Innovating to advance our understanding and knowledge of the earth-atmosphere system

A dynamic field incorporating physics, chemistry, hydrology and mathematics that explores the structure of the Earth's atmosphere.

About us

The Interdisciplinary Atmospheric Sciences Graduate Program

Learn more about the Atmospheric Sciences graduate program, the admissions process and resources for student support.

View of the south quad with pinkish hues in the sunset sky.

About us

Learn more about our research interests and interdisciplinary departments and partners that create our unique academic program.

About us

Rays of sunshine through silver clouds during a sunset.

Degree programs

Admission requirements, deadlines, program timelines, funding information and more outlining the doctoral and master's programs.

Program information

Evening outside of the Joe Crowley Student Union

Student resources

Program handbook, career information, and a list of student organizations and campus resources.

Student resources

Meet people who are as passionate about the planet as you are.

Three researchers in Atmospheric Sciences stand in front of a research poster.

People of Atmospheric Sciences

Our faculty come together from more than eight units across campus and the Reno area. Learn more about their areas of interest and current projects.

People

Polluted air coming from industrial buildings.

Research areas

Research in Atmospheric Science is shaping the way we understand our planet, the resources on it, and how we protect it.

Research

Achievements and announcements

Anne Heggli and Palina Bahdanovich place 1st and 2nd in Graduate Student Poster competition

Atmospheric Sciences PhD students Anne Heggli (advisor: Dr. Ben Hatchett) and Palina Bahdanovich (advisor: Dr. Vera Samburova) placed 1st and 2nd in the Desert Research Institute Graduate Student Poster competition on April 7, 2023

Palina Bahdanovich defends her Ph.D. prospectus

April 21, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Palina Bahdanovich (advisor: Dr. Vera Samburova) defended her Ph.D. prospectus titled “Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of Atmospheric Bioaerosols”.

Mohammad Sadrian defends his Ph.D. dissertation

April 28, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Mohammad Sadrian (advisor: Dr. Wendy Calvin) defended his Ph.D. dissertation titled “Spectroscopy of Global Dust/Soils Particles and their Optical Constants for use in Radiative Transfer Models and Remote Sensing”.

Ehsan Mosadegh defends his Ph.D. dissertation

May 1, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Ehsan Mosadegh (advisor: Dr. Anne Nolin) defended his Ph.D. dissertation titled “A New Data Processing System for Generating Sea Ice Surface Roughness and Cloud Mask Data Products from the Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR)”.

Eric Zubar defends his master’s thesis

May 8, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences master’s student Eric Zubar (advisor: Dr. Mike Kaplan) defended his master’s thesis titled “Heatwaves of Southern California”.

Yasi Raeofy presents her research at the 20th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering International Conference in Spain

May 2023: Atmospheric Sciences master’s student Yasi Raeofy (advisor: Dr. Vera Samburova) presented her research at the 20th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering International Conference.

Title: “Hyperspectral Reflectance of Pre- and Post-Fire Soils: Toward Remote Sensing of Fire Induced Soil Hydrophobicity”

Kevin Axelrod defends his Ph.D. dissertation

July 10, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Kevin Axelrod defended his Ph.D. dissertation (advisor: Dr. Andrey Khlystov) titled “Quantitative chemical analysis of pollen constituents”.

Palina Bahdanovich and Kevin Axelrod presented their research on bioaerosols at the 13th ICCPA conference

July 2023: Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. students Palina Bahdanovich (advisor: Dr. Vera Samburova) and Kevin Axelrod (advisor: Dr. Andrey Khlystov) presented their research on bioaerosols at the 13th ICCPA conference in Berkeley, CA.

Bianca Martinez defends her master’s thesis

July 12, 2023: Atmospheric Sciences master’s student Bianca Martinez defended her master’s thesis (advisor: Dr. Yeongkwon Son) titled “Evaluation of collection methods for carbonyl emissions in electronic cigarettes”.

Yasi Raeofy receives the NV NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year

Atmospheric Sciences master’s student Yasi Raeofy received the NV NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year (amount of $20,000).

Proposal title: “Connections Between Chemistry and Hyperspectral Reflectance of Wildfire Effected Soils Toward Satellite Remote Sensing of Soil Water Repellency”

Bianca Martinez presents her research

2023: Atmospheric Sciences master’s student Bianca Martinez (advisor: Dr. Yeongkwon Son) presented her research titled “Evaluation of Carbonyl Collection Methods in Electronic Cigarette Aerosol” (Society for Nicotine and Tobacco).

Mohammad Sadrian publishs his research in MDPI’s Atmosphere journal

Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Mohammad Sadrian (advisor: Dr. Wendy Calvin) published his research titled “Variations in Infrared Complex Refractive Index Spectra of Surface Soils from Global Dust Entrainment Regions” in MDPI’s Atmosphere journal (DOI:10.3390/atmos14040675).

Anne Heggli presented her research at the Western Snow Conference

Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Anne Heggli (advisor: Dr. Ben Hatchett) presented her research (oral and poster presentations) titled “A Semi-Automated Approach to Clean Hourly Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent SNOTEL Data” (Western Snow Conference).

Upcoming events

View upcoming atmospheric sciences events, such as our seminar series, dissertation defense and more.

There are currently no events

View all atmospheric sciences events