Veronica Vaida

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado ~Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Fellow, The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). Teaching and research program follows an interdisciplinary path using chemical physics to understand the reactivity of planetary atmospheres, including those of contemporary and ancient Earth. Experimental spectra have provided insight into large-scale atmospheric phenomena. For example, spectroscopy uncovered sunlight-driven reactions for chlorine dioxide, with implications for polar ozone loss. Her lab has shown that red light-initiated reactions not previously expected to contribute to atmospheric chemistry can significantly change the paradigm in the field. Studies of light-initiated sulfuric acid reactions are solving long-standing mysteries of measured stratospheric aerosol concentrations and sulfur dioxide vertical profiles on Earth and, more recently, on Venus. Her lab's studies of the effect of water on chemical reactivity show that molecular complexes involving water provide an important reaction environment with consequences for atmospheric chemistry and climate. Involved in developing a conceptual model for aerosols with ongoing experiments on organic films at the water-air interface. Work reveals that new chemistry occurs on water surfaces, affecting aerosol properties in contemporary and ancient Earth. Her lab's studies of mechanisms of reactions involving water and sunlight are relevant to a central problem: supplying energy to a large population while maintaining a viable gaseous envelope-the atmosphere.~