John Mak
Stony Brook University, NY·Earth & Environmental Science
Outside California, the New York City region has the highest ozone pollution in the United States, affecting more than 20 million people. Ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (tiny airborne particles) are not emitted directly.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Chemistry
- Topics
air quality
ozone
particulate matter
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Measure the specific volatile organic compounds over greater New York, including those from volatile chemical products, using instruments aboard the NSF C-130 aircraft.
- Track how secondary organic aerosol forms and changes, and measure oxidant levels and nighttime chemistry, in summer air over the city and coast.
- Combine aircraft vertical profiles with regional chemical models and compare them with winter WINTER campaign data to explain ozone formation in a coastal megacity.
More about the research
They form in the air when gases from forests, the ocean and human activity react in sunlight. Knowing which sources and reactions matter most is key to better air-quality forecasts and pollution control.
Why it matters
Ozone and particle pollution harm the health of millions of people in the New York City region. Better knowledge of which emissions and reactions produce these pollutants could improve air-quality forecasts and help regulators and communities target the sources that matter most.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kerri Pratt
University of Michigan, MI·Chemistry
Measure bromine- and chlorine-containing gases, aerosols and cloud residual particles above and downwind of Arctic sea-ice leads, stretches of open water within ice cover, using the Wyoming King Air and Purdue ALAR research aircraft.
Jesse Kroll
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA·Chemistry
Measure how ozone, formaldehyde and secondary organic aerosol form, and in what amounts, when isoprene, monoterpenes and aromatics are oxidized in chambers across the full range of atmospheric organic peroxy radical (RO2) conditions.
Rachel O'Brien
University of Michigan, MI·Earth & Environmental Science·Early-career
Measure how fast quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), common disinfectants, break down when exposed to OH radicals or ozone in airborne particles and indoor surface films.
The school
Stony Brook University: 32 labs on PI Pages, $319M a year on research, 289 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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