Kira Zeider is a first-year graduate student pursuing her doctorate in chemical engineering. A Tucson-native, she graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2020 with two bachelor’s degrees in chemical and environmental engineering. She is currently working under Dr. Armin Sorooshian on several projects, including her group’s major NASA mission, Aerosol Cloud Meteorology Interactions Over the Western Atlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE). For ACTIVATE, Kira is using k-means clustering – a machine learning technique – with aerosol size distribution data to try and predict any patterns within the working dataset. Kira is also working with the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining on two dust emissions projects: one determining the reliability of foliar dust as an air monitor and the other differentiating dust emissions from mining and rock product industrial sources from regional haze.
