Melissa Galloway to deliver Jones Faculty Lecture

By Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis

Health crises such as COVID-19, and air pollution events like the spread of northwestern U.S. and Canadian wildfire smoke, have brought air quality to the forefront of national attention in recent years. While these events may seem distinctly different, they both involve particulate matter—small water-containing particles in our air, each of which can contain tens of thousands of distinct chemical compounds that can impact the environment.

In her most recent research, Associate Professor of Chemistry Melissa Galloway—who has been closely studying particulate matter for 17 years—is examining the chemical reactions that occur in atmospheric particles, and whether or not the complexity of those reactions could potentially play a role in changing the atmosphere and impact issues like climate change and human health. As the keynote speaker delivering the Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 7, Galloway will share how the insights from her research can enhance our understanding of not only the particles that naturally surround us each day, but also worldwide environmental emergencies.   

“It is an honor to be chosen to give this lecture, and I am excited to share the research my students and I have been performing for the last few years,” she says.  

Galloway adds that anyone who is intrigued by recent health- and environment-related events, and wants to gain a deeper understanding of them beyond the information presented in media, should attend the lecture. The event is free and open to the public.

The talk is sponsored by the Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture and Awards Fund, established in 1966 to recognize superior teaching and scholarship at Lafayette.