This award supports Dr. E. James Davis, and a postdoc from the University of Washington in a collaboration with Gustav Schweiger and his group at the Department of Laser Applications Engineering and Measurement Systems at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. Both groups are working on chemical reactions in aerosols which are associated with atmospheric pollution and ozone depletion. Professor Davis has unique facilities for aerosol studies featuring the coupling of electrodynamic balances with Raman spectroscopy. Capabilities already include the ability to trap particles over a very wide size range (500-m down to atomic dimensions), which includes respirable molecules. Dr. Schweiger's laboratory is well positioned to improve the Raman measurements using laser diodes and state-of-the-art detectors. Joining the complementary facilities and expertise of the two groups will benefit both sides of the collaboration and could lead to new, compact instruments for chemical analysis of aerosol particles in the workplace, in the atmosphere, and in the laboratory.
