Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2023-2024

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry

Research Summary: I study how climate change affects the chemicals that plants emit. These plant emissions are highly volatile and reactive in the atmosphere, they can remove or form ozone and promote the creation of secondary organic aerosol, thus contributing to global warming and cooling. However, the effects of changing climate conditions on plants are poorly understood. I have studied how temperature, humidity, and snow impact emissions, but most recently I have investigated the intricate ways by which wildfire smoke harms leaves and subsequently changes their emissions. These findings will provide information valuable to improving the models that predict future climate conditions.

Mentor: Delphine Farmer