophy
UoM administered thesis: Phd
UoM administered thesis: Phd
Impact
Impact: Society and culture, Health and wellbeing, Economic, Policy
Impact: Environmental impacts, Technological impacts, Societal impacts