Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Cohort: 2012-2013

Ph.D. Student, Department of Atmospheric Science

Research Summary: I study tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere; they can react with pollutants and form more particles, which can be hazardous to animals and plants, travel great distances, and deposit chemicals into natural environments. They can also act as ‘seeds’ for cloud formation, which may impact precipitation patterns and even change the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, which has implications for global warming. It is important to understand how these particles form, react in the air, how far they can travel, and finally how they are deposited into the ecosystem so that we can decrease harmful environmental effects.