Welcome to the Pratt Lab blog! Dr. Kerri Pratt is an assistant professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Earth & Environmental Sciences and faculty associate of the Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan. We study the chemical interactions of atmospheric trace gases, particles, clouds, and snow, with a focus on the Polar Regions and wintertime environments. Our interdisciplinary research has relevance to climate change, air quality, and human health. As an analytical chemistry lab, we primarily apply novel mass spectrometry techniques to our field research. We invite you to follow our adventures in (and outside!) the lab!

Monday, June 27, 2016

Preparation to do science...in the sky!

Last week, I packed up the car, put on some tunes, and took a road trip to West Lafayette, Indiana to visit our collaborators at Purdue University.
Later this month, we will be collaborating with Paul Shepson's group from Purdue University to conduct research flights on Purdue's Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (ALAR) at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). As part of a larger campaign at UMBS this summer, I will have the opportunity to fly on ALAR to study cloud composition.
ALAR outside of the Purdue hangar, ready for my training session to begin!

I thought it would be a good idea to visit Purdue beforehand to get acquainted with the plane and receive training on the instrumentation I will operate before I'm flying through clouds several thousand feet above northern Michigan. Apparently, collecting cloud water samples during a bumpy flight on a small, two seater airplane is no easy task.
After my visit, I feel much more confident about operating these instruments, and much less confident that I will not get motion sick.

Stay tuned this July for more tales from our adventures at (and above!) UMBS.
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