In late February 2020, I had the pleasure of visiting the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder, Colorado. The purpose of this five-day trip was the introduction of a new nitrous acid (HONO) source, that I had developed during my undergraduate honours thesis project, to be used in ongoing wildfire plume-related studies at NOAA. The trip to Boulder was exciting as I had just started my graduate studies as a masters student a month prior. Never would I have thought that I would be able to collaborate and introduce this analytical tool to a network of some of the world’s leading atmospheric chemists and researchers. I was able to perform multiple experiments with my HONO source alongside top-of-the-line atmospheric analytical instruments at the NOAA Chemical Science Laboratory (CSL). My collaborators at the CSL and I were able to produce a paper (currently under peer review*), which was a thoroughly enjoyable experience as each of my coauthors were extremely intelligent, friendly, and enthusiastic about this topic. They also shared with me so many of the neat tips and tricks that they use to improve functionality and overall design when building analytical instruments. Plus, I got to play around with a variety of cool gadgets as each of my collaborator’s labs were unique to their research and respective teams.
Figures (a) is the HONO source I built for NOAA CSL, (b) and (c) are NOAA instruments that were calibrated by the HONO source, (d) is the entrance to NOAA in the morning, (e) is a picture of myself in Chautauqua Park, and (f) is a banner representing stout week at a local brewery.
Outside of the lab, I got to experience the beauty of Boulder. Every morning I was greeted by the Flatirons (see photos below) as I walked to NOAA. The wintertime weather in Boulder is beautiful as it is not too cold, even on snowy days. However, when it did snow, Boulder snowfalls were heavy but dry as the snow quickly evaporated once it hit the ground. I was also able to visit downtown Boulder (Pearl Street Mall) and hike along trails in Chautauqua Park. All of this was in addition to grabbing a few pints of stouts with scientists as Boulder is known for their craft beer and lucky me, it was stout week at many of the breweries I visited! Overall, I am so grateful for this experience as it allowed me to explore a beautiful city as well as network and learn from remarkable scientists. This trip ultimately reaffirmed just how passionate I am about my research and the scientific community that I am a part of.
A picture of the Boulder’s beautiful landscape featuring the Flatirons. This picture was taken on Chautauqua Park at dusk.
P.S. Always stay hydrated - adjusting to the higher altitude in Colorado can be tough!
*Please check out my paper! - https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-209