1. Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL)
Led by CAST Director, Pratim Biswas, AAQRL is housed in the Department of Chemical, Environmental, and Material Engineering at the University of Miami. This lab's focus is on research and education related to particulates in gaseous suspension, known as aerosols. AAQRL’s contributions to this field span the full process of technology development, from synthesis and characterization to eventual application. Through this research, the lab aims to mitigate the negative impacts of aerosols on the environment and leverage their potential for positive contributions to society.
2. Alfred C. Glassell Jr. SUSTAIN Laboratory
Led by Brian K. Haus, SUSTAIN Laboratory (SUrge-STructure-Atmosphere INteraction) is a unique resource for studying the complex air-sea interactions of wind, waves, and shorelines, including:
• Understanding hurricane rapid intensification, storm surges, and wave dynamics
• Modeling extreme weather conditions
• Designing sensors and oceanographic instruments
• Creating numerical models
• Developing protective wave barriers
This powerful wind-wave tank at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science can create category 5 hurricane-force winds of up to 155 mph 69 (mps) /enclosed in clear acrylic so that water and wind actions can be monitored in a 3-D environment. It is an ideal platform for testing scientific instruments, new materials, and commercial products designed for coastal water, atmospheric or land environments. Due to its acrylic construction and elevated placement, SUSTAIN is well suited for imaging and visualization applications, including commercial film and television productions.
3. Air and Aerosol Sensing Group
Led by Jiayu Li, the air and aerosol sensing group work on developing the next generation of sensors for air quality monitoring. The group also works on understanding the airborne transmission of infectious diseases in various settings.
4. Cloud- Aerosol-Rain Observatory (CAROb)
Led by Paquita Zuidema, South Florida's Cloud- Aerosol-Rain Observatory, located 4 km offshore of the Miami FL mainland, is an instrumentation suite dedicated to characterizing the local cloud and aerosol environment, towards improving our understanding of shallow cloud behavior and its interactions with the local thermodynamic, dynamic, and aerosol environment. The lab focuses on understanding the radiative impact of low clouds and aerosols on climate.
5. Cassandra Gaston's Research Group
Led by Cassandra Gaston, the lab's research focuses on understanding interactions between atmospheric particles (i.e., aerosols), trace gases, oceans, land ecosystems, and clouds. These interactions are important for understanding the impact of atmospheric chemistry on ecosystem health, air quality, and climate. The lab members use field-deployable instrumentation to measure aerosols and trace gases in the laboratory and field.
Prof. Gaston is the site manager and PI of the Barbados Atmospheric Chemistry Observatory (BACO), a unique atmospheric sampling site that has documented the long-range transport of African dust to the Caribbean and the Americas for over 50 years. Measurements at the site have generated one of the longest modern aerosol records providing insight into the role of climate on dust emission and, in turn, the radiative properties of dust and their impact on biogeochemical cycles. The site is being upgraded to expand the measurement capabilities. More can be found at: https://baco.earth.miami.edu/index.html
6. Khizroev Lab
Led by Sakhrat Khizroev, a team of innovators, including engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, and computer scientists leverages nanotechnology to revolutionize a broad range of applications spanning from energy-efficient information processing to medicine.
7. Particle Measurement and Technology Laboratory (PMTL)
Led by Yang Wang, the lab conducts particle measurement, and particle synthesis and develops particle characterization techniques for environmental and energy applications. The research focuses on understanding the nanoparticle “Structure-Property-Impact” relationship, to minimize the impact of atmospheric particulate matter on human health and optimize the functionality of materials in nano-enabled devices. These research projects are enabled or assisted by the real-time characterization of particles in the sub-micron and sub-nanometer range, an important frontier in aerosol science and technology. Novel techniques are being deployed in the lab, to study particle formation with a high size resolution, examine the evolution of transient particles with a high time resolution, and conduct air quality monitoring with a stronger network.
