Nønne Prisle is Lead Scientist in the DESY Photon Science Division and a Professor for Chemistry in Aerosols at Universität Hamburg. She heads the group Chemistry in Aerosols, Atmosphere and Aqueous Solutions (CIA³), which is connected to the Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS). Her research focuses on nano- and microscopic aerosol particles and droplets, the multifaceted effects of atmospheric aerosols on air pollution, global climate and viral transmission as well as the applications of aerosol technology in green catalysis and inhalation drug delivery.

Ambient water and the complex interactions between aerosols and water are critical to all these effects, but still poorly accounted for. Together with her group, Prisle therefore develops applications of advanced spectroscopy and imaging methods based on ultrabrilliant X-rays to investigate the chemistry in aerosol particles and droplets, with a special focus on the role of water in all its forms. DESY’s world-class X-ray source PETRA III and its planned successor PETRA IV as well as the free-electron lasers FLASH and European XFEL make it possible to directly probe the chemistry and structure of individual aerosols with unprecedented spatial resolution. The group’s experimental work is complemented by theoretical and computational model development on scales ranging from molecular dynamics, thermodynamics, aerosol dynamics to atmospheric models, supported by various machine learning strategies.

The objectives of the group are to develop a comprehensive, molecular-level understanding of aerosol chemistry and the specific role of water, to increase the accuracy and predictive power of atmospheric models and climate forecasts and to leverage the unique properties of aerosols in support of the UN Sustainable Development goals.

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