The Gordon Group

Professor Gordon's research group is interested in how atmospheric particulate matter influences weather and climate, both directly and by interacting with clouds. Particles in the atmosphere may come from natural or anthropogenic (air pollution) sources. Every cloud droplet in our atmosphere formed around a particle, and so polluted clouds have more droplets in them. Clouds with more droplets are brighter so reflect more light back to the Sun. Therefore atmospheric particles generally cool the climate. However, some particles, usually those that are mainly soot, can absorb solar radiation and heat clouds up, causing them to evaporate, and this leads to a warming effect because clouds are more reflective than Earth's surface below them. Particles in the atmosphere also lead to reduced visibility, either as haze or by influencing the properties of fog. It is therefore important for aviation weather forecasts to account for particle concentrations. Finally, particles can also affect precipitation in clouds containing ice, leading to further complicated weather and climate effects. To understand atmospheric particles and their effects, we run simulations with the UK Met Office "Unified Model," which is used for both weather forecasting and climate prediction. Our research requires adding new code to the model to better represent both particles and clouds.

10 adults standing outside Doherty Hall

Faculty

Hamish Gordon

Hamish Gordon

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

Courtesy Appointments, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Hamish Gordon is an assistant professor in chemical engineering and with the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies. His research interests are focused on the effects of air pollution and natural airborne particles on clouds and climate. He received his first degree from the University of Cambridge in 2009, and his doctorate from the University of Oxford in experimental high energy physics in 2013. He moved to Carnegie Mellon from a postdoc position at the University of Leeds in 2019.

Office
2112 Doherty Hall
Email
gordon@cmu.edu
Google Scholar
Hamish Gordon

Projects

Research video

Research Team

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Kanishk Gohil

Post-Doctorate

Email
kgohil@andrew.cmu.edu
Xuemei Wang

Xuemei Wang

Post-Doctorate

Research interests
Modeling aerosol-cloud interactions, new particle formation, cyclones
Email
xuemeiwa@andrew.cmu.edu
Noah Asch

Noah Asch

Doctorate

Research interests
Modeling aerosol-cloud interactions, coastal fog microphysics, boundary-layer meteorology
Email
nasch@andrew.cmu.edu
Han Ding

Han Ding

Doctorate

Research interests
Atmosphere modeling, new particle formation, organic aerosols, air pollution
Email
handing@andrew.cmu.edu
Pratapaditya Ghosh

Pratapaditya Ghosh

Doctorate

Research interests
Atmospheric modeling, aerosol indirect effects, visibility, fog microphysics, dust
Email
pratapag@andrew.cmu.edu
Eric Giuffrida

Eric Giuffrida

Doctorate

Research interests
Atmospheric modeling, aerosol indirect effects, wildfire smoke, biomass burning aerosols, new particle formation
Email
egiuffri@andrew.cmu.edu
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Kate Johnson

Doctorate

Email
kgjohnso@andrew.cmu.edu
Muhammad Mueed Khan

Muhammad Mueed Khan

Doctorate

Research interests
Cloud-aerosol interactions, particles chemistry, AI implementation in thermofluids and hybrid combustion
Email
mueedkhan@cmu.edu
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Jacob Lumpkins

Doctorate

Email
jtlumpki@andrew.cmu.edu
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Victor Sanchez

Doctorate

Research interests
Atmospheric modeling, constraining model uncertainty, biomass burning, model emulation
Email
vsanchez@andrew.cmu.edu
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Sourabh Guduru

Masters

Research interests
Atmospheric modeling, model emulation, constraining uncertainty
Email
sguduru@andrew.cmu.edu

Past students

  • Rasmus Erlemann, Postdoc
  • Xu-Cheng He, Postdoc
  • Barak Alotaibi, MS
  • Aditya Biyani, MS
  • Yash Gokhale, MS
  • Sheena Kapoor, MS
  • Hanyu Liu, MS

Publications

Selected

Recent

Other

Outreach

The Gordon group is passionate about engaging diverse communities in STEM and promoting an awareness of our environment and changing climate. Educational efforts outside the CMU curriculum have included teaching Python programming in the local community, engaging with communities impacted by poor air quality, and volunteering at weekend and summer workshops for children.

Ph.D. student Pratapaditya Ghosh teaching Python in the local community; Hamish Gordon working with kids learning electronics

Additionally, Ph.D. student Han Ding is part of a 2023 cohort of Community Science Fellows through American Geophysical Union's Thriving Earth Exchange program.

Media mentions

Sanchez earns presentation award from AMS

ChemE Ph.D. student Victor Sanchez was the 2nd place winner of the Oral Student Presentation Award at the Conference on Probability and Statistics during the American Meteorological Society (AMS) annual meeting.

Chemical Engineering

Predicting air pollution effects on the weather

Researchers designed a setup of the global climate model that adds the capability to simulate air pollutants in simulations like weather forecasts.

Scott Institute

Three CMU energy projects receive Scott Institute Seed Grants

Three CMU-led energy projects have been awarded seed grants from the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

WTAE

Gordon comments on release of benzene into the air

ChemE’s Hamish Gordon spoke with WTAE about a recent accidental release of benzene into the air from the Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA. While benzene is a toxic volatile organic compound, Gordon thinks acute or immediate health effects from this release are unlikely.

CMU

Sullivan and Gordon receive DOE award

MechE’s Ryan Sullivan and Research Accelerator Hamish Gordon have received funding from the Department of Energy to continue studying how wildfire emissions could affect the climate.

CMU Engineering

Discovery uncovers need for ammonia emission regulations

A new discovery sheds light on one way new particles are forming in the upper troposphere. Published in Nature, the study’s findings suggest that in addition to carbon dioxide, there are other compounds in need of immediate attention and regulation.

Chemical Engineering

DEP declares Code Orange; Gordon explains

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has declared a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for fine particulate matter in Pittsburgh and several surrounding counties. Assistant Research Professor, Hamish Gordon, explains what led to the current conditions.

Chemical Engineering

Faculty earn DOE Awards for Atmospheric Research

Carnegie Mellon University’s Coty Jen and Hamish Gordon have earned Department of Energy (DOE) awards for their work in atmospheric research.

C3.ai

Two engineering faculty projects awarded grants

The Accelerator’s Hamish Gordon and ECE’s Amritanshu Pandey were recently announced as winners of the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute awards, which this year focused on “digital transformation & AI for energy and climate security.”