Chemistry professor Lelia Hawkins researches air pollution and how it affects climate change.
Harvey Mudd College
The scale and complexity of global issues such as climate change, pollution and hunger are far too great for any one country to tackle alone. They require partnerships, collaboration and innovation on an international scale to share ideas and work together to benefit the entire planet.
Part of our work as institutions of higher education is to develop students who can effectively engage in this international collaboration. For students pursuing science and engineering, a particularly impactful way to develop the skills needed for global scientific collaboration is to participate in an international research experience.
The benefits of undergraduate research are well known; students who participate in these experiences show gains in critical thinking and analytical skills, and develop a deeper commitment to their field. Study abroad programs can broaden students’ perspectives and increase intercultural competencies particularly crucial for science and engineering students, who will be creating technologies that may impact the entire world.
An international research experience can bring together the benefits of undergraduate research and study abroad, while adding a unique context in which students conduct high quality research alongside international partners and teams on issues at the forefront of science and of great potential impact on society. These kinds of experiences can build the next generation of globally-engaged research leaders.
One such international research experience is led by Harvey Mudd College chemistry professor Lelia Hawkins, who currently has NSF funding to take students to Paris, France over three summers to conduct research at the cloud simulation chamber at University Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC).
Hawkins studies air pollution and how it affects climate change. In her lab at Harvey Mudd, student researchers take ambient measurements of the chemical composition of particles in the air in real time, drawing in air through a sampling inlet. They use mathematical tools to try to determine what sources of pollution contribute not only to high levels of particles that we breathe, but also what sources contribute to the brownest or the darkest particles— brown carbon compounds—that might be absorbing sunlight and causing the planet to warm.
To better understand how these brown carbon particles function in various atmospheric conditions, Hawkins and her students simulate cloudy and foggy weather by adding moisture to air samples in a small cloud chamber in her lab.
And for the past few summers, Hawkins’ students have conducted research at the UPEC’s cloud simulation chamber, one of the largest cloud chambers in the world specifically designed to study cloud chemistry.
I talked with professor Lelia Hawkins and one of her research students, Ellie Smith, a sophomore at Harvey Mudd, about their experiences living, working and doing research in Paris.
Maria Klawe: Lelia, what motivated you to take students to the Paris cloud chamber?
Lelia Hawkins: Imagine a huge chamber with a lot of chemistry happening, and researchers manipulating conditions—turning lights on or off, making a cloud or not, adding different reagents. Researchers are using at least 25 different pieces of equipment to characterize, for example, the gas phase chemistry, or humidity, or the particle chemistry or absorption, or the viscosity. It’s exciting for my students to see this lab that has capabilities beyond whatever we could imagine being able to do in my lab.
Our focus is to use the cloud chamber to help answer the question of how clouds or cloud water affect the chemical composition and color of certain air pollution particles. Each student has a specific research project related to an aspect of the puzzle. They also each have a French mentor from the chamber’s staff scientists.
It’s a unique opportunity for my students to see how scientists work together, all of us, even at the PI level. We all get along and are helpful with one another’s projects. If someone is having trouble with an instrument, everyone will go and figure out what’s wrong with it and try to help fix it. And if someone can’t analyze their data because they don’t know a certain programming language, then others will share their code. It’s a very collaborative community, and it must be to be successful. You can’t just measure one thing and learn anything about the atmosphere; you have to measure a multitude of factors. I like taking students to an environment where they get to see what collaborative science looks like. I think that’s most important piece of this program.
Klawe: Ellie, you conducted research this past summer at the chamber. What were you working on?
Ellie Smith: My research was focused on measuring the absorptivity of brown carbon species in an atmospheric simulation chamber. We used chemical instrumentation to determine if the pollution turned brown, under what conditions it changed, and how brown it became. When we performed experiments in the cloud chamber as a team, I was responsible for making sure our instruments were working and taking a continuous aerosol sample from the chamber that more chemical instrumentation would then analyze.
Once we had data, I used an R script that I wrote after studying an older version (we had a script from a previous year, but I changed a lot of it to make it work with our data) to analyze the data by applying the proper corrections and creating readable tables and graphs. In the end, I had plots and tables showing which days and which experiments yielded brown carbon as the experiment progressed!
Klawe: How do you think the international context added to your overall research experience?
Smith: Working with the lab in Paris was a really great experience. Not only were we working alongside French scientists, but also we had a team from the University of Helsinki. Having that many collaborators, both international and intercollegiate, meant that we had a lot more instruments hooked up to the chamber, so we had a lot more data for each experiment. It was really cool to see how our data came together as a team. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly.
Not only did I get to work in Paris for a month, but I also got to live in Paris for a month. I got to experience another culture and see another country with such a rich history. I was able to immerse myself in a world that was completely different than mine, and experience lots of new things. Furthermore, it heartens me to know that there are people all around the world who care deeply about our atmosphere.
Klawe: Lelia, in what ways have you seen your students grow over the time they are there?
Hawkins: There’s a level of independence and maturity that is required for the students to be successful. Most students have some of that already, but I think being so far from home, being in a new city, navigating a new grocery store, how to use the metro, how to problem solve both inside and outside the lab—doing all this at a time in their life when they’re developing their identity and who they are going to be in life, and being successful at it—all this makes them come back with a sense that they can really do things in the world.
Klawe: This type of research has the potential to really benefit society. How do you think that impacts your and your students’ experiences?
Hawkins: For me, working on a question that has such an obvious and clear connection to peoples’ health, lives and livelihood makes it easier to continue when it gets hard. I mean even if it’s something that you love—and I do love being in my lab and doing research—every day doesn’t lead to results. So, there’s that delayed gratification, and it’s good to remember that you’re working towards something that eventually will help people, or will, at the very least, help more students understand the ways in which we impact our environment. They will have that awareness when they’re in a position of power at some time in the future.
It’s also meaningful for me because we need all hands on deck at this point. We need students to work on public engagement. We need students to work on CO2 sequestration and removal. We’ve got to get it out of the air. We need to continue to work on alternative energy. We need students to work on batteries and material science. Every aspect that we are prepared to train students in is going to be necessary for this. So, being able to show students what it means to do research in this area and to have a little influence is really special to me.
Klawe: Ellie, what do you think you gained from the overall experience?
Smith: I definitely have a better understanding of how the scientific community interacts with one another. Being able to see my professor interact and collaborate with other scientists was extremely valuable. I also have a broader view on how international collaboration should be handled. As scientists, our job is to improve our understanding of the world we live in, and to make a positive impact on society, and consolidating our knowledge to find the best possible solution is the best way to do that!
