Manabu Shiraiwa was cited (see below) as one of 24 young scientists in the field of environmental science to be highlighted in a virtual issue of ES&T letters Early Career Scientist.

Heterogeneous OH Oxidation, Shielding Effects, and Implications for the Atmospheric Fate of Terbuthylazine and Other Pesticides
Joanna Socorro, Pascale S. J. Lakey, Lei Han, Thomas Berkemeier, Gerhard Lammel, Cornelius Zetzsch, Ulrich Pöschl, and Manabu Shiraiwa*
Environ. Sci. Technol., 2017, 51 (23), pp 13749–13754
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04307

” The gas-phase kinetics of the reactions between the hydroxyl radical (OH) and many organic compounds are well-known.  Rate constants for these reactions as a function of temperature are widely used in atmospheric chemistry models to predict, for example, the abundances of ozone and nitrogen oxides in cities.  These are homogenous reactions — one gas mixing and reacting with another.  Heterogeneous reactions are a different kettle of fish.  Shiraiwa and colleagues have contributed to this conundrum by focusing on terbuthylazine and its heterogeneous reactions with OH.  They conclude that the shielding effects of the surface can extend this herbicide’s atmospheric lifetimes from a few days to a few weeks.  This finding has implications on the long-range transport of this potentially toxic compound.

-Ron Hites, Associate Editor