Profile
Melanie Zauscher is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at UCSD. Her research, based in Professor Kim Prather's lab, focuses on the chemical composition and physical properties of ambient aerosols and their effect on climate and human health. Melanie has really enjoyed participating in several field campaigns studying natural and polluted aerosols in Puerto Rico, California's Sierra Nevada foothills, and the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles. Her undergraduate degree was in environmental chemistry, also from UCSD. While at UCSD, Melanie has advocated on behalf of graduate students with her involvement in campus-wide committees, such as the Grad Life Steering Committee and the Committee on Educational Policy, and by serving two terms as Vice President of Internal Affairs for UCSD's Graduate Student Association. In addition, she has been involved with UCSD's California Alliance for Minority Participation Science Program since she started at UCSD. Melanie has organized and participated in multiple science outreach events every year that target traditionally underrepresented elementary, middle and high school students.
