Roya BahreiniProfessor of Atmospheric ScienceEnvironmental Sciences Dept bahreini@ucr.edu(951) 827-4506
CAREER: Researching Chemical and Optical Properties of Secondary Organic Aerosol and Effective Practices for Environmental Science Education
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AWARD NUMBER
007309-003
FUND NUMBER
33134
STATUS
Active
AWARD TYPE
3-Grant
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AWARD EXECUTION DATE
3/26/2015
BEGIN DATE
4/1/2015
END DATE
3/31/2020
AWARD AMOUNT
$7,740
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Sponsor Information
SPONSOR AWARD NUMBER
SPONSOR
SPONSOR TYPE
FUNCTION
Organized Research
PROGRAM NAME
Proposal Information
PROPOSAL NUMBER
15010078
PROPOSAL TYPE
New
ACTIVITY TYPE
Basic Research
PI Information
PI
Bahreini, Roya
PI TITLE
Other
PI DEPTARTMENT
Environmental Sciences
PI COLLEGE/SCHOOL
College of Nat & Agr Sciences
CO PIs
Project Information
ABSTRACT
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.(Abstract from NSF)
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