The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOSpec) Lab is always seeking talented, motivated students and postdocs to help improve our understanding of atmospheric chemistry, and how it affects discussions about public health, ecosystem and climate. We work on several different research themes outlined below:
- Instrumentation, field observations, laboratory experiments
- Aircraft, ship, and ground-based deployment of optical instrumentation and mass spectrometers to study the free troposphere, marine boundary layer, wildfires, agriculture and urban air quality
- Laboratory studies: new particle formation, iodine heterogeneous chemistry, isoprene oxidation mechanism and secondary organic aerosol formation from multi-phase chemistry
- Trace gases of interest: halogen oxide radicals (BrO, IO, OClO), VOCs & oxygenated VOC (CO, HCHO, CHOCHO, HOMs), nitrogen oxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3) and other molecules relevant to radical cycling, mercury oxidation, particle formation and growth, biomass burning and marine organic carbon cycle.
- We often work with pre-existing models and incorporate field and chamber data to test and improve predictive skill in model capabilities
Ongoing Collaborations:
- Other research groups within CU, scientists at NCAR and NOAA in Boulder
- Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA) in Brussels, Belgium
- Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) and ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- CLOUD Consortium at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
- Collaborators in the US, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, Finland
Ongoing and upcoming projects include (but are not limited to):
- Assessing the drivers of Isoprene SOA
- 2021 The Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets (CLOUD)-15
- 2021 High Temporal Resolution Measurements of Mercury and Oxidants at Storm Peak Laboratory
- 2021 Pre-CUPIDS
- 2022 Technological Innovation Into Iodine and GV aircraft Environmental Research (TI3GER)
- 2022 Coastal Urban Plume Dynamics Study (CUPIDS)
Application Information
Applications to the Chemistry Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado Boulder are due in mid-December. Exact deadlines, additional application information, and forms can be found here: Prospective Graduate Student Admissions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for prospective graduate students can be found here.
We require an undergraduate background in engineering, physics or the physical sciences.
Visiting the ATMOSpec Lab
If you are interested in joining our group, you are welcome to attend group meetings or stop by for a tour of the lab. Please contact Professor Volkamer at rainer.volkamer@colorado.edu to schedule. Student offices are located on the third floor of Ekeley Sciences, in EKLC M309.