Office of Biological and Environmental Research Weekly Report

October 2, 2006

BER Principal Investigator Wins Fuchs Award. Professor Peter McMurry, University of Minnesota, a long time investigator in the Biological and Environmental Research Atmospheric Science Program, received the Fuchs Award at the 7th International Aerosol Conference this month in St. Paul, Minnesota. Presented every four years jointly by the Gesellschaft für Aerosolforschung, the Japan Association of Aerosol Science and Technology, and the American Association for Aerosol Research, the Fuchs Award is considered the highest honor for researchers in the field of aerosol science and technology. The award memorializes late Professor Nikolai Albertovich Fuchs, the great Russian scientist who is regarded by many as the "father of aerosol science." McMurry shared the award with Prof. Richard Flagan of Caltech.

Dr. McMurry’s research interests include theoretical and experimental studies of aerosol systems and aerosol instrumentation. His current work focuses on atmospheric aerosols and synthesis of novel materials formed from deposited nanoparticles produced in thermal plasma reactors. His recent DOE- funded work has included extending the range of measurement of particle concentrations to increasingly low particle sizes, now 3 nm for neutral particles and 0.5 nm for charged particles; quantification of the rate of new particle formation; and determination of the growth rate of particles as related to concentrations of precursor gases.

Media interest: No

Contact: Ashley Williamson, SC-23.3, (301) 903-3120