The atmospheric sciences naturally include the study of the composition of earth’s atmosphere and the transformation of chemical compounds in the atmosphere. The gaseous, liquid, and solid phases determine the radiative and dynamical properties of the atmosphere and sustain life on this planet. In turn, life influences the chemical composition of the atmosphere in both beneficial and deleterious ways. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are engaged in projects ranging from laboratory and theoretical studies of the composition and chemistry of cloud and aerosol particles to field measurements of trace compounds in the atmosphere using ground-, aircraft-, and satellite-based sensors. Recent research topics include:, natural and anthropogenic causes for variations of ozone in the earth's stratosphere, the influence of volcanoes on atmospheric chemistry and radiative balance, the coupling of stratospheric ozone and dynamics, , remote sensing of clouds, microphysics of polar, midlatitude and tropical clouds, measurements of pollutants in the urban troposphere and assessment of their effects on human health, the response of mesospheric temperatures to changes in carbon dioxide, laboratory studies of uptake and reactivity of trace species on atmospheric aerosol particles, and studies of photo-reactive molecules and their clusters.

Boulder is arguably one of the world's centers in the fields of Atmospheric Chemistry & Air Quality Research, thanks to the high concentration and quality of faculty and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA ESRL). Additional resources in these areas can be found at, nearby Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Denver (DU).

Current Research:

• Aerosol Measurements: Jimenez, Toohey
• Aerosol Modeling Research: Toon
• Field Measurements/Observations: Avallone, Jimenez, Toohey
• Heterogeneous Chemistry: Tolbert
• Spectroscopic Studies of Atmospheric Molecules: Vaida

ATOC Faculty:

• Linnea Avallone, Professor
• Cora Randall, Professor
• Darin Toohey, Professor
• O Brian Toon, Professor

Other Faculty and Researchers:

• Veronica Bierbaum, Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• John W Daily, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Ray R Fall, Fellow and affiliate of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
• John Gille,  Professor Adjoint, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
• Michael Hannigan, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Daven Henze, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• James Hynes, Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Jose-Luis Jimenez, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Jana Milford, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Shelly Miller, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Susan Solomon, Senior Scientist, NOAA/ERL, Chemical Sciences Division
• Margaret Tolbert, Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Veronica Vaida, Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biocehmistry
• Rainer Volkamer, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Other Resourses:

• Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
• Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)