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A Merck research fellowship supported Lisa
for her summer of 2003 research. Under the supervision of Dr. Sherri Mason,
Lisa used data from SAFARI 2000 (Southern African Fire-Atmosphere Research
Initiative) and an Alaskan field study to profile two very different
forest fires. With such variables as air conditions, temperature, barometric
pressure and concentrations of atmospheric species such as CO, CO2,
NO, NO2, O3, SO2, H2O,
HNO3, CH3COOH, Lisa set up a computer model of the African
Timbavati and the Alaskan Innoko Wildlife Refuge fires. The goal of this
research project is to be able to match simulated species profiles to those
actually measured in the field, thus validating the computer model to predict
atmospheric behavior of fire emissions. Such research projects are interested
in the influence of forest fires on the regional to the global atmosphere.
Both Lisa and Dr. Mason will travel to San Francisco in December to present a
poster on their findings at a special session on forest fires at the American
Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting. While there, they will finally have the
opportunity to meet their collaborators, Dr. Peter Hobbs of the University of
Washington, Dr. Robert Yokelson of the University of Montana, and Drs. Joerg
Trentmann and Tanja Winterrath of the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, Germany.
A May 2004 graduate, Lisa will do her student teaching in chemistry at Jamestown
High School under the supervision of Amy Siderits during the spring semester.
Next fall Lisa plans to go to graduate school at the University of Buffalo for
her certification.
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