daniel stewart
Chemistry
B.A., Environmental Toxicology, 1996, UC Davis
A.S., Chemistry / Art History, 1994, Santa Rosa Jr. College
Research Focus:
Atmospheric chemistry
Internship or Partner Interaction:
Dr. Peter Kelly, Dr. Thomas Cahill, Dr. Matthew Augustine
Personal Statement:
When I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Toxicology from U.C. Davis in 1996, I set out to change the world. Like many young, ambitious, new graduates I discovered that the world is resistant to change- especially from a 23 year old with only a B.S. degree. Regardless, I decided to start on the entry-level rung and climb my way up, all the while hoping that my ideas, innovation, and hard work would enable me to utilize all the skills I had learned at Davis. Each year that passed as I worked in private industry led to another year of success for me, albeit in industries that led me away from toxicology and into computers. Regardless of my achievements however, I always felt that there was a calling for me beyond what a corporate salary or job title could offer: a calling for higher truth and higher education.
I was accepted into the Agriculture and Environmental Chemistry graduate group in July, 2002. This came after much soul-searching in the midst of trying to decide between my backgrounds in computers and environmental toxicology, and ultimately coming to the conclusion that the two disciplines should not be mutually exclusive. The AgChem program appears to have enabled me to capitalize on my computers skills to carve myself a niche in the world of environmental chemistry. I want to be the Bill Gates of environmental chemistry, if you will, by revolutionizing the way computers can be utilized within the discipline for human-to-machine interfacing, data collecting, modeling, data interpretation/analysis, data sharing, and data storage/retrieval.
I had the good fortune to cross paths with Dr. Peter Kelly in April of 2002. I found his research, particularly his Diesel Exhaust Study, quite interesting. What made the encounter even more exciting was fact that he seemed intrigued by the possibilities available by adding someone like me to his group, for he said that he felt that computers were not being utilized sufficiently to interpret the growing volumes of data he has collected in his studies. He further pointed out that he had not met many chemists (or toxicologists) who had the desire to devote their time to anything computer-related… whereas I am actively seeking such a post! However, I am not only interested in contributing in a technical fashion, for I feel that my toxicology skills could be vastly utilized as well. I have had quite a bit of background with many lab processes and analyses and have even helped publish health risk assessment documents addressing the inhalation of 13 different "toxic air hot-spot" chemicals. I sincerely feel that my well-rounded education, dedication, ability to be a self-starter, and the capacity to work well independently or with a team will allow me to be a major contributor to his program and to the college.
After a quarter of classes and spending six months in the Kelly Group, I found my calling in the discipline of atmospheric chemistry, specifically in the transport, chemistry, and fate of anthropogenic nanoparticles. I am thrilled and fortunate that my research focus has enabled me to be awarded the NEAT-IGERT Fellowship for it will open up a number of possibilities that may be absent otherwise. Under the Fellowship's funding and guidance I hope to (and expect to) have a successful graduate school career in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Chemistry.
