"I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it"
-Vincent Van Gogh

MS student Alyssa Zimmerman

My current research is designed to investigate the relative contribution of ground level and residual-layer new particle formation (NPF) events to ultrafine particle number in Raleigh, NC. The measurement are taken at the Lake Wheeler Road Field site owned by NC State University. I use Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (HTDMA) techniques for size-selected and hygroscopicity-resolved particle number concentration measurements. SODAR provides data on vertical wind profiles, boundary layer height, and turbulence. Portable Optical Particle Counter (POPS) measures particle number concentration. Hourly data for trace gases, BC, PM2.5, and PM10 are taken from the US EPA ground monitoring stations. I use the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model 4 (HYSPLIT_4) for calculating the air mass back trajectories.