ASRC Spotlight

Christopher Lawrence

Expected PhD completion date: May 2024
Advised by Dr. Sara Lance

Research focus: The complicated and understudied role clouds play in the chemical composition in the atmosphere. In particular, the chemical transformations of organic carbon and nitrogen within cloud droplets, and the growing role that wildfires in the Western United States and Canada are having on the organic carbon and nitrogen budgets in New York.

Dissertation title: To be determined

What influenced you to study atmospheric sciences? Climate change has always been a significant concern. Even as a kid, I was interested in becoming a scientist to help find solutions to the environmental problems contributing to climate change. When I entered high school, I became interested in chemistry and physics and was eager to apply what I learned in environmental science framework. Once I learned about the field of atmospheric sciences (and more specifically atmospheric chemistry), I knew this would be a great career path.

What do you hope to accomplish in terms of research goals? My major goal in the research is to gain better insight on the highly uncertain role the aqueous chemistry in cloud droplets in air quality, ecosystem health, and climate change, particularly under significant changes in atmospheric composition due to the Clean Air Act Amendments in the 1990s and increasing importance of wildfire events in North America.

What is your most recent achievement/award? I was recently awarded the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) fellowship. This fellowship will continue to fund my graduate student work for the next 3 years. Read an abstract of the proposal.

Who do you aspire to be in the ATM scientific community? I’m hoping to become a highly interdisciplinary scientist to allow myself to work on a diverse range of topics and help solve highly complex environmental problems.

What inspiring message would you share with young aspiring female scientists who are just starting (think K-12) their academic career in the sciences? Don’t be afraid to try things, even if you make mistakes. Often, you learn more about the world from things that don’t work than from things that do. Work with all kinds of people, especially people outside your discipline. It’s impossible to know everything, so bringing different types of expertise can lead to better and more impactful science.

ASRC In The News

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  Everette Joseph named American Meteorological Society Fellow

  ASRC research professor and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) director Everette Joseph was named fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The AMS fellowship is a distinction recognizing scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.
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  UAlbany Research Team Studies Cloud-Aerosol Interactions on Whiteface Mountain

  From a young age, Christopher Lawrence was concerned about climate change and its impacts on our planet. He also has a passion for chemistry and physics. He now gets to focus on both from 5,000 feet above sea level in the heart of the Adirondacks. Lawrence is one of the student leaders on the cloud water chemistry research team at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) Whiteface Mountain Field Station. The team is headed by Sara Lance, a research associate at ASRC.
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  UAlbany Renewables Researcher Creates Interactive Map for Solar Panel Deployment Across the U.S.

  Atmospheric scientist Richard Perez has long believed that solar energy will play a critical role in helping the United States achieve its ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A paper, co-authored by Perez, a senior research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, offers a detailed analysis of where (and how much) solar PV needs to be applied to firmly meet at least 50 percent of the energy demands for every state.
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  UAlbany Atmospheric Scientists Lead DOE Project to Enhance Offshore Wind Research Buoys

  As the US aims to meet 100 percent renewable energy goals by 2050, there’s a massive, underutilized energy source that can help it get there – offshore wind. A new collaborative project led by researchers at UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center could soon offer a new approach to tap into this vast amount of renewable energy.
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  UAlbany Announced as Partner on $208 Million NOAA Severe Weather Research Institute

  The University at Albany has been selected to partner on a NOAA Severe Weather Research Institute that comes with an award of up to $208 million over the next five years. “We very much look forward to being a part of this critically-needed, high-impact initiative,” said Chris Thorncroft, who directs the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, NYS Mesonet and Center of Excellence in Weather & Climate Analytics.
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  ASRC Falconer Series Goes Virtual for First Time in 60 Years

  UAlbany’s longest-running public science lecture series will continue this semester – just in a different format. The ASRC Falconer Lecture Series, which launched in 1962, features academics and practitioners who are engaged in societally interesting and beneficial projects of our day. It is usually offered twice a year, a spring version on the Uptown Campus and a summer version 5,000 feet above sea level at the Whiteface Mountain Field Station.
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  Atmospheric Scientists Discuss the Texas Power Crisis

  An unusual blast of winter weather in Texas caused mass power outages, home damage and food shortages. More than 4.3 million people were left in the dark without heat (some for several days) as state leaders scrambled to fix the electrical grid failures. UAlbany is home to the largest concentration of atmospheric, climate and environmental researchers. They discuss the Texas power crisis.
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  UAlbany harnessing artificial intelligence for winter storm forecasts

  A group of researchers at the University at Albany would like New Yorkers to think of winter snow storms when they hear the term AI. The school’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center just received a $2.4 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant to explore and develop ways that AI can better track and predict winter storms.
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  Researchers at UAlbany using AI to improve winter weather forecasts

  Researchers at the University at Albany are using artificial intelligence to improve our understanding of winter weather. They're part of a new institute set up by the National Science Foundation.
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  ASRC Researchers to Develop AI Solutions for Winter Weather at New $20 Million Institute

  UAlbany will focus on winter weather at NSF's new Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate and Coastal Oceanography.
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  ASRC Researchers Explore New York’s 100 Percent Renewables Goal

  An assessment on what it will take for New York to reach the renewable energy goals in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act!
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  NYS Mesonet Launches Official Mobile App

  In partnership with the University’s xCITE (ExTREME Collaboration, Innovation, & TEchnology) laboratory, the New York State Mesonet has released an official mobile application – available for download in Apple and Google Play stores.
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  A Look Inside the xCITE Laboratory

  “There’s a gap between collecting research data and being able to visualize and communicate it with a broad audience,” said Sulia, a meteorology PhD and ASRC researcher who directs the xCITE Lab. “Our lab bridges this gap by manipulating the data to make it easier to understand.”
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  Whiteface is peak of cloud study: Grant will support research over the next five years

  Sara Lance, a research associate at the state University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at Whiteface, has been awarded the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development award from the NSF.
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  Study: Decreasing Wildfires Observed Over Central Africa

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  Atmospheric Scientist Honored by the AMS

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  Atmospheric Scientist Virtually Inspires Next Generation of STEM Leaders