Jeremy O'Brien
LightNews LightNews
banner
jtobrien.bsky.social
Jeremy O'Brien
@jtobrien.bsky.social
50 followers 78 following 19 posts
Chemist, gamer, and overall nerd. Be kind. ❤️
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
The face you make when you realize we are less than two weeks into 2026...
Orange kitty laying on the floor staring into the void.
January 11, 2026 at 2:25 PM
jtobrien.bsky.social
Love this little guy!
reobrien.bsky.social Rachel O'Brien @reobrien.bsky.social · Nov 19
There is something so great about silly, soft, orange kitties!
Orange kitty on a heated pad by a sunny window.
November 19, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
We had a visit from a ruby throated hummingbird this evening! I love how you can see the feet tucked up under her body while she sips.
Ruby throated hummingbird (female) sipping from red flowers in flight. Another shot of the same hummingbird in flight.
September 7, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
The Matthaei botanical gardens are very pretty at the end of the summer!
A pretty Monarch butterfly on a pink flower Pink water Lilly at the indoor pool at the garden. Water Lilly in the indoor pool at the garden. Grasshopper getting a big breakfast from a leaf next to the flower head he was standing on.
August 31, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
Kīlauea is erupting and V2cam is particularly cool!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=fiyt...
Kilauea erupting! This is a screenshot from V2cam from the USGS.
August 23, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
I'm excited to share a 𝗡𝗲𝘄 #𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘐 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 Special issue! @rsc.org

This was guest edited by myself and Ellison Carter, and it showcases research that centers around questions of the built environment, featuring the impacts of interdisciplinary approaches.
shorturl.at/pIY0i
Screenshot of the banner for the ESP&I special issue on Indoor Environments.
August 20, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
I love the way the sunlight comes through the petals on this hibiscus flower.
Hibiscus flower with white petals and a darker red center. Picture taken on University of Michigan North Campus.
August 12, 2025 at 11:26 PM
jtobrien.bsky.social
Fantastic photos!!
reobrien.bsky.social Rachel O'Brien @reobrien.bsky.social · Aug 9
A few of my favorite shots from the past week!

Beautiful deep reds and yellows in the daylilies. I love the patterns on the butterfly antenna and the wings of dragonflies are amazing. The Phlox in the last picture is so bright and colorful!

Photos taken at the Atmospheric Chemistry GRC.
Red daylily with yellow center in the sun. The anther is covered in pollen. Orange and black butterfly on a fern leaf. The antennae are a black and white stripe pattern, and you can see the fuzzy body of the butterfly. I believe this is a Silver-bordered Fritillary. My favorite picture from the GRC. A blue dragonfly with wings extended. You can see white lily pad flowers in the background through the wings. Some bright pink Phlox flowers in the sun. The pink fades to a darker purple in the middle of each little flower.
August 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
We have a couple of carpenter bees who moved into our fence this spring and I've been trying to catch a photo, but they are very busy! I finally got one I liked today.
Carpenter bee in a hosta flower in the afternoon sun in Michigan.
July 27, 2025 at 6:18 PM
jtobrien.bsky.social
💯 this would be amazing
reobrien.bsky.social Rachel O'Brien @reobrien.bsky.social · Jun 24
Pick a national security movie or show and substitute the whole cast with Muppets except one.

The "West Wing" but keep Toby and he's angry the whole time.
June 24, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
Interesting article that discusses rising cases of lung cancer in non smokers.

Air pollution is an important factor and how it causes the cancer may be different compared to cigarette smoke.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...
The mystery rise of lung cancer in non-smokers
The number of lung cancer cases in people who have never smoked is increasing. The disease is different from lung cancer caused by smoking, so what causes it?
www.bbc.com
June 17, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
AAAR has new travel grants for current/recent federal scientists and program managers and an updated job board coming soon. See below for a statement from the AAAR Executive Committee:

@americanaerosol.bsky.social @vfmcneill.bsky.social
@jessekroll.bsky.social @andrewpault.bsky.social
A message from the AAAR Executive Committee We are writing this note of support and encouragement for everyone in the AAAR community and especially our colleagues at federal laboratories and in federal agencies, including program managers and staff that support aerosol science and, more broadly, scientific research across the country. We look forward to supporting our federal partners in any way we can, starting with travel grants for recent/current federal scientists and program managers for participation in the upcoming 43rd AAAR conference in Buffalo, NY. The call for travel grants will be made around June 1st. We also want to share with everyone that a revamped job board will be active in early Fall. For our federal colleagues: your work and your contributions to our community and the scientific research enterprise are extremely valuable and greatly appreciated. We are very thankful for all of the opportunities we have had to collaborate with you, learn from you, and engage in discussions with you at conferences. We deeply value your contributions to aerosol science and the many scientific fields with which we overlap. AAAR and its members have benefited tremendously over its 43 years of existence because of the direct contribution of federal researchers to our field. Some of the most impactful publications in our Aerosol Science & Technology journal have come from projects led by federal scientists, including from large-scale field campaigns that were only possible because of you. Finally, we really appreciate your ongoing leadership and support of the AAAR community through involvement in committees, working groups, and the Board of Directors. We want to express our strong support for federal scientists in and beyond the AAAR community, and we look forward to your continuing involvement in AAAR and the field of aerosol science.
May 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
I really like the figures (figure 3 especially) and the acknowledgments 😹
April 20, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
caitlindeangelis.bsky.social
Trump needs to understand that Harvard has 400 years of experience ignoring the demands of people who will be gone in four years.
radleybalko.bsky.social Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · Apr 17
Trump threatens to block all 10,000 international students from attending Harvard unless the school turns over student info they’ll use for new visa revocations and deportations.

Every day feels like a fresh round of this country stabbing itself in the face.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
Trump Threatens to Block International Students Unless Harvard Shares Student Data
The demand from the Department of Homeland Security is an escalation in President Trump’s fight against Harvard, the country’s oldest and richest university.
www.nytimes.com
April 17, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
Happy to share a recent publication! This work was carried out by two undergrads in my group at William and Mary: Hongmin Yu (now at Caltech) and Natalie Warren (now at Brown). I'm especially proud of their detailed work on a complicated set of samples. 1/5
@pubs.acs.org

shorturl.at/esLfu
Changes in Light Absorption and Chemical Properties for Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol over Long Time Scales
Photolysis driven fragmentation is known to decrease the light absorbing properties of brown carbon (BrC) molecules in organic aerosol particles, but chemical changes and the lifetimes for the more ph...
shorturl.at
April 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
@vfmcneill.bsky.social @amgcarlton.bsky.social @linseymarr.bsky.social
@katharinehayhoe.com
@coletteheald.bsky.social @jacquelyngill.bsky.social @chemdelphine.bsky.social @shellymboulder.bsky.social

...and many more! Please feel free to add more names of awesome women in science and engineering.
March 8, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
Happy #InternationalWomensDay 2025 to everyone. Thank you to all the women who inspire and motivate. There are more than I can list, and only a small fraction on Bluesky, so I will list a few and highlight that there are so many in atmospheric chemistry, climate science, and indoor chemistry.
March 8, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
If the words didn't matter, they wouldn't be trying to stop us writing them.

If the pictures didn't matter, they wouldn't be taking them down.

If the ideas didn't matter, they wouldn't be trying to stop funding.

All of this matters for who we are and we should not remove things in anticipation.
vfmcneill.bsky.social Faye McNeill @vfmcneill.bsky.social · Feb 21
NASEM, you have the opportunity to show leadership during these times and speak up for science and for Americans. I understand the political pressures but you're the creme de la creme of American excellence. What are we doing here.
usha.bsky.social Usha Lee McFarling @usha.bsky.social · Feb 21
SCOOP: The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, arguably the nation's most powerful scientific organization, is bending to political pressure and removing terms like "health equity" from pending reports. Members are not happy. Story by me: www.statnews.com/2025/02/20/n...
February 21, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
shsstl.bsky.social
22 states sue to block Trump administration cuts to NIH research payments
22 states sue to block Trump administration cuts to NIH research payments
Attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block a NIH decision that would slash grant payments for research overhead
www.statnews.com
February 10, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social
The NSF is the US engine of basic science discovery and technology innovation. This decision is a gift to our overseas competitors.
prasad.bsky.social Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · Feb 5
“One of the US’ leading funders of science & engineering research is planning to lay off between a quarter & a half of its staff in the next two months, a top NSF official said Tuesday. The comments…came at an all-hands meeting of the NSF’s Engineering Directorate.”

www.politico.com/news/2025/02...
Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs
National Science Foundation staff heard the plans at a meeting Tuesday.
www.politico.com
February 5, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
reobrien.bsky.social
I'm very glad this is still running. The removal of scientific data that we have already paid for via our taxes is theft and it needs to be corrected!
richardabetts.bsky.social Prof Richard Betts @richardabetts.bsky.social · Feb 5
Although NOAA's page on atmospheric CO2 levels has vanished, you can still get this vital information from Ralph Keeling's team at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego keelingcurve.ucsd.edu

Please follow bsky.app/profile/keel... for updates and share

Don't let science be hidden
A graph of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at the Mauna Loa observatory, Hawaii, from 1958 to 4th February 2025. It shows carbon dioxide levels rising at an accelerating rate over the decades. This is known to be due to emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity, mainly fossil fuel burning but also deforestation. The first CO2 concentration value in March 1958 was 315 parts per million (ppm). The latest daily value is 426 ppm. The graph also shows a seasonal cycle of a few ppm within each year, which is known to be linked to the growing season in the northern hemisphere causing a temporary uptake of carbon in spring and summer and release in autumn. The graph is produced routinely by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
February 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Jeremy O'Brien
chemjobber.bsky.social
hello all - has anyone heard anything about NSF postdocs or GRFPs getting their February stipends today? 🧪
dyannick.bsky.social David Yannick @dyannick.bsky.social · Feb 3
Weird, #5 on the FAQ section no longer reflects what you have from earlier this weekend. No specifics regarding GRFP
February 3, 2025 at 5:56 PM