Kimberly Prather is an American chemist and oceanographer who specializes in atmospheric particles. Her research has focused on understanding the effects of aerosols on climate change, air quality, and human health. She is a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and she holds joint appointments in the departments of chemistry and geosciences.
Prather’s research has been funded by numerous organizations including National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA Earth System Science Fellowship Program, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation Marine Microbiology Initiative and many others. She was also awarded with a MacArthur Fellows Award for her groundbreaking work in environmental science.
Prather is currently leading several projects that investigate how aerosols can be used to cool down global temperatures caused by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). As part of this work she uses satellite data from multiple sources including NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), Europe’s Sentinel 5P mission operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan’s GOSAT satellite system operated by JAXA/NIES.
She also serves on a number of committees including National Academy Committee on Global Change Research; Climate Network Board; Advisory Committee to NASA Atmospheric Sciences Program; Air Quality Collaborative Advisory Council; Steering Group International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project; US EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Subcommittees: Particulate Matter Review Panel & Stratospheric Ozone Review Panel; Center for Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Planning in Singapore Strategy Working Group among others.
Prather has published over 200 papers related to her field in peer reviewed journals throughout her career which have been cited more than 15 thousand times according to Google Scholar Citations database making her one most influential scientists working today .
