Prof. Colette L Heald

Visiting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Primary DLC

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

MIT Room: 48-335

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Heald's research interests are global atmospheric composition and chemistry, and interactions of these with the biosphere and climate system. This includes the study of both particles and gases in the troposphere, their sources, sinks, transformations, long range transport and environmental impacts. She works at the intersection of modeling and observational analysis, with a strong emphasis on the integration of the two. This involves using observations of the atmosphere from all scales: from ground stations, aircraft campaigns and satellite sensors with global models of chemistry and climate.

Research Summary

Professor Heald is interested in global atmospheric composition and chemistry, and interactions of these with the biosphere and climate system, including the study of both particles and gases in the troposphere, their sources, sinks, transformations, long range transport and environmental impacts. Using observations of the atmosphere at all scales: from ground stations, aircraft campaigns and satellite sensors with global models of chemistry and climate, she works at the intersection of modeling and observational analysis, with a strong emphasis on the integration of the two.

Professor Heald received her B.S. in Engineering Physics from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario (she is originally Canadian), in 2000, and a Ph.D. (2005) in Earth and Planetary Science from Harvard where she worked with Professor Daniel J. Jacob on the use of satellite observations of atmospheric composition to quantify the sources and intercontinental export of pollutants. Most recently, after spending two years at the University California Berkeley as a NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow where she focused on the sources and climate sensitivity of organic aerosols, Heald was an assistant professor in the Atmospheric Science Department at Colorado State.

Recent Work