Dr. Neil Donahue

Biography

Neil Donahue is a Professor and the Director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education Research at Carnegie Mellon University. His research primarily explores the behavior of organic compounds in the Earth's atmosphere, focusing on how they are transformed and their role in climate change and human health. Donahue seeks to help students understand the complexities of climate problems while applying their problem-solving skills to significant challenges. He has served as an editor for academic journals and has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. His work addresses the origin and transformations of small organic particles, which play a critical role in climate change, as they scatter light, influence cloud formation, and are linked to health impacts resulting in approximately 50,000 deaths annually due to heart attacks. Donahue holds a Ph.D. in Meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Physics from Brown University. He has also worked as a research scientist at Harvard University before returning to Pittsburgh in 2000.

Research Interests