Our lab is leading the initiative to develop the first atmospheric chamber database in the United States called ICARUS. This is an NSF-funded collaborative effort between UC Davis and several other institutions (Caltech, NCAR, Carnegie Mellon, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Georgia Tech, University of Colorado, University of Texas).

High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)

Oxidation also occurs rapidly during the process of combustion or thermal degradation in the presence of air.  The burning of biomass (wood, leaves, etc.) is an increasingly common process in the indoor and outdoor atmosphere, and can generate aerosols that are detrimental to human health. Similarly, the smoldering combustion of cigarettes or thermal degradation of glycerol/polyethylene glycol from e-cigarettes may produce aerosols and gases that have adverse health effects.

We use a custom-built chemical ionization mass spectrometer with triple-quadrupole mass analyzer that is modeled after the CIMS developed by the Wennberg group at Caltech.