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!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Anna and Rachel Head to the Earth Day Festival



Armed with a 2-liter plastic soda bottle, matches, and some hot water, graduate student Rachel Kirpes and undergraduate Anna Leemon set off to wow some local children about cloud formation during the Annual Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival last Sunday, the 17th. The kids quickly learned that adding water to the bottle and shaking it was not enough to form a cloud.  After adding particles in the form of smoke, a cloud easily formed.  How cool?!  One spectacularly interested youngster even wanted to take the cloud home.  Rachel and Anna also talked about clouds’ dual effects of both cooling the planet (by reflecting sunlight) and warming it (by insulating earth’s heat). What a great day!

Anna
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Monday, April 11, 2016

Pratt Lab Takes Home the Trophy

Last week six graduate students and two undergraduate students from the Pratt Lab participated in the Michigan Geophysical Union symposium at the University of Michigan. Pratt Lab students competed against other chemistry students for the best poster presentation. After hours of grueling judging by experts in the field the scores were tallied. Matt Gunsch came out ahead of the rest and won first place in the Chemistry division for his work on "Single Particle Analysis of Transported Prudhoe Bay Emissions in Barrow, Alaska". Mark Hartwig won over the hearts and minds of the crowd and received the People's Choice Award for his scientific research on "Arctic Snow Comparison in Variable Sea Ice Environments". Everyone who presented had a great time sharing their research with the broader scientific community.
Learning about Arctic research from the expert  - Matt Gunsch, Rachel Kirpes, Isabel Colon-Bernal, Peter
Our Award winners - Mark Hartwig, Rebecca Craig (Ault Lab), Matt Gunsh
Nathaniel May talking about what he knows best - snow!
Stephen McNamara discussing his research with Pratt Lab post doc, Siyuan Wang


Rachel Kirpes sharing her outstanding research on particle composition and morphology
Ryan Cook giving his first presentation in the Pratt Lab!








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