About

Brant Murray is a Teaching Associate Professor and Chair of the Lighting Design & Technology program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has over 30 years of experience as a lighting designer, educator, production manager, and consultant, with a diverse portfolio spanning theatre, dance, musicals, opera, concerts, live events, architectural projects, television, and fashion. At Krannert Center, he served as the lighting designer for the production “Joy of Regathering,” a cross-disciplinary collaboration involving multiple departments and institutes. Brant Murray is also actively engaged in leadership and student wellness initiatives, serving as a Faculty Fellow in the Illinois Leadership Center and as a Level 1 Mental Health Ambassador. He is certified in Adult Mental Health First Aid USA through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. As an author, he has received recognition for his work on emotional intelligence in theatre production, co-winning the USITT Herbert D. Greggs Honor Award in 2024. His previous writings include articles on adapting to pandemic challenges in theatre and contributions to Illinois Theatre productions. His professional design work includes roles as Resident Designer for Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and Maria Caruso’s Bodiography, as well as senior design positions for C & C Lighting and associations with Ping Chong + Company and IMCD Lighting. His international touring experience spans productions in Argentina, Bulgaria, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, and South Korea, with collaborations involving notable dance companies and choreographers. Brant Murray has also worked on high-profile projects such as Macy’s Herald Square Holiday Windows and New York Fashion Week, and held senior management roles at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, overseeing installations and working with prominent artists. He holds an MFA in Lighting Design from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and a BS in Architecture with a Drama Minor from the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

Research topics

• Meteorology
• Environmental science
• Atmospheric sciences
• Computer Science
• Geology
• Chemistry
• Geography
• Climatology
• Physics
• Medicine
• Virology
• Environmental chemistry
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• A review of coarse mineral dust in the Earth system

  Aeolian Research · 2022 · 235 citations

  • Atmospheric sciences
  • Environmental science
  • Environmental chemistry

  Mineral dust particles suspended in the atmosphere span more than three orders of magnitude in diameter, from <0.1 µm to more than 100 µm. This wide size range makes dust a unique aerosol species with the ability to interact with many aspects of the Earth system, including radiation, clouds, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This review focuses on coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, which we respectively define as dust particles with a diameter of 2.5–10 µm and 10–62.5 µm. We review several lines of observational evidence indicating that coarse and super-coarse dust particles are transported farther than previously expected and that the abundance of these particles is substantially underestimated in current global models. We synthesize previous studies that used observations, theories, and model simulations to highlight the impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols on the Earth system, including their effects on dust-radiation interactions, dust-cloud interactions, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. Specifically, coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols produce a net positive direct radiative effect (warming) at the top of the atmosphere and can modify temperature and water vapor profiles, influencing the distribution of clouds and precipitation. In addition, coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols contribute a substantial fraction of ice-nucleating particles, especially at temperatures above –23 °C. They also contribute a substantial fraction to the available reactive surfaces for atmospheric processing and the dust deposition flux that impacts land and ocean biogeochemistry by supplying important nutrients such as iron and phosphorus. Furthermore, we examine several limitations in the representation of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols in current model simulations and remote-sensing retrievals. Because these limitations substantially contribute to the uncertainties in simulating the abundance and impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, we offer some recommendations to facilitate future studies. Overall, we conclude that an accurate representation of coarse and super-coarse properties is critical in understanding the impacts of dust aerosols on the Earth system.

  DOI

• Modest effects of dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from 445 850 users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app

  BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health · 2021 · 141 citations

  • Medicine
  • Virology
  • Internal medicine

  OBJECTIVES: Dietary supplements may ameliorate SARS-CoV-2 infection, although scientific evidence to support such a role is lacking. We investigated whether users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app who regularly took dietary supplements were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. DESIGN: App-based community survey. SETTING: 445 850 subscribers of an app that was launched to enable self-reported information related to SARS-CoV-2 infection for use in the general population in the UK (n=372 720), the USA (n=45 757) and Sweden (n=27 373). MAIN EXPOSURE: Self-reported regular dietary supplement usage (constant use during previous 3 months) in the first waves of the pandemic up to 31 July 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by viral RNA reverse transcriptase PCR test or serology test before 31 July 2020. RESULTS: In 372 720 UK participants (175 652 supplement users and 197 068 non-users), those taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins or vitamin D had a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by 14% (95% CI (8% to 19%)), 12% (95% CI (8% to 16%)), 13% (95% CI (10% to 16%)) and 9% (95% CI (6% to 12%)), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders. No effect was observed for those taking vitamin C, zinc or garlic supplements. On stratification by sex, age and body mass index (BMI), the protective associations in individuals taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins and vitamin D were observed in females across all ages and BMI groups, but were not seen in men. The same overall pattern of association was observed in both the US and Swedish cohorts. CONCLUSION: In women, we observed a modest but significant association between use of probiotics, omega-3 fatty acid, multivitamin or vitamin D supplements and lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. We found no clear benefits for men nor any effect of vitamin C, garlic or zinc. Randomised controlled trials are required to confirm these observational findings before any therapeutic recommendations can be made.

  DOI

• Opinion: Cloud-phase climate feedback and the importance of ice-nucleating particles

  Atmospheric chemistry and physics · 2021 · 232 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Environmental science
  • Atmospheric sciences

  Abstract. Shallow clouds covering vast areas of the world's middle- and high-latitude oceans play a key role in dampening the global temperature rise associated with CO2. These clouds, which contain both ice and supercooled water, respond to a warming world by transitioning to a state with more liquid water and a greater albedo, resulting in a negative “cloud-phase” climate feedback component. Here we argue that the magnitude of the negative cloud-phase feedback component depends on the amount and nature of the small fraction of aerosol particles that can nucleate ice crystals. We propose that a concerted research effort is required to reduce substantial uncertainties related to the poorly understood sources, concentration, seasonal cycles and nature of these ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and their rudimentary treatment in climate models. The topic is important because many climate models may have overestimated the magnitude of the cloud-phase feedback, and those with better representation of shallow oceanic clouds predict a substantially larger climate warming. We make the case that understanding the present-day INP population in shallow clouds in the cold sector of cyclone systems is particularly critical for defining present-day cloud phase and therefore how the clouds respond to warming. We also need to develop a predictive capability for future INP emissions and sinks in a warmer world with less ice and snow and potentially stronger INP sources.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Thomas F. Whale

  University of Warwick

  76 shared

• Daniel O’Sullivan

  63 shared

• J. M. C. Plane

  University of Leeds

  56 shared

• Ottmar Möhler

  51 shared

• K. S. Carslaw

  National Centre for Atmospheric Science

  48 shared

• Michael P. Adams

  University of Leeds

  45 shared

• J. B. McQuaid

  45 shared

• T. W. Wilson

  Owlstone Medical (United Kingdom)

  43 shared

Education

• PhD, School of Earth and Environment

  University of East Anglia

  2003

• MChem, Department of Chemistry

  University of Wales

  1999

Awards & honors

• USITT Herbert D. Greggs Honor Award 2024

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