People

Jonathan "Nate" Hall Slade Jr., Ph.D.

William A. Lee Assistant Professor of ChemistryOffice: Tata Hall 1201Phone: 858-534-8972 Email: jhslade@ucsd.edu
Education2015 Ph.D., Atmospheric Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)2009 M.Sc., Chemistry, Purdue University2007 B.Sc., Chemistry, Winthrop University
Appointments2018-present Assistant Professor, Chemistry, University of California San Diego2015-2018 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Chemistry, Purdue University
Awards and Academic Honors2018 William A. Lee Chancellor's Endowed Junior Faculty Fellow2015 Best Doctoral Thesis Award2015 Atmospheric Chemistry Colloquium for Emerging Senior Scientists (ACCESSXIII)2009 National Science Foundation Biosphere and Atmosphere Research and Training (NSF-BART) Summer Fellow
Dr. Slade received his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2015, where he received the department’s best doctoral thesis award. He was subsequently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University, where he led an NSF project as Principle Investigator to study the role of organic nitrates in new aerosol particle formation. Dr. Slade’s primary research interests are in the area of air pollution and atmospheric chemistry. His research at UCSD will build upon his previous experience in chemical kinetics, multiphase chemistry, and aerosol–climate interactions to unravel the fundamental chemical and physical processes involved in the formation, evolution, and toxicity of atmospheric aerosols, with an emphasis on coastal urban environments. He will teach courses in analytical and atmospheric chemistry, as well as instrumental analysis. In addition, Dr. Slade has extensive experience in educational outreach activities. While at Purdue University, he developed an outreach program for high school students to study indoor and outdoor air quality, and was keynote speaker for the NSF Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) national meeting. He plans to engage in similar outreach activities at UCSD. 

Graduate Students

Adam Cooper

Ph.D. StudentEmail: awcooper@ucsd.eduHometown: Weeki Wachee, FloridaB.S. in Chemistry – Stetson University, 2018
Adam is a sixth year graduate student investigating pollution transport via sea spray aerosol and impacts of organic UV filters on marine aerosol. He is passionate about science policy and science communication. He was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2020.

Lincoln Mehndiratta

Ph.D. StudentEmail: lmehndir@ucsd.eduHometown: Panipat, IndiaB.S./M.S.  in Chemistry - IISER Mohali, India, 2018M.S. in Chemistry - IISER Mohali, India, 2020
Lincoln is a fourth year graduate student co-advised by Nate Slade and Vicki Grassian. He is interested in working with aerosols and their impacts on the environment. Other interests include beaches, hiking, sports and food.

Kanuri Roundtree

Ph.D. StudentEmail: kroundtree@ucsd.eduHometown: Hoover, AlabamaB.A. in Chemistry – University of San Diego, 2022
Kanuri is a second year graduate student with a background in nanoparticle, brown carbon, and aerosol chemistry. During her undergraduate career, she received the Bridges to Doctoral Institutions Fellowship to assist in investigating nanoparticles using thermal desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometry in 2021. She is passionate about the impact of aerosols and enjoys playing the guitar.

Maya Morris

Ph.D. StudentEmail:mnmorris@ucsd.eduHometown: Danville, CaliforniaB.S. in Chemistry - University of California, Davis
Maya is a second year graduate student with a background in stable isotopes, nuclear forensics, and structural/chemical characterization for paleoecology. She is interested in the environmental impacts of air pollution via SSA and VOC evaporation. Outside of work she enjoys hiking, baking, cats and spending time with friends!

Diana Tran

Ph.D. StudentEmail: dit002@ucsd.eduHometown: Tacoma, WashingtonB.S. in Chemistry – University of Puget Sound, 2022
Diana is a second year graduate student with a background in wastewater-based-epidemiology (WBE). During her undergraduate career she received Honors in the major and was selected to be a part of the first cohort of Clare Boothe Luce Research scholars, a group focused on advocating for women in STEM. She is passionate on the application of chemistry to environmental problems. In her free time, she likes to play tennis, read, and sit on the beach.

Undergraduate Students

Tessa Tafuri

Tessa is a third year undergraduate student majoring in general chemistry with an interest in environmental chemistry. She is passionate about advancing sustainability through innovative research and taking steps to lessen the impact of climate change.

Lab Pets

Lab Alumni

Dr. Samantha Kruse

Ph.D in Chemistry, 2024Thesis: Utilizing Extractive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry to Probe the Composition of Sea Spray Aerosol and the Photochemical Reaction Kinetics of Aerosol-Phase Bisphenol-A
Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Sandia National Lab  

Dr. Paul (Ryan) Tumminello

Ph.D in Chemistry, 2024Thesis: Viscosity of Marine Aerosols: Effects of Biological Activity, Size, Wind Speed, and Chemical Aging

Allison Kawasaki

M.S. in Chemistry, 2022Thesis: Uptake Kinetics of a Pure α-pinene-derived Hydroxy Nitrate onto Seed Aerosol at Different Relative Humidity and Particle Acidity"

Cindy Tan

M.S. in Chemistry, 2022Thesis: Photodegradation and Heterogeneous OH Oxidation Kinetics and Product Analysis of Aerosolized Triclosan Mixed with NaCl and Humic Acid
Currently a Renewable Energy Analyst with the UC Office of the President

Ben Carr

M.S. in Chemistry, 2023

Rachel Jiang

Former undergraduate student researcher

Sofia Ingersoll

Former undergraduate student researcher

Kun Wang

Former undergraduate student reseaercher

Karen Lopo-Zepeda

Former undergraduate student researcher and staff scientist.

Tobie Bloom

Former undergraduate student reseaercher

Julia Niehoff

Former summer SURP student. Pursuing B.S. at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Vanessa Valdez

Former summer SURP student. Pursuing B.S. at CSU Fullerton

Zhuoying Lin

Former undergraduate student researcher. Pursuing Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California Los Angeles

Katy Belcher

Former summer SURP student. Currently an NIH PREP Scholar at the University of Michigan.

Isis Guadalupe Díaz

Former summer REU student. Pursuing B.S, in Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

Isaac Canada

Former undergraduate student researcher. Pursuing career in air quality

Reece James

Former undergraduate student researcher. Pursuing Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

Mallory Small

Former graduate student researcher. Currently chemist I at a wastewater treatment plant

In Memoriam

Renee Niles

Ph.D. StudentHometown: Binghamton, New YorkB.S. in Chemistry - University of Rochester
Renee studied the chemical and physical properties of respiratory aerosols generated from speech with implications for indoor air quality and transmission of pathogens. She was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2021.