Prof. Jesse Kroll

Kroll's research involves the experimental study of the properties and chemical transformations of organic species in the Earth’s atmosphere. Atmospheric organics play several roles of central importance to environmental science: they affect air quality by forming secondary pollutants such as ozone; they make up a large fraction of particulate matter, with serious implications for human health and climate; and they exchange with other domains in the environment (oceans, soils, etc.), influencing biogeochemical cycles and the distribution of pollutants. A detailed understanding of these effects requires an improved characterization of the sources and evolution of atmospheric organics. Towards this end, our research group is involved in two general (and closely related) areas of research:

(1) The development of new analytical tools for the measurement and characterization of organics in both the gas and condensed phases; and
(2) The use of these tools in the laboratory and the field, in order to better constrain the amount, nature, and chemical evolution of atmospheric organics.