Kevin P. Rhoads

I grew up in northern NJ and attended Montclair Highschool.  I went to the University of Delaware and earned a B.S. degree in chemistry.  After doing a short internship for Norsk Hydro, I worked with an environmental firm as a Field Chemist.  About a year later, I decided to work on a Master’s degree at Tennessee Techological University.  With my M.S. in hand, I moved to San Fransico and worked as an Industrial Hygienist.  Several years later I decided to pursue a doctorate at the University of Maryland, College Park.  After receiving my Ph.D., I took a post-doctoral research fellowship back at the University of Delaware in Mechanical Engineering department.  After three delightful years of research, I found my current position at Siena.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

 I feel that my role as a teacher is to act as guide who facilitates learning by promoting long-term knowledge retention through encouraging a student to think and apply information, not memorize and regurgitate facts.   The ultimate aspiration of every teacher should not only be to provide a broad knowledge base, but to develop a student's capacity for interpretive and critical thought by providing them with examples of such thought processes in practice.  It is important to introduce the unknowns and mysteries in science as puzzles waiting for a solution to be found.  I believe that the key to motivation in learning science is the ability to show students that what they are doing is worthwhile and relevant to everyday life.  An engaged, interested student will make the effort necessary to gain an understanding of the subject.  My goal in teaching is to spark a student's interest and encourage him or her to pursue learning for its own sake.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

General Chemistry (first year)
Analytical Chemistry II (fourth year)
Analytical Chemistry I (second year)

My Professional Experience

Current Research

 My research interests concern the fate of anthropogenic substances in the environment and the effects that these materials have on the natural world. This research requires study in the laboratory, as well as at the scale of the ecosystem, and encompasses transport phenomena, geochemical reactions, and the development of reliable analytical methods for use in the field.

Articles & Book Reviews

• 'A Water Cyclone to Preserve Insoluble Aerosols in Liquid Flow, 'An Interface to Flow Cytometry to Detect Airborne Nucleic Acid'
  Aerosol Science and Technology
  2008
• Intercomparison of Real Time Ammonium Measurements at Urban and Rural Locations in New York
  Aerosol Science and Technology
  2007
• Interference of organic signals in highly time resolved nitrate measurements by low mass resolution aerosol mass spectrometry
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  2007
• Size-selective nonrefractory ambient aerosol measurements during the Particulate Matter Technology Assessment and Characterization StudyNew York 2004 Winter Intensive in New York City
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  2006
• Sulfate and Nitrate Measurements at an Urban and a Rural Location in New York: PMTACS-NY Summer 2001 and 2002 Campaigns
  Journal of Air and Waste Management Assoc.
  2004
• A comparison of particle mass spectrometers during the Atlanta supersite experiment
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  2003
• Size-resolved ultrafine particle composition analysis: Part 1: Atlanta
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  2003
• Performance of a single-ultrafine-particle mass spectrometer
  Aerosol Science and Technology
  2002
• Application of ART-2A Algorithm To Laser Ionization Ablation Mass Spectrometry of Particle Standards
  Anal. Chemistry
  2001
• High-speed particle beam generation: A dynamic focusing mechanism for selecting ultrafine particles
  Aerosol Science and Technology
  2000
• Ozone in the Remote Marine Boundary Layer: A Possible Role for Halogens
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  1999
• Tropospheric O3 distribution over the Indian Ocean During Spring 1995 Evaluated with a Chemistry-Climate Model
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  1999
• Ground-based and airborne observations of carbon monoxide during NASA/MAPS missions SRL-1 and SRL-2
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  1998
• The Composition of the Troposphere over the Indian Ocean during the Monsoonal Transition
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  1997
• Large-scale pollution of the atmosphere over the remote North Atlantic Ocean: Evidence from Bermuda
  Journal of Geophys. Res.
  1995

Presentations

• Evaluation of Acid Catalysis and Conventional vs. Microwave Heating in the Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Biodiesel
  2010
  Undergraduate Research Symposium for the Eastern New York Section of the American Chemical Society, Loudonville, New York
• Fast and Synchronous Measurements of Inorganic and Organic Components in Atmospheric Aqueous Samples
  2008
  27th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Orlando, Florida
• Highly Time Resolved Measurements of Aerosol Carbon Using the Water Cyclone: An Ambient Comparison against the Sunset-ECOC Analyzer
  2008
  27th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Orlando, Florida
• Gentle Collection of an Airborne Virus with a Cyclone for Online Detection with Flow Cytometry
  2007
  26th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Reno, Nevada
• Interference of Organic Signals in Highly-time Resolved Nitrate Measurements by Aerosol Mass Spectrometer
  2007
  26th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Reno, Nevada
• The Gentle Capture of an Airborne Virus for Online Detection with Flow Cytometry
  2007
  234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts
• Airborne Virus for Online Detection with Flow Cytometry
  2006
  2nd National Conference on Environmental Sampling and Detection for Bio-Threat Agents, Brooklyn, New York
• Intercomparison of Real Time PM2.5 Ammonium Measurements at Urban and Rural Locations in New York
  2006
  7th International Aerosol Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Characterization of the Particle-into-Liquid Sampler (PILS) : A Method for Measuring Atmospheric Aerosol Composition
  2005
  Eastern New York American Chemical Society, Undergraduate Research Symposium & 6th Annual Robert A. Laudise Symposium, Schenectady, New York
• Highlights and Lessons Learned: PM2.5 Technology Assessment and Characterization Study in New York  PMTACS-NY Supersite Program
  2005
  Particulate Matter Supersites Program and Related Studies (American Association of Aerosol Research International Specialty Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
• PILS-IC (Particle into Liquid Sampling Analyzed by Ion Chromatography) Overview of Results for the PM2.5 Technology Assessment and Characterization Study in New York (PMTACS-NY)
  2005
  Particulate Matter Supersites Program and Related Studies (American Association of Aerosol Research International Specialty Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
• Semi-continuous PM2.5 Sulfate and Nitrate Measurements in New York: Routine Field Measurements and Intensive Field Campaigns
  2005
  Particulate Matter Supersites Program and Related Studies (American Association of Aerosol Research International Specialty Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
• Continuous sulfate, carbon, and PM2.5 mass at Addison, NY during the summer 2004 NEAQS/ITCT Intensive
  2004
  23rd Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
• Intercomparison of Semi-Continuous Particulate Sulfate and Nitrate Measurement Technologies in New York City: Summer 2001 and Winter 2004 Intensive Studies
  2004
  23rd Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
• Measurements of ambient aerosol composition using and Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer in New York City: Winter 2004 Intensive Study
  2004
  23rd Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
• PM2.5 Technology Assessment and characterizaiton study in New York - PMTACS-NY: An overview of the 2004 winter intensive in Queens, NY
  2004
  23rd Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
• Intercomparison of Semi-continuous Particulate Sulfate and Nitrate Measurement Technologies at a New York State Urban and Rural Location
  2003
  22nd Annual Conference of the American Association for Aerosol Research, Particulate Matter Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Intercomparison of Semi-continuous Particulate Sulfate and Nitrate Measurement Technologies at a New York State Urban and Rural Location
  2003
  NYSERDA EMEP Conference, Albany, New York
• Speciation of Size-Resolved Indivdual Ultrafine Paritcles in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
  2002
  21th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research, Charlotte, North Carolina
• An Intercomparison of particle mass spectrometers during the Atlanta SuperSite Experiment
  2000
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Composition of Individual Particles during August 1999 in Atlanta, Georgia
  2000
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys, Unknown, Unknown
• Field Observations of Ultrafine Particles in Atlanta Using Rapid Single-Particle Mass Spectrometry
  2000
  19th Annual Conference of the American Association of Aerosol Research, St. Louis, Missouri
• Measurements of Reactive Nitrogen Compounds Over the Indian Ocean
  1996
  Amer. Chem. Soc, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Photochemistry in the Marine Boundary Layer over the Indian Ocean
  1996
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• The Composition of the Troposphere over the Indian Ocean during the Winter Monsoon
  1996
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Observations of Summertime Air Quality Over the U. S. Mid-Atlantic Region
  1995
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• The Composition of the Troposphere Over the Indian Ocean
  1995
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Ground-Based Intercomparison of Instrumentation for Measurements of Key Photochemically Active Trace Gases
  1994
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Ground-Based and Airborne Observations of Carbon Monoxide in Support of NASA/MAPS Mission STS-59
  1994
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• High Sensivity NOx and Noy Measurements Downwind of an Urban Environment
  1994
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Meteorological conditions leading to high 0zone and CO on Bermuda: Spring 1992
  1994
  Proceedings of the Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry, Am. Meteor. Soc., Nashville, Tennessee
• NOx, NOy and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons during a Period of Elevated Ozone Concentration at Bermuda
  1994
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Sulfur and Nitrogen Species during 1993 Intensives at Bermuda: Relationships of Aerosol and Gas-Phase Concentrations and Particle Size Distributions to Sources and Meteorology
  1994
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Interrelationships among aerosol species, ozone, and CO in the marine boundary layer during spring at Barbados, West Indies
  1993
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Long-range transport of air pollutants from North America to the remote Atlantic Ocean
  1993
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Trace gas chemistry at Bermuda and Barbados
  1993
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown
• Carbon monoxide and ozone measurements in Bermuda and Barbados
  1992
  Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Unknown, Unknown