This award of the Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) program funded through the Division of Chemistry and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) supports the research and educational activities of Dr. Marin Robinson of Northern Arizona University. The research involves a pilot program to monitor particulate matter in Flagstaff, AZ to analyze the chemical composition of wood smoke collected during prescribed burns of Flagstaff's Coconino National Forest and to evaluate the need for a permanent sampling station in Flagstaff. Portable saturation samplers will be used to monitor fine and larger particulate matter (PM-2.5/10) at six pre-selected sites in Flagstaff during high and low wood-burning periods as well as during prescribed burns in the national forest. The particulates will be analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
The opportunity afforded through the POWRE program will enhance Dr. Robinson's research potential as well as her ultimate goal of the educational mentoring of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scientists in both classroom and research laboratory. The proposed research program will use students to sample, compile, and analyze the data in class projects. The results of these studies should help determine whether Flagstaff, AZ exceeds National Air Quality Standards for certain air-borne particulates.
