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Veronica VAIDA
Office Phone: 303 492 8605
E-mail: Veronica.Vaida@colorado.edu
FAX: 303 492 5894
Lab: Ekeley M2B50
Lab Phone: 303 492 1422
Group Website: http://www.colorado.edu/chem/vaidalab/index.htm
CIRES Fellows Website: http://cires.colorado.edu/people/vaida/
Ph.D.: Yale University, 1977
American Physical Society (APS) Fellow since 2004
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow since 2004
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow 2004-2005
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard Fellow 2004-2005
Erskine Fellowship, University of Canterbury, New Zealand 1994
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar 1984
A. P. Sloan Fellowship 1980
Xerox Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University 1977-1979
Professor Vaida’s research interests are at the interface of physical chemistry and atmospheric science. In the Earth’s atmosphere, rapid oxidation of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions produces oxidized organic (acids, alcohols) and inorganic compounds.These hydrophilic molecules hydrogen bond readily to water forming complexes (hydrates) and aggregates, which are key ingredients in aerosol formation and subsequent cloud nucleation. Aerosols are ubiquitous in the atmosphere where they strongly influence climate by scattering and absorbing solar and thermal radiation. Professor Vaida’s experimental program investigates the spectroscopy and photoreaction dynamics of atmospheric molecules, their complexes and films at the water-air interface. Of interest is the environmental impact of sunlight-initiated chemistry. Sunlight initiated reactions of water complexes, aerosols and at the water-air interface are used to illustrate the fundamental chemistry driving the reactivity of the atmosphere and determining the temperature of the planet. Under study are light initiated chemical reactions relevant in the atmosphere of both the contemporary and prebiotic Earth. A new direction of this research is the application of photochemistry to synthesize high-energy compounds from readily available atmospheric targets.
Selected Publications
“The influence of organic films at the air-aqueous boundary on atmospheric processes” D. J. Donaldson, V. Vaida Chem. Rev. 106 (4): 1445-1461 (2006)
“Sunlight initiated atmospheric photochemical reactions” V. Vaida Int. J.Photoenergy 7, 61-70 (2005)
“Oxidation of organic films relevant to atmospheric aerosols” T.L. Eliason, J.B. Gilman and V. Vaida Atmos. Environ 38(9) 1367-1378 (2004)
“Photolysis of sulfuric acid vapor by visible solar radiation” V. Vaida, D. J. Donaldson, H. G. Kjaergaard, P. E. Hintze Science 299, 1566-1568 (2003)
“Hydrated complexes: relevance to atmospheric chemistry and climate” V. Vaida, H. G. Kjaergaard, and K. J. Feierabend Int. Reviews in Physical Chemistry 22, 203-219 (2003)
“ Atmospheric photochemistry via vibrational overtone absorption” D. J. Donaldson, A. F. Tuck and V. Vaida Chem. Rev. 103, 4717-4729, (2003)
“The atmospheric absorption of near infrared and visible solar radiation by the hydrogen bonded water dimer ” V. Vaida, A.F. Tuck, L.M. Goss, J.S. Daniel, and H. Kjaergaard Q. J. Roy. Met. Soc. 127, 1627-1643 (2001)
“Physicochemical Properties of Hydrated Complexes in the Earth’s Atmosphere” V. Vaida and J. E. Headrick J. Phys. Chem. 104, 5401-5412 (2000)
“Atmospheric aerosols as prebiotic chemical reactors” C. M. Dobson, G. B. Ellison, A. F. Tuck and V. Vaida PNAS 97, 11864-11868 (2000)
“ Atmospheric Processing of Organic Aerosols” G.B. Ellison, A.F. Tuck and V. Vaida J. Geophys. Res. 104, 11,633-11,641 (1999)
"The Photoreactivity of Chlorine Dioxide," V. Vaida and J. D. Simon, Science, 268, 1443-1448 (1995).
"Photoisomerisation of OClO: a Polar Ozone Depletion Mechanism?" V. Vaida, S. Solomon, E. C. Richard, E. Ruhl and A. Jefferson, Nature, 342, 405-408 (1989).
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