CAREER: Researching Chemical and Optical Properties of Secondary Organic Aerosol and Effective Practices for Environmental Science Education

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This CAREER project is focused on investigating the relationship between the chemical and optical properties of secondary organic aerosol in the atmosphere. Secondary organic aerosols are small particles composed of compounds formed from the atmospheric transformation of volatile organic gases. This research is being conducted in an environmental chamber where the composition and optical properties of the aerosols (such as how they scatter or absorb light) can be measured as the conditions in the chamber change. This information is critical for improving model estimates of the direct radiative forcing of secondary organic aerosol and for understanding how they create haze and influence climate.The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Environmental chamber experiments are being conducted to study the dependence of the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) optical characteristics on parent hydrocarbon, nature and degree of oxidation, relative humidity, and chemical characteristics. The oxidation experiments will involve reactions of hydrocarbons that are important SOA precursors influenced by urban, biomass burning, and biogenically influenced sources, in order to better represent the ambient SOA found in different environments. The oxidation schemes tested will involve different sources of photooxidation radicals and different levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) to span a range of NOx-free, intermediate-, and high-NOx conditions during the SOA generation and aging processes. The educational objectives of the project are focused on supporting local high school teachers and future STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teachers in their professional development, and improving the STEM related skills among high school students.