We are an atmospheric and physical chemistry group located in the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and affiliated with the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Led by Dr. Victoria Barber, our research is focused on understanding the fundamental physical and chemical processes that govern the evolution of reactive organic carbon in air. Organic compounds are present in the Earth's atmosphere in minute amounts, but have an outsized impact on atmospheric composition. These compounds are subject to photochemical oxidation and partitioning processes, which govern the lifetimes of organic contaminants in air, influence radical cycling, yield tropospheric ozone, and control the production and evolution of organic aerosol- all important factors in air quality and climate. We use a variety of tools: mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, and computation, to develop a molecular picture of atmospheric organic chemistry, with the goal of situating molecular-level phenomena in the context of their impacts on atmospheric composition, air quality, and climate.