Assistant Professor

Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
University of California Los Angeles

607 Charles E. Young Dr. East
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Office phone: 424-259-5198
Office: Young Hall 3077B
Group Office/Lab: Young Hall B064, B073
E-mail: vbarber@chem.ucla.edu 

Dr. Victoria Barber (Tori) grew up in the suburbs of New York City as the middle one of five siblings. She attended public school before matriculating at Swarthmore College for her undergraduate degree. There, she majored in chemistry and minored in educational studies. At Swarthmore, Tori was lucky enough to get involved in research for the first time. She completed a senior thesis on the jet-cooled spectroscopy of anethole, a naturally-occuring anise derivative, under the guidance of Prof. Josh Newby (now an associate professor at Nazareth University). She quickly became hooked on the laser jock lifestyle. After a short time working in the emission controls industry at Johnson Matthey, she began her graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. There, she performed pump-probe spectroscopy experiments on the unimolecular reactions of atmospherically important carbonyl oxide intermediates under the guidance of Prof. Marsha Lester. From there, she moved to MIT to complete her postdoctoral work in atmospheric chemistry on diverse topics ranging from the multiphase chemistry of organic radicals to the indoor air quality implications of germicidal UV light. Tori joined the faculty at UCLA in 2023. Tori is a mom to a wonderfully rambunctious toddler and a very sweet rescue dog named Winston. When she's not doing science, she enjoys cooking and baking, making pottery, playing strategy games, and spending time with her family.