LAC - Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry
The Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry (LAC), established on 1 January 2000, is a laboratory of the Energy and Environment Research Division (ENE) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI).
Mission
The mission of the LAC is to create understanding of the processes determining the chemistry and physics of gases and aerosol particles in the atmosphere in order to determine the impact of the energy system on atmospheric composition and the impact of atmospheric composition on air quality, human health, weather and climate change.
The Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry (LAC) investigates the impact anthropogenic activities have on fundamental processes in the atmosphere, and with that on air quality, human health, and the climate. A strong focus lies on the links between energy generation and use and its impact on the environment, which have become ever more important since the adaptation of the net-zero strategy in Switzerland. The LAC consists of six interacting groups that operate cutting-edge facilities and instrumentation in the lab and in the field, and run computer models. We are responsible for the long-term observations of atmospheric aerosol at the research station Jungfraujoch and at the Payerne observatory, and run an atmospheric chamber facility at PSI, all embedded in the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS). We are highly collaborative within PSI, nationally, and internationally.
News & Highlights
Andrea Baccarini, former member of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, awarded the ETH Medal for his PhD thesis
Andrea Baccarini, a former PhD student at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, has been awarded the ETH Medal for his thesis investigating aerosol formation in the Arctic and Antarctic and the role aerosols play in climate change.
Asthma: Diagnose in einem Atemzug
Das PSI beteiligt sich an der Entwicklung eines Atemtests, mit dem sich Asthma diagnostizieren lässt. Imad El Haddad erzählt, wieso so ein Test extrem nützlich wäre – vor allem für Kinder.
LAC scientists awarded Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award 2022
The paper "Sources of particulate-matter air pollution and its oxidative potential in Europe" published in Nature by Kaspar Dällenbach and his team at the LAC has won the 2022 Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award, along with another paper in the field of atmospheric environment.
PSI’s contribution to COVID-19 detection
One breath is all it takes to detect the COVID-19 infections using a new method developed by the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute.