I was born in Korea and at the age of eight emigrated to the U.S. with my parents and older brother, Pius. We grew up in the city of Torrance in Southern California. Following high school, I attended the University of California at Berkeley where I studied physical chemistry with a focus on the environment. Under the tutelage of my undergraduate advisor, Allen Goldstein, I got my first taste of research.

In the fall of 2005, I joined the Forest and Atmospheric Measurement group at Harvard to begin my graduate training with Steve Wofsy and Bill Munger. My interests lie in investigating the reactive chemistry occurring near the Earth’s surface to quantify the impact of human-driven air pollution on human and ecosystem health.