I am a trace gas biogeochemist who tracks environmentally important chemicals: their mechanisms of production and consumption, their rates of exchange between land and atmosphere, and their impacts on atmospheric composition. Most of these gases are known as Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs), owing to their biological origin. BVOCs have a complex mosaic of sources that are important to understand because these gases are relevant for climate regulation, aerosol formation, stratospheric ozone depletion, regional air quality, and plant and microbial biochemistry. Moreover, the emissions and uptake of these compounds are affected by our changing environment, including land use, climate change, sea level rise, spread of invasive species, and direct emissions by human activity. Our research group makes precise measurements and interprets those data to make sense our natural world. Our laboratory combines field sampling and laboratory experiments, and we utilize micrometeorology and analytical chemistry tools to conduct our measurements.

As of 2017, I serve as the Interim Faculty Director for the Sagehen Creek Field Research station at Truckee, CA (one of the UC Natural Reserves managed by UC Berkeley). I am also a Resident Faculty member for Units 1 and 4.

My primary appointment is in the Department of Geography. Since 2012, I have had a joint appointment in ESPM (Ecosystem Sciences). This means that I can accept graduate students through either Geography or ESPM as the primary advisor, and I can also serve on ESPM graduate student committees as either an internal or external member. Please contact me if you are interested in working with me and need advice on how to apply to graduate school.