Raymond J. Leibensperger III, 4th Year PhD Candidate, Seeking National Lab Postdoctoral Position

RAYMOND LEIBENSPERGER III, University of California, San Diego

     Abstract Number: 537
     Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers

Abstract
Growing up in Colorado, I was fascinated by the atmospheric phenomena around me and inspired by field trips to the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The fascination with the earth system developed into a love of the ocean, despite being in a land-locked state. This passion took me to the University of Miami where I double majored in marine science and applied physics and worked in Dr. Cassandra Gaston’s atmospheric chemistry lab studying the emission of toxins in lake spray aerosols. It was here I discovered naturally produced aerosols and fell in love with what I currently study—sea spray aerosols (SSA). I am currently an experimentalist working on bringing the ocean into the laboratory to investigate factors driving sea spray aerosolization in controlled studies. I use the new Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator which offers unparalleled environmental controls. I am currently in the process of relating laboratory measurements of SSA flux to emission schemes used in classic global climate models. Although I presently work as an experimentalist, next I hope to transition into the modeling sphere. One of the biggest gaps in our current approach to aerosol science that I see is a lack of intentional communication between the modeling and observational communities. We need more teamwork on the front end to augment what the other discipline cannot measure, to better inform observations and models. For my next career stage, I hope to transition to modeling, either focused on SSA or other natural aerosols, to begin understanding how models utilize the measurements that I’ve spent my PhD taking. I am anticipating a defense in the summer of 2025 and hopefully a postdoc position in late summer to early fall 2025. Long-term, I hope to return to CO, but I am keeping geographic options open for this next stage.