Joost de Gouw, atmospheric aerosol particles research

The research of Joost de Gouw has fundamentally changed the scientific understanding of the sources of atmospheric aerosol particles and its affect on air quality, atmospheric chemistry and climate. His thorough analysis and careful measurements of organic aerosols from the New England Air Quality Study in 2002 found that an unexpected source of organic aerosols derives from abundant amounts hydrocarbon gas being emitted into the polluted air of the urban atmosphere. Despite results that challenged conventional wisdom on the source of these aerosols and created initial skepticism from peers in his field, he remained steadfast in his findings which were later validated in several other field programs. These results became a prime motivator in a special session in a recent American Geophysical Union conference and have led to the reevaluation of decades of aerosol yield studies conducted in smog chambers. Over the past decade he has also pioneered a new technique for the measurement of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere and is considered by his peers a leader in this field. His major contributions in research, however, have not prevented him from teaching and training the new generation of scientists where he supervises two University of Colorado graduate students. The quality of his scientific research and his leadership in the field of atmospheric chemistry are widely recognized to have a profound impact in the atmospheric sciences.