Fog Chemistry and Air Pollution
Date: Wed. Oct. 24, 2007
Time: 3:30 pm
Place: McMillian Auditorium, Ross Hall 202
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Kalliat T. Valsaraj |
Kalliat T. Valsaraj
Roddey Distinguished Professor, Chair
Department of Chemical Engineering
Louisiana State University
Biography
Valsaraj received his master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and his doctorate from Vanderbilt University. He has been on the faculty of chemical engineering at Louisiana State University since 1986. His research is in environmental chemical engineering and has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and various private industries.
Abstract
Fog Chemistry and Air Pollution
Aerosols in the atmosphere play a critical role in determining the fate of atmospheric pollutants and also influence global climate change. Fog is a lower atmospheric, near-surface cloud and plays a role in determining local weather patterns. In this respect fog-processing of organic chemicals is important to understand. Relatively little is known about the organic composition of fog in many parts of the world and approximately 50 percent of material in fog has not been characterized. Atmospheric transformations in a foggy environment are driven by heterogeneous reactions in thin water films, which have been largely unexplored. Valsaraj's laboratory has been engaged in a six-year project focusing on understanding the chemistry of fog in the Gulf Coast region between Houston and Baton Rouge.
