ACS AMA

Hi Reddit! My name is Mallory Hinks. I recently defended my Ph.D. in Atmospheric Chemistry at University of California, Irvine. For the last 5 years as a graduate student, I have worked for Professor Sergey Nizkorodov (aerosol.chem.uci.edu/). My work has been focused on understanding the effects of environmental conditions on the chemical and physical properties of atmospheric aerosols and how they interact with sunlight in the atmosphere. If you want a little more background, here is a video about aerosols and my research to give you a basic overview: youtu.be/F-UW8oMiNng

While in graduate school, I developed a passion for science communication. I entered and won multiple science communication competitions including the UCI Grad Slam competition and the ACS ChemChamps competition. Following those experiences, I expanded my extracurricular activities to include more science communication opportunities. As a Science Communication Fellow for the Loh Down on Science radio show (www.lohdownonscience.org/), I wrote scripts for 90 second radio segments that aired on NPR. As a Communication Consultant for the UCI Graduate Resource Center, I advised students on their presentations in one-on-one meetings. I hope that I can help inspire scientists at all levels to develop an interest in science communication! I’m looking forward to answering your questions about atmospheric chemistry, science communication or about life as a graduate student!

I will be back at 12:00p EDT (9a PDT, 4p UTC) to start answering your questions.

EDIT: Thank you for all of your questions! This was harder than I thought it would be! I\’ve got to sign off now!