Student: John Horne, Undergraduate Student in Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa
Research Mentor: Dr. Thomas Folland
Detection of Emerging Volatile Organic Compounds using Infrared Spectroscopy

I will be helping Professor Folland at the University of Iowa to measure the absorption spectra of different volatile organic compounds in the air, which will eventually result in developing new technologies for measuring spectra of these gasses. These volatile organic compounds, such as ethylene oxide, are pollutants commonly toxic to humans, and in most cases are high-profile carcinogens. Monitoring our world and our impact on it is already done by NASA, and our research group will be expanding on and analyzing some of their techniques in order to enhance the process. In the past, other groups have used satellites to monitor other volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, such as carbon tetrachloride.
