Congratulations Dr. Amy Bondy!

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Bondy on passing her defense and becoming the first doctoral graduate of the Ault Lab! As the first member of the Ault Lab, Amy was with the lab from the beginning and helped get many of the lab's projects started. During her time as a graduate student she has published 14 papers (4 first author, with one still being finished) on topics ranging from atmospheric aerosols to engineered nanoparticles. Her next step is continuing to follow her passion for electron microscopy at the Life Sciences Institute (LSI). Once again, congratulations Amy!

Nicole receives Michigan Sea Grant Fellowship!

Doctoral student Nicole Olson was recently selected as a recipient for the Michigan Sea Grant graduate student fellowship! Nicole's project aims to further analyze harmful algal bloom emissions from wave breaking on the Great Lakes. This summer Nicole will be partnering with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to collect biweekly freshwater samples from 8 sites along Lake Huron and Lake Erie, as shown on the map below. The freshwater samples will then be brought back to the lab to create lake spray aerosols. Nicole will be analyzing the biological content of the freshwater and aerosol samples to determine changes throughout duration of the harmful algal bloom season.

Ault Group at AAAR

Ault Group at AAAR

We are excited to have multiple presentations this year on research in the Ault Group! Come check out what we are up to and our work with collaborators at these talks and posters this week. Links to the abstracts below:

Nicole Olson (Doctoral Student) - Poster
Thursday 12:15 8MO.23
Single Particle Morphology and Phase State Analysis of Secondary Organic Aerosol Particles.
NICOLE OLSON, Rebecca Craig, Ziying Lei, Yue Zhang, Yuzhi Chen, Amy Bondy, Jason Surratt, Andrew Ault, University of Michigan
 
Rebecca Craig (Doctoral Student) - Talk
Thursday 3:30 9AC.8
Direct Measurement of Size Resolved Aerosol Acidity.
REBECCA CRAIG, Peter Peterson, Ryan Dodson, Andrew Ault, University of Michigan

Dr. Andrew Ault (Professor/PI) - Talk
Friday 11:15 11AC.1
The Importance of Particle History When Exploring Particle Phase, Viscosity, and Structure within Individual Organic-Inorganic Mixed Particles Using Microscopy and Spectroscopy. ANDREW AULT, Amy Bondy, Rebecca Craig, Sydney Niles, Nicole Olson, University of Michigan

Collaborators
Dr. Yue Zhang (Postdoc at UNC-Chapel Hill) - Talk
Thursday 10:45 7AC.5
The Effects of Aerosol Phase State on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from the Acid-Catalyzed Reactive Uptake of Isoprene-Derived Epoxydiols.
YUE ZHANG, Yuzhi Chen, Andrew Lambe, Amy Bondy, Nicole Olson, Rebecca Craig, Zhenfa Zhang, Avram Gold, Timothy Onasch, John Jayne, Douglas Worsnop, Charles Kolb, William Vizuete, Andrew Ault, Jason Surratt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Jonathan (Nate) Slade (Postdoc at Purdue) - Talk
Friday 12:00 11AC.4
Diel Variations in the Phase State of Atmospheric Aerosol in a Mixed Forest: The Role of Molecular Composition and Liquid Water.  
JONATHAN SLADE, Alexander Bui, Ryan Cook, Amy Bondy, Sarah Desrochers, Rebecca Harvey, Jenna Ditto, Drew Gentner, Kerri Pratt, Andrew Ault, Robert Griffin, Brandon E. Boor, Giuseppe Petrucci, Paul Shepson, Purdue University
 
Mutian Ma (Masters Student at UNC-Chapel Hill) - Poster
Thursday 12:15 8MO.2
The Influence Pre-existing Organics on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation
from Reactive Uptake of Isoprene Epoxydiols in a Regional Scale Model.
MUTIAN MA, Havala Pye, Yue Zhang, Yuzhi Chen, Chitsan Wang, Sri Budisulistiorini, Andrew Ault, Jason Surratt, William Vizuete, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


Editors Note: Concept for page inspired by McNeill Lab at Columbia.

Becky's CC-Raman Paper Highlighted in AAAR Newsletter

In very exciting news, Becky Craig's recent paper in Aerosol Science and Technology was chosen as the "Article Highlight" in the Summer Issue of the American Association for Aerosol Research's newsletter Particulars. The writeup emphasized the potential for Raman analysis, specifically automated Raman analysis to enable ambient temperature and pressure chemical characterization of components in atmospheric aerosols. Great work Becky!


https://www.aaar.org/AAARORG/assets/File/particulars/Particulars_summer_2017.pdf

Dr. Ault Featured in NSF-CHEM Newsletter for CAREER Award

Dr. Ault Featured in NSF-CHEM Newsletter for CAREER Award!


Newsletter Link (pdf):
https://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/che_nl_2017_summer_v1.4bdp_508.pdf

We are also excited to have the first paper based on this funding out in Analytical Chemistry on Atomic Force Microscopy Infrared Spectroscopy (Article Link).

Ault Lab trip to UNC-Chapel Hill!

Dr. Ault and Ault Lab graduate students recently took a trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to meet with Dr. Jason Surratt’s group regarding a collaborative project. By combining the Ault Lab’s single particle microscopic and spectroscopic techniques with the Surratt Lab’s expertise with high resolution mass spectrometry of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) of trace gases, the two groups will investigate how relative humidity and differing organic precursors affect the viscosity and phase of resulting aerosols. Together, the groups are investigating the reactive uptake of isoprene epoxydiol onto SOA particles to better understand aerosol processes and their role in human health and the rapidly changing climate.

Front Row, from left to right: Dr. Jason Surratt, Dr. Andrew Ault, Nicole Olson

Back Row, from left to right: Amy Bondy, Yue Zhang, Becky, Craig, Yuzhi Chen, Ziying (Nancy) Lei

Prof. Ault Interview with Water Center Newsletter

Prof. Ault Interview with Water Center Newsletter

New Review on Methods for Atmospheric Aerosol Chemistry Research

A new review from the Ault Group (Prof. Ault and Dr. Jessica Axson) is focused on advances in atmospheric aerosol instrumentation in the past 5 years. The title is " Atmospheric Aerosol Chemistry: Spectroscopic and Microscopic Advances" and it was included in Analytical Chemistry's "Fundamental and Applied Reviews in Analytical Chemistry 2017". Instrumentation used for aerosol analysis ranging from electron microscopy to Raman microspectroscopy to optical tweezers and many more are covered. The motivation for using these methods, such as physicochemical mixing state as well as instrumental size ranges are discussed.

Prof. Ault receives CAREER grant from National Science Foundation

Prof. Ault was recently awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation entitled " CAREER: Molecular Studies of Phase Separations and Internal Structure in Individual Particles" This grant will focus on understanding the molecular level processes occurring within complex atmospheric aerosol particles. The research will couple new instrumentation (atomic force microscopy with infrared - AFM-IR) with existing instrumentation used by the Ault Group (Raman microspectroscopy and electron microscopy). New information about how aerosols change as a function of relative humidity (RH) with respect to viscosity and phases separations will be determined for particles of different sizes and compositions. Learn more at NSF.gov

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1654149