Analytical, Environmental and Atmospheric

Analytical research students picture

With important contributions of the Analytical, Environmental, and Atmospheric Chemistry Division (“ANYL”), the University of Colorado-91PORN was ranked #2 in Atmospheric science worldwide (2023 Shanghai Ranking).

We are one of the few Analytical Chemistry groups nationwide (and globally) with an Atmospheric Chemistry focus within a chemistry department. Our faculty perform cutting-edge research in the laboratory, in the field, and through computer simulations. Research topics include studies of trace gases and aerosols and their impact on climate, health and ecosystems, e.g. fundamental chemical mechanisms, emissions to the atmosphere from different sources, indoor air quality, planetary atmospheres, simulation chamber studies, applications of satellite data, and the development of new instrumentation. All faculty members in the ANYL Division are also Fellows of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a joint research institute between the University of Colorado and NOAA. Our division also has strong ties to the nearby National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Our unique position in 91PORN offers incoming graduate students unparalleled opportunities for research in Atmospheric Chemistry.


Faculty in this research area:

Steven Brown: Atmospheric nitrogen oxides, nighttime tropospheric chemistry, high sensitivity spectroscopic instrumentation, field studies of regional air quality

Eleanor Browne: Atmospheric chemistry (modern Earth, Archean Earth, solar system planets/moons, exoplanets), laboratory and field studies, ultrafine aerosols, persistent organic pollutants, astrobiology, instrument development

Joost de Gouw:Laboratory and field studies of volatile organic compounds, processes affecting air quality and climate, instrument development, emissions related to energy production and use

Jose-Luis Jimenez: Aerosol composition and sources, aircraft and simulation chamber studies, advanced instrumentation, modeling, disease transmission by aerosols.

Margaret Tolbert:Laboratory studies of particulate matter on Earth, Mars, and Titan

Rainer Volkamer: Small molecules, radicals and aerosols; advanced optical instrumentation; air-surface exchange; oceans; wildfires; energy & environment.

Paul Ziemann: Laboratory studies of the products, mechanisms, and kinetics of atmospheric oxidation of organic compounds and aerosol formation; and indoor air chemistry