AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Matthew Brege, PhD Candidate, Postdoc and Faculty, United States
MATTHEW BREGE, Michigan Technological University
Abstract Number: 568 Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers
Abstract I am a Chemistry PhD candidate at Michigan Tech expecting to graduate in December 2019. Trained as an analytical chemist, I have studied the detailed molecular composition of organic aerosol using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. I have experience with computer software tools for assigning molecular formulas to ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry data and I am proficient in script writing for the analysis of large data sets using R. I also have proposal writing experience and was awarded a NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship.
I have studied biomass combustion influenced fog and organic aerosol to understand aqueous phase transformations of the complex mixtures. We determined the trends between different samples influenced by fresh emissions, aerosol liquid water, and fog formation. We observed an increased level of oxidation and chemical functionalization, as well as a carbon backbone degradation, with aqueous phase processing. Currently, I am studying biomass burning tar balls using multiple different mass spectrometry ionization methods to obtain the most comprehensive detailed molecular characterization possible. This work has revealed a continuum of carbonaceous species, which are comprehensive in the observed ranges of oxidation and hydrogen saturation. The observed species span nearly the entire theoretical space of possible molecular formulas for the molecular weight ranges analyzed.
In addition to research, I have been a teaching assistant for both lower and higher division Chemistry laboratory courses, including instrumental analysis, quantitative analysis and general chemistry I & II. I am interested in postdoc positions as well as faculty positions, in the United States, as well as other areas of North America and Europe.