Kelvin Bates
· Assistant Professor • Air QualityUniversity of Colorado Boulder · Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering
Active 2012–2026
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About
Kelvin Bates is an Assistant Professor in the Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research combines experimental and modeling tools to study the reactions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere, aiming to identify how these reactions produce harmful air pollutants such as ozone and particles, and to quantify their impacts on human health and global climate. His work involves developing instruments like mass spectrometers for high-sensitivity detection of VOCs, conducting environmental chamber experiments to diagnose reaction rates and products, and partnering with organizations such as NOAA and NASA to perform ambient observations from aircraft, stationary sites, and vehicles. He utilizes atmospheric models like GEOS-Chem and WRF-Chem to understand the significance of observed chemicals and reactions on regional to global scales, ultimately contributing to societal efforts to mitigate air pollution by better understanding the chemical processes involved.
Research topics
- Chemistry
- Environmental science
- Environmental chemistry
- Organic chemistry
- Ecology
- Atmospheric sciences
- Geography
- Chromatography
- Geology
- Archaeology
Selected publications
Atmospheric measurement techniques · 2024 · 67 citations
Abstract. Proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) is a technique commonly used to measure ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban, rural, and remote environments. PTR-ToF-MS is known to produce artifacts from ion fragmentation, which complicates the interpretation and quantification of key atmospheric VOCs. This study evaluates the extent to which fragmentation and other ionization processes impact urban measurements of the PTR-ToF-MS ions typically assi…
2023 · 23 citations
Abstract. Proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) is a technique commonly used to measure ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban, rural, and remote environments. PTR-ToF-MS is known to produce artifacts from ion fragmentation, which complicates the interpretation and quantification of key atmospheric VOCs. This study evaluates the extent to which fragmentation and other ionization processes impacts urban measurements of the PTR-ToF-MS ions typically ass…
Ozone Production Efficiencies in the Three Largest United States Cities from Airborne Measurements
Environmental Science & Technology · 2025-06-24 · 7 citations
articleOpen accessDespite ongoing reductions in emissions of ozone (O3) precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the three largest urban areas in the United States ─ New York City (NYC), Chicago, and Los Angeles (LA) ─ continue to exceed national air quality standards for O3. Airborne measurements during the 2023 Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) campaign investigated nonlinear O3 photochemistry in these cities. We rep…
Atmospheric Evolution of Brown Carbon from Wildfires in North America
Environmental Science & Technology · 2025-08-07 · 3 citations
articleAtmospheric brown carbon (BrC) from wildfires is a key component of light-absorbing carbon that significantly contributes to global radiative forcing, but its atmospheric evolution and lifetime remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate BrC evolution by synthesizing data from one laboratory campaign and four aircraft campaigns spanning diverse spatial scales across North America. To estimate initial conditions for evaluating plume evolution, we develop a method to parametrize the em…
Atmospheric chemistry and physics · 2025-11-28 · 2 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important class of atmospheric species with influences on air quality and climate. One understudied SOA formation pathway is gas-phase peroxy radical (RO2) accretion reactions, where two peroxy radicals combine to form a dimer species. This work makes use of recent advances in the theoretical understanding of RO2 accretion reactions to assess their contribution to SOA. After evaluation in a chemical box model, a reduced representation of RO2 accret…
Frequent coauthors
- 53 shared
Daniel J. Jacob
Harvard University
- 49 shared
John H. Seinfeld
California Institute of Technology
- 48 shared
Tran B. Nguyen
University of California, Davis
- 45 shared
M. J. Evans
Franciscan University of Steubenville
- 36 shared
Barron H. Henderson
Environmental Protection Agency
- 33 shared
Rebecca H. Schwantes
NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory
- 33 shared
Matthew M. Coggon
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- 30 shared
P. O. Wennberg
California Institute of Technology
Education
- 2017
PhD, Chemistry
California Institute of Technology
- 2012
BS, Chemistry
Davidson College
Awards & honors
- Best Should Teach Gold Award - CU Boulder Center for Teachin…
- UBC Early Career Invited Lecture Award - University of Briti…
- Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship - NOAA (2017…
- Center for the Environment Postdoctoral Fellowship - Harvard…
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2014)
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