Biography
Dr Daniel Schillereff is a physical geographer and environmental scientist working to better quantify human-environment interactions in the past, present and future. This has encompassed integrating palaeoenvironmental methods with environmental monitoring in a range of ecosystems (lakes, rivers, peatlands). Recently, he has been working on several projects exploring the associations between environmental pollution and human health.
Daniel took up the inaugural role of Associate Dean (Research Culture) for the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy in 2025. Daniel has centred Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in research, teaching and service throughout his career. He has been Chair of the Department of Geography EDI Committee and co-led a Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy workstream on attainment and awarding gaps. He actively promotes positive a working culture, showcased by recent publications on how success is evaluated and valued in academia. Daniel is also an advocate for Open Research principles.
Daniel became a Senior Lecturer in Physical & Environmental Geography in 2023. He previously held posts of Lecturer and Teaching Fellow since starting in the Department of Geography at King’s in 2015.
Prior to King's, Daniel was a post-doctoral research associate on the NERC-funded LTLS project exploring long-term macronutrient dynamics across the UK, jointly employed by the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology and the University of Liverpool. He completed his PhD in 2014 at the University of Liverpool, investigating historical flood records preserved in lake sediment sequences across the UK.
Research
Daniel’s background encompasses geomorphology, biogeochemistry and (paleo)environmental science and he has used field, laboratory and computational methods to explore the multidirectional interactions between humans and the environment. Current research foci include:
- Integrating palaeoenvironmental data and innovative environmental monitoring using bespoke, low-cost sensors in lakes, rivers, and peatlands to inform restoration efforts
- Carbon and nutrient cycling in peatlands, including genomic sequencing of microbial communities
- The role of agricultural or urban dust in local-to-global nutrient cycling
- Associations between environmental pollution and human health, for example via drinking water or indoor conditions within the home
- Using the sedimentary archive to refine flood frequency analysis
PhD Supervision
Daniel is keen to work with PhD researchers across the broad field of human-environment interactions. He would particularly welcome interest in:
- Long-term carbon and nutrient cycling in lakes and peatlands, restoration pathways and implications for future climate
- Sources and transport pathways of environmental pollution and associations with human health
- Quantifying local- and regional-scale dust dynamics
- Designing novel, low-cost instrumentation for high-density environmental monitoring
Further details
See Daniel's research profile