Research Objectives:
This project has two components, research and education. The research component examines the role of halogen oxides in tropospheric chemistry. The education component will develop two graduate courses, a laboratory experience and a professional development seminar.
In the research component, an instrument based on low-pressure chemical conversion/resonance fluorescence will be deployed at sites in the boundary layer and the free troposphere. The sites -- Niwot Ridge, Colorado, Bremen, Germany and McMurdo Station – have been chosen chosen because of their location, facilities and their potential for detecting halogen oxides under a variety of environmental and meteorological conditions. The instrument will be augmented by a meteorological measurement system providing data on temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and wind direction and speed, plus an ozone analyzer.
The education component will develop and implement two new courses in the atmospheric and oceanic science. The first will be an inquiry-based laboratory course for upper-division undergraduates and beginning graduate students. This course will build on the resources available within the campus and surrounding atmospheric sciences communities to acquaint students with the nature and practice of experimental science. The course will offer students opportunities to acquire and improve career skills in teamwork and in oral and written communication.
The second course, a seminar-style professional development class, will be designed to better prepare graduate students for the array of academic and nonacademic jobs available to them after they receive their degrees. This class will expose students to topics such as ethics in research, methods for writing and reviewing papers and proposals, and resources for improving teaching skills. Speakers from industry, national laboratories, community colleges, and more, will be invited to help students explore the diverse avenues their careers might take.
