Sonia Kreidenweis

Associate Dean for Research, Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering

University Distinguished Professor, Atmospheric Sciences

Project Director

Areas of expertise: the physical, chemical, and optical properties of atmospheric particulate matter, and the effects of the atmospheric aerosol on visibility and climate.

Dr. Sonia M. Kreidenweis is a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from Manhattan College and her M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to joining CSU in 1991, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at San Jose State University and served as a consultant in aerosol and chemical interactions in the atmosphere at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her research focuses on characterization of the physical, chemical, and optical properties of atmospheric particulate matter, and the effects of the atmospheric aerosol on visibility and climate. 

The Kreidenweis laboratory focuses on the characterization of the physical, chemical and optical properties of particles in the atmosphere, with biologically-derived particles a particular focus for BROADN.

One of our main observational tools is a device for detecting the presence of airborne ice nucleating particles (INPs), which can be biological in origin. INPs serve to catalyze first ice formation in supercooled liquid clouds, and are important factors in the initiation of precipitation in midlevel clouds. We are studying the nest ways to collect and analyze INPs, including how to link their presence to sequencing data. We are also characterizing potential sources of INPs from the Earth’s surface, with a special interest in permafrost since it is changing to rapidly in a warming Arctic. This research will have field and laboratory research components as part of proposed collaborative studies within the BROADN program.