Former Members

Graduates from the Smithlab go on to work in a variety of fields and industries, including as post-docs and faculty at colleges and universities, at government labs and in private companies. Recent graduates have gotten jobs at NASA Goddard, Ethicon (Johnson and Johnson), the United States Air Force, Northrop-Grumman, Western Carolina University and Arylessence.

Zach McQueen, Ph.D. (2024) - NASA Goddard

Zach earned his Ph.D. in 2024 with a thesis titled, "Optical Characterization of Aerosol Particles using Ambient, In-situ Measurements and Biomass Burning Simulations." He is currently a post-doctoral fellow with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Mingrui Sun, Ph.D. 2024 - Ethicon

Sun earned his Ph.D. in 2024 with a thesis titled, "Characterization of Light Interaction with Atmospheric Aerosol: Scattering and Photo-reaction." He is currently employed by Johnson & Johnson / Ethicon in Athens, GA.

Austen Scruggs, Ph.D. 2021 - U.S. Air Force

Austen earned his Ph.D. in 2021 with a thesis titled, "The Development and Application of a Polar Nephelometer for Aerosol Optical Closure Studies." He is currently employed by the U.S. Air Force at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia.

Mike Pogash, Ph.D. 2020 - Northrop Grumman

Mike earned his Ph.D. in 2020 with a thesis titled, "Broadband Cavity-Enhanced Spectroscopy and Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for UV-Vis Observation of Aerosol Optical Properties." He is currently employed by Northrop-Grumman in California.

D. Al Fischer, Ph.D. 2018 - Western Carolina University

Al earned his Ph.D. in 2018 with a thesis titled, "Portable Instrumentation for UV-visible Spectroscopy of Ambient and Laboratory-generated Aerosols." He is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Western Carolina University (link).

Sabrina Phillips, Ph.D. 2017 - Arylessence, Inc.

Sabrina earned her Ph.D. in 2017 with a thesis titled, "Origin of Optical Properties of Brown Carbon Aerosols." She is currently a Principal Scientist - Applied Technology, Scent Design at Arylessence, Inc.