{"id":2673,"date":"2019-05-21T11:18:38","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T11:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/making-a-difference-why-i-decided-to-do-atmospheric-chemistry\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T06:14:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T06:14:30","slug":"making-a-difference-why-i-decided-to-do-atmospheric-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/making-a-difference-why-i-decided-to-do-atmospheric-chemistry","title":{"rendered":"Making a difference: Why I decided to do atmospheric chemistry"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, I had an entirely different plan for a blog post this week. But, after everything that has happened with the US elections, I really can\u2019t offer much useful advice right now on stuff related to academia. So, sorry for that. I feel bad, especially after missing last week\u2026 If it\u2019s any consolation, I will say that I have quite a few drafts right now on topics ranging from burn-out to lit reviews to how to take tests. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, one of the many things that this election means is the possibility of cuts on science funding\u2014especially to the important agencies that support, fund, and research topics in climate science. If you\u2019ve happened to venture onto\u00a0my research tab<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0professional website<\/a>, you\u2019d find that my graduate research is in the field of atmospheric chemistry, which happens to indirectly deal with the current and future effects of climate change. So, among all the other ways that this election has\/will affect me (as a minority woman born in a family of immigrants), it\u2019s just the cherry on top to find out that our president-to-be is already working on \u201crestructuring\u201d climate policies (read:\u00a0getting rid of them completely<\/a>\u2026 *sigh* Can we\u2026 just have a moment of silence\u2026).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But, this post is not about the election, because honestly, there are enough blogs talking about this. I\u2019m election-ed out, honestly. Rather, this post is going to talk about how I stumbled into the field of atmospheric chemistry, why I decided to endure the fun that is grad school, and why I am going to continue working in this field despite the glum outlook of the funding situation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why am I doing this? Because, honestly, I need a little motivation right now\u2014a nice reminder of why I want to be a scientist and why I get up every morning to go to work, even on the most\u00a0unglamorous scientific days<\/a>. But it\u2019s not only that. I also want to let everyone reading this know just how much I care about my research, care about the state of the world, and care about the potential my science has in helping solve a too real, world-wide problem.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to start off this little narrative by first saying that being a chemist\u2014especially an atmospheric chemist\u2014was never a part of my \u201cgrand plan\u201d or whatever they force stressed-out high schoolers to come up with prior to application deadlines. In fact, I didn\u2019t even know what a chemist was prior to entering college. To me, it was just an abstract word\u2013a title that only got a brief mention on TV shows. The sheer fact I ended up majoring in chemistry in the first place was the work of a series of happy happenstances and one enthusiastic professor. However, even when I decided to change my major to chemistry (I was originally pre-med), I still had no idea what to\u00a0do<\/i>\u00a0with that degree. Chemistry is a\u00a0surprisingly broad field<\/a> and I apparently have commitment issues when it comes to choosing my future. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, I dabbled. I dabbled in many things. I did a short stint in a research lab as a synthetic organic chemist and I paid obnoxiously close attention in my chemistry classes in hopes that I would suddenly have an \u201cAh-ha!\u201d moment and instantly know what I want to do in life.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t, by the\u00a0way. That\u2019s\u00a0apparently not how this works.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, one day, I decided to take some summer courses to get a few major requirements out of the way. But, I apparently needed one more class to qualify for financial aid. So, as I was scrolling through the UCR catalog for courses that weren\u2019t too time consuming and fit my schedule, I stumbled upon an introductory environmental science course and signed up on a whim.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Holy crap! Best decision ever.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019ve always been one of those \u201csave the planet\u201d kind of girls. I like to blame it on all the science museums my mom took me to as a kid since they all have that underlying \u201cbe sustainable\u201d tone to them. But, this course introduced me to a whole other side of being environmentally friendly. It was more than just recycling, driving less, and saving the whales. There were scientists from a wide range of fields that dealt with issues such as waste management, soil science, water pollution, air pollution, toxicology, clean energy, solar cells\u2026 what?! Why did no one tell me this existed?! Even better, chemistry seemed to play a\u00a0huge<\/i>\u00a0role in this field. After all, when it comes down to it, everything\u2019s a chemical reaction.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Because I was so enamored with this field, I decided to tack on an environmental science minor once classes started back up the following fall. Also, because I apparently couldn\u2019t hide my enthusiasm for this newly found field, I happened to do well enough in the class that the professor took notice and offered me a research gig in his lab, which I took and I began doing some awesome work in fields like hydrology and soil science. And slowly, but surely I decided:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is it! I\u2019m going to be an environmental chemist!\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, environmental chemistry covers way too many topics for that to be the end of the story. But I didn\u2019t really care anymore, because I figured I\u2019d be happy in whatever environmental lab or consulting firm I ended up in. Which, at the time, was probably true. However, it was sometime into my third year that I had to take an atmospheric chemistry course, which happened to be a shared requirement between my major and minor (because could life be any more perfect?).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNope. I take everything back.\u00a0This<\/i>\u00a0is what I want to do!\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Atmospheric chemistry was everything I loved and more. I got to use a mixture of different chemistry subfields (physical, analytical, organic) to solve relevant problems\u2013problems that I could physically see (and breathe, e.g. LA smog) or that were hot topics in the news and had big implications in the world as we know it (e.g. climate change). It just baffled my mind that our whole climate system is affected by the concentration of tiny molecules that make up our greenhouse gases. I was intrigued at the fact that the haze I was so used to seeing was formed by simply emitting some car exhaust, baking it in the sunlight, and reacting it with other molecules already in the air. And I was amazed at just how global of a problem this was because, as it turns out, our pollution doesn\u2019t care about state or country lines. And, even better, I was ecstatic that I could be amongst those who researched these topics\/issues \u2013 someone who could make an actual difference in the world all while doing what I loved (science) in order to work towards making the planet a healthier and more sustainable place for my children and their children, etc.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Because this topic was just so cool, I decided to apply for a bunch of internships to double-check that\u00a0this<\/i>\u00a0was actually what I wanted to do, and get some actual research experience in the field (which I advise all students to do). And, because I\u2019m incapable of being subtle, my professor at the time noticed my interest and referred me to this\u00a0very cool NASA internship<\/a>\u00a0that I managed to get accepted to. This led me to spending a whole summer amongst other atmospheric chemists and learning more about the different questions that atmospheric chemistry can answer. And it was tough; I had to learn a new field on the fly and also have the bonus stress of coming up with a research project in 8 weeks. But, the fact that I stuck through it and somehow got even more excited as I kept learning new things eventually made me realize that this was what I was passionate about and this is what I wanted to do.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot with a bang, but with a whimper,\u201d as they say (let\u2019s just ignore the rest of the poem in this case, though).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So now, I\u2019m at Caltech, doing research in atmospheric chemistry. My research focuses on a very specific molecule in the air:\u00a0isoprene<\/a>, a very reactive compound emitted by trees. Depending on if it reacts with NOx (a group of chemicals typically emitted from cars and factories) or other compounds found in \u201ccleaner\u201d environments like a tropical forest, it can affect the production of aerosols (which can affect climate) and tropospheric ozone (or \u201cbad\u201d ozone, which is bad to breathe and can also double as a greenhouse gas). In a bigger picture, knowing how this single molecule alone reacts in the air can fill a lot of knowledge gaps, better convey how important forests are to our planet, and improve models that can predict how our air quality and climate will change in the future. These are the same models, mind you, that policy makers can use to create new (and informed!) regulations to clean up our air and protect our environment. And that\u2019s just one molecule! Imagine how much awesome science is being created by all the other atmospheric scientists out there studying a multitude of compounds! (Like, let\u2019s say,\u00a0ammonia<\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But now, there\u2019s a threat of a major defunding of science\u2013especially that which relates to the \u201choax\u201d that is climate change. Just think of all the valuable information that could be lost when the 45th president and his Republican-majority House and Senate officially gain power. And yes, America isn\u2019t the only country with atmospheric scientists. And no, the world doesn\u2019t just revolve around what happens in the US (even though we might like to think that). But, when you consider that the United States is one of the top emitters of greenhouse gases and other kinds of air pollution\u2026well, let\u2019s just say it\u2019s a big deal\u00a0to the world<\/i>\u00a0if our climate policy suddenly vanishes and a bunch of atmospheric and climate scientists are too busy scrambling for funding to do any actual science.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As I said before, I\u2019m a little unmotivated and very scared of what\u2019s to come in 2017. Even worse, I have absolutely no idea how to help stop all this from happening. It seems like an uphill battle and it\u2019s hard not to feel small and helpless when so many bad things seem to keep happening in the world. But, what I do know is that I love my field. I\u2019ve grown so much from just\u00a0one year of research adventures<\/a>. And even in the toughest of times\u2013when I\u2019m up to my neck in deadlines and\u00a0feeling like a complete imposter<\/a>\u2013I love how, at the end of the day, I am ultimately helping solve one of the most important problems in the world, whether the government likes it or not.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And that, my friends, is why I am still getting out of bed each morning. That is why I\u2019m an atmospheric chemist.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Krystal Vasquez (<\/i>@caffeinatedkrys)\u00a0<\/b><\/i><\/a> is a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Technology in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. This story was published on November 13, 2016, on Krystal\u2019s blog, <\/i>Caffeinated Confidence<\/i><\/a> (available <\/i>here<\/i><\/a>), and has been republished here with her permission. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, I had an entirely different plan for a blog post this week. But, after everything that has happened with the US elections, I really can\u2019t offer much useful advice right now on stuff related to academia. So, sorry for that. 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