New method for sizing insoluble residues in precipitation

In December of 2014, the first Ault Group publication came out in Aerosol Science and Technology (abstract). First author Dr. Jessica Axson worked in collaboration with Dr. Jessie Creamean of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder on the paper entitled “An in situ method for sizing insoluble residues in precipitation and other aqueous samples” (Aerosol Science And Technology 49(1): 24-34). The work examines the size distribution and number concentration of insoluble residues with in snow collected at Yosemite National Park, CA and rainwater collected in Ann Arbor, MI using a new a novel technique for environmental analysis known as Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). This technique uses Brownian motion of particles in a liquid to determine their hydrodynamic size. This technique has great potential for studying the role that insoluble residues play in critical atmospheric processes, such as droplet/crystal nucleation, cloud processing, dry deposition, scavenging, and more.

The work was presented at the AGU Fall Meeting in December 2014 in San Francisco, CA.  Summer students from the first ever UM Detroit Research Internship Summer Experience (D-RISE) Partnership with Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Desmond Madu and Jackelyn Rodriguez, were able to participate in the project by assisting with rain sample collection and analysis.

Figure: a) NanoSight™ LM10, b) schematic of the laser illumination device (courtesy of Malvern, Inc.), c) Brownian motion (red lines) of individual nanoparticles (green spheres), and d) number size distributions.

Volunteering with FEMMES

On February 26th two graduate students Amy Bondy and Becky Craig, went to Howe Montessori School in Dearborn, MI with the FEMMES volunteer program. FEMMES (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science) is dedicated to empowering  girls and young women as students and practitioners in STEM fields. Working specifically in diverse, underserved communities, FEMMES creates collaborative teaching and learning environments to promote leadership development, technical skills and self-confidence in women of all ages. Engaging, hands-on activities in all FEMMES programs allow girls to learn in a fun, supportive environment and explore their potential in the STEM fields. FEMMES seeks to build our participants’ curiosity about a variety of areas related to science, math, and engineering and encourage them to increase their participation in those fields.

At this after-school activity, Becky and Amy worked with groups of 4th-6th grade girls to explore various scientific concepts through hands-on activities. The girls explored electricity and circuits using conductive Play-Doh, batteries, light bulbs and buzzers (see image above), they investigated the properties of magnets and built an electromagnet using wire and a battery (see image below), they learned about catalytic reactions by creating "elephant's toothpaste" which involved the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water, and finally built edible DNA structures using marshmallows, toothpicks, and Twizzlers.

Congratulations to Hongru

Hongru Shen a second year masters of science student in the Ault Lab received a Rackham International Student Fellowship in the amount of $10,000 for 2014-2015. She was first nominated by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences this October and this week chosen as one of only twenty-five International Student Fellowship awards campus-wide for 2014-15 at the University of Michigan. She says, "I feel honored to be awarded as a master student since this fellowship not only supports part of my next semester’s tuition but it reflects the Rackham Graduate School’s very positive assessment of my future success." Congratulations Hongru!