Pratt Lab attends the 2016 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting

Prof. Kerri Pratt and post-docs Dr. Peter Peterson and Dr. Katheryn Kolesar, along with Ph.D. students Matt Gunsch, Rachel Kirpes, and Stephen McNamara, presented their results from a number of different Arctic research projects currently ongoing in the group! The 2016 Fall Meeting was a week-long conference in San Francisco (Dec 12-16, 2016) that attracted tens of thousands of scientists in earth science-related fields to share their work and engage in productive discussions. It was also a great opportunity to network and touch base with many of our collaborators!

The following presentations were given by Pratt Lab members:

Prof. Kerri Pratt: The poster "Influences on Summertime Arctic Aerosol Chemical Mixing States" highlighted work by Rachel Kirpes and Matt Gunsch. Prof. Pratt also co-organized the "Chemical Exchange Between the Air, Snow, and Ice: From the Micro to the Global Scale" Cryosphere session.

Dr. Peter Peterson: The oral presentation "Airborne Observations of Reactive Bromine Transport in the Arctic" featured airborne reactive bromine and particle measurements collected during the BROMEX 2012 study near Utqiagvik (Barrow), AK.

Dr. Katheryn Kolesar: The oral presentation "Prudhoe Bay Emissions Drive Particle Growth Events Observed in Utqiagvik (Barrow), AK" highlighted our recently published analysis of years of aerosol data that show evidence of influence by the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay upwind from Utqiagvik (Barrow), AK.

Matt Gunsch: The poster presentation "Chemical Characterization of Atmospheric Particulate Matter from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska" featured results from our 2016 summer field study in the Prudhoe Bay oil fields of Alaska's North Slope.

Matt Gunsch and his poster

Rachel Kirpes: The poster "The Chemical Composition and Mixing State of Sea Spray Aerosol and Organic Aerosol in the Winter-Spring Arctic" examined particles collected on recent Arctic field studies for their unique chemical characteristics to aid our understanding of their effects on radiative forcing and cloud formation.

Rachel Kirpes and her poster

Stephen McNamara: The poster "The Influence of Nitrogen Oxides on Chlorine Chemistry in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska" presented results from our 2016 winter-spring field study at Utqiagvik (Barrow) in which high amounts of chlorine species were observed episodically using chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

Stephen McNamara and his poster

Welcome Nicole, Garret, Annie, Guy, Logan, and Madeline!

Welcome winter semester graduate rotation students Nicole Olson and Garret Verwer! Nicole received her B.S. degree in Chemistry in 2016 from Edgewood College, and Garret received his B.S. degree in Chemistry in 2016 from Mercyhurst University.

Belated welcome to Annie Barget, a senior undergraduate student (major: Biomolecular Sciences), who joined the Pratt Lab in Fall 2016 to study Arctic snow chemical composition using ion chromatography!

Welcome to new Pratt Lab undergraduate students Guy, Logan, and Madeline! Guy Burke is a junior undergraduate student (majors: Chemistry & Spanish) who previously completed research in environmental engineering. Logan Vear and Madeline Parks are first-year undergraduate students who completed the Chem 125-Snow (General Chemistry Laboratory - Authentic Research Experience in Snow Chemistry) course with Prof. Pratt in Fall 2016.

New paper on CCN activity of playa dust!

Congratulations to Pratt Lab PhD student Nate May on our co-author paper with Prof. Cassandra Gaston at the University of Miami! Check out the paper titled "Laboratory Studies of the Cloud Droplet Activation Properties and Corresponding Chemistry of Saline Playa Dust" in Environmental Science & Technology!

Feature in UM Program in the Environment Fall Newsletter!

Check out the write-up (page 4) in the UM Program in the Environment (PitE) Fall 2016 Newsletter about our CHEM 125-Snow (General Chemistry Laboratory - Authentic Research Experience in Snow Chemistry) course!

Feature in UM Chemistry Fall Newsletter!

Check out the write-up in the UM Chemistry Fall 2016 Newsletter about our CHEM 125-Snow trip to Barrow, AK in Mar. 2016!

Chemistry News Article: http://lsa.umich.edu/chem/alumni-friends/newsletters/fall-2016-newsletter/arctic-snow-leads-students-to-chemistry.html
Link to our blog posts: http://prattlab.blogspot.com/2016_03_01_archive.html

Arctic aerosol growth paper published!

Congratulations to Pratt Lab post-doc Katie Kolesar, former undergraduate student Jillian Cellini, and post-doc Peter Peterson! Their paper details the first investigation of the occurrence and driving forces of aerosol growth events at Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska and the finding of the importance of the Prudhoe Bay oilfields in this process. Check out "Effect of Prudhoe Bay emissions on atmospheric aerosol growth events observed in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska", published in Atmospheric Environment! 

Pratt Lab Participates in FEMMES Capstone Outreach Event

On Saturday, November 12th, members of the Pratt Lab volunteered for the capstone outreach event organized by FEMMES (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and the Sciences), which invites middle school girls to the University of Michigan for a day of fun activities related to math, science, and engineering. The goal of this event is to engage girls from underrepresented groups in participating in STEM fields through hands-on demos and interactive presentations linked to actual research by a variety of groups on campus.

Pratt Lab Volunteers - L to R: Siyuan, Matt, Ryan, Stephen, and Katie (not pictured- Peter)

Our group hosted a series of fun- and somewhat messy- activities focused on climate change with links to atmospheric chemistry. Of course, it can sometimes be challenging to make our research relatable to a bunch of twelve-year-olds, so creativity and simplicity is key! We discussed ocean acidification through pop and lime, and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide using acetic acid (vinegar), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), and latex reaction vessels (balloons)! Overall, everyone had a great time and is looking forward to the next event in the spring!

Ryan making clouds under the watchful eye of Rachel

Peter enthusiastically awaits the next group of students for demos!