Prof. Kimberly A. Prather

Professor Kimberly A. Prather is the Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry and Distinguished Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of California, San Diego.

Over the course of her career, Professor Prather has authored over 250 publications in a wide range of prestigious scientific journals. Professor Prather invented aerosol time- of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) that allows one to directly measure the atmospheric evolution of aerosol particle composition. An area of focus of her research involves understanding how aerosols impact climate, air quality, and human health. Her group has been investigating the sources of airborne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and the impacts on human health.

She is the founding Director of the NSF Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment (CAICE), an NSF Center for Chemical Innovation. CAICE has transferred the full complexity of the ocean-atmosphere system into the laboratory to investigate how phytoplankton, bacteria, and viruses in the ocean influence atmospheric chemistry, clouds, and climate.

She is also the founding co-Director of Meta-Institute for Airborne Disease in a Changing Climate (Airborne Institute) funded by the Balvi Foundation. Airborne Institute focuses on both understanding the impact of climate change on the air we breathe, as well as developing implementable solutions to improve indoor and outdoor air quality globally.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Prather has been extremely active in science communication related to the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. She has been a major spokesperson conducting many national and global media interviews that have led to the implementation of measures to protect against the spread of this airborne virus. She has been involved as an expert helping develop a safe plan for re-opening San Diego Unified School district and the UC San Diego Return to Learn program.

She has received numerous accolades for her work and is an elected member of three prestigious academies: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), National Academy of Engineering (2019) and National Academy of Sciences (2020). Some of her other recent awards include the 2024 National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, 2023 Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest, 2022 Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award, 2020 American Chemical Society Frank H. Field & Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry, 2018 Chancellor’s Associates Excellence Award in Research in Science and Engineering, 2015 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award, the 2010 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology. She is an elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Association for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.