Raea Lessard (Hicks), atmospheric chemistry research and service

Raea Lessard (now Hicks) is an atmospheric chemist whose PhD research centers on laboratory experiments to better understand the haze particles that form high in the atmosphere of Titan, a moon of Saturn. Although she is focusing on a faraway world, it has many similarities to the upper atmosphere of our own Earth, where much of George Reid’s research was focused. The haze on Titan forms at an altitude of around 500 km, and is initiated by high-energy electrons and deep ultraviolet light from the sun. Raea’s laboratory experiments probe the chemical composition of haze particles generated in the laboratory by ion and neutral chemistry. She has performed some of the first pressure-dependent studies of haze formation initiated by UV light, a good first step in understanding haze generation at high altitudes. She is also using isotopically labeled precursor gases to gain deeper insight into haze formation mechanisms.

In addition to her PhD research, Raea has been an active member of the CIRES community. For the last two years she has been a co-leader of the CIRES Graduate Student Association, a group devoted to providing networking and professional development opportunities for CIRES graduate students.