Atmospheric Chemistry Program Seminar

VOCs off-gassed by laser and inkjet printers; and CH4, CO2, and N2O gas fluxes in created wetlands by Wyatt Brown, CU Boulder, ANYL first year student
"Indoor air quality has become a more prominently researched subject in recent years, and indoor office environments are still poorly understood in terms of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with them. We have identified and quantified various VOCs off-gassed by laser and inkjet printers using solid phase micro-extraction in conjunction with GC/MS.
In the outdoor environment, it has been well-established that wetlands are important ecosystems for the planet and provide a multitude of ecological services. In order to combat the widespread destruction of wetlands, restoration efforts have recently seen a dramatic increase in prevalence. However, there is a complex, poorly understood relationship between the functions of created wetlands and the emission of greenhouse gasses. In this talk, the preliminary data on CH4, CO2, and N2O gas fluxes in created wetlands is presented. Preliminary dissolved organic matter (DOM) studies are also presented."

and

The reaction of acetyl peroxy radical with hydroperoxy radical by Marla DeVault, CU Boulder, ANYL first year student
"I spent three summers working in Prof. Keith Kuwata's computational chemistry lab at Macalester College. Primarily, my research focused on improving the steps taken to simulate reactions of organic peroxy radicals (OPR's) in the atmosphere. More specifically, I studied the reaction of acetyl peroxy radical with hydroperoxy radical, which is thought to be a source of hydroxy radical. These steps include determining which simple model chemistry could most accurately model the reaction, investigating the viability of non-reactive conformers, and testing methods for calculating the energy of transition structures."