Airborne particles play an important role in the Earth's climate and cause a significant burden of disease. The physical and chemical complexity of aerosols and their dynamic changes in the atmosphere make it difficult to assess their impact. Our research focuses on the development of novel real-time techniques for physical and chemical characterization of ambient aerosols.

In the framework of the CRC 1477 “LIMATI”, I will explore novel routes for the efficient and non-destructive laser desorption of relevant molecules from individual (nano-)particles for their detection using mass spectrometry. With our technologies, we provide new tools to achieve a better understanding of atmospheric chemistry, pollution events and biogeochemical cycles.