Dr. Thorsten Bartels-Rausch

Curiosity drives my research in the laboratory to gain a fundamental understanding of ice and snow chemistry. This topic is timely, as it addresses key environmental issues, such as winter haze in densely populated regions of Asia and the Arctic. The focus lies on the interfacial physical chemistry of ice and on the fate and chemistry of nanometer-sized aerosol deposits in snow. Beyond its environmental relevance, the understudied chemistry in the cold shows fascinating deviations from textbook knowledge that address fundamental chemistry topics of general interest, such as interfacial acid-base chemistry, chemical systems with low liquid water content, and the hydrogen bonding network at the air-ice and air-water interface.

Science isn’t a solitary genius endeavor — I'm grateful for the dedication of former PhD students and postdocs and our ever-constructive research group and laboratory. Fruitful discussions with international scientists such as the CATCH and BEPSII communities continually spark and fuel my research.