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| Vicki H. Grassian |
Vicki H. Grassian, professor
of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
is the recipient of the University’s 2004-05
James Van Allen Natural Sciences Fellowship. The
$15,000 Van Allen Fellowship is a competitive award
designed to encourage and support work in the physical,
natural, and mathematical sciences.
Grassian, who also holds an appointment in the College
of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and
Biochemical Engineering, plans to use the award to
devote a majority of her time designing and implementing
new laboratory experiments to better understand the
link between the chemistry of mineral dust in the
atmosphere and other global processes, including
climate and biogeochemical cycles. Mineral dust is
largely composed of soil particles lifted into the
atmosphere by wind currents. During the last 10 years,
the role of mineral dust in the atmosphere has received
much attention from the scientific community.
Large amounts of mineral dust, arising from dust
storms in desert regions, combined with the long-range
global transport of these particles can influence
air quality, visibility, and terrestrial and ocean
life worldwide. Grassian is particularly interested
in the design and implementation of laboratory experiments
to better understand the relationship between the
chemistry of atmospheric mineral dust and how that
chemistry can change and/or alter the impact that
mineral dust has on climate, biogeochemical cycles,
and health.
Grassian received her doctorate from the University
of California–Berkeley in 1987 and joined the
UI faculty in 1990. Her research program spans several
areas including understanding the role of particulate
matter in the atmosphere and the use of nanoscience
and nanotechnology in solving environmental problems.
In 2003, Grassian received a special two-year creativity
award from the National Science Foundation. The creativity
award, given in recognition of her recent creative
accomplishments, is intended to give scientists the
opportunity to attack adventurous, high-risk problems.
The James Van Allen Natural Sciences Fellowship
is one of two faculty fellowships awarded in alternate
years by the University, the other being the May
Brodbeck Humanities Award.
By Gary Galluzzo
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