Education & Professional History
Haverford College, BA; University of California (Berkeley), PhD
Deborah has been at Carleton since 1998, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Riverside. She has enjoyed sabbatical projects at The Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, Fudan University in China, and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, as well as recent work in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
At Carleton since 1998.
Organizations & Scholarly Affiliations
- American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR)
- American Chemical Society (ACS) Membership in Analytical, Environmental and Physical Divisions.
- American Geophysical Union (AGU) Membership in Atmospheric Division.
- American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS)
- Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS)
- Minnesota Mass Spectrometry Group (MinnMass)
- Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
- Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- National Association for Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)
- Society for Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Current Courses
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Fall 2024
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry
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ENTS 289:
Climate Change and Human Health
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Winter 2025
CHEM 330:
Instrumental Chemical Analysis
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2025WI
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry
-
Winter 2025
-
2025SP
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry
My research interests lie in the study of ambient aerosol particles. I am interested in using real-time particle measuring instruments, such as the Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) to learn more about airborne particulates. This instruments makes it possible to measure both the size and composition of ambient aerosol particles in real-time, from polydisperse samples. Now we can learn what the particles outside actually consist of, on an individual basis! Once we have a better understanding of where particles which we are breathing come from, as well as their chemical composition, it will be possible to better understand their effects on the environment and on human health.
Current applications of this work focus on emissions from cooking with biomass fuel, as is done by nearly 3 billion people in the world. The emissions from cooking have significant climate and health impacts, disproportionately affecting women and girls. Through a collaboration with Professor Tsegaye Nega at Carleton College, I have gotten the opportunit to apply aerosol science to development and evaluation of cleaner fan-forced gasifier stoves for use in Ethiopia. Involvement of students in this project, through research and course-based projects including work in Ethiopia, has been a hallmark of the project.
Carleton Students and Translators/Assistants in August, 2018.
My teaching interests lie in the general areas of environmental and analytical chemistry, with forays into Climate Science, Chemical Kinetics, and general chemistry. I am especially committed to working to support all students in their study of STEM disciplines, especially those students who are from groups traditionally under-represented in these fields. To that end, I have developed and run Carleton’s FOCUS program.
Current Courses
-
Fall 2024
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry
-
ENTS 289:
Climate Change and Human Health
-
Winter 2025
CHEM 330:
Instrumental Chemical Analysis
-
2025WI
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry
-
Winter 2025
-
2025SP
CHEM 394:
Directed Research in Chemistry