1990 - Kim Prather

Atmospheric chemist Kimberly Prather (B.S., ’85, Ph.D., ’90, chemistry) was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in April 2020. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019. Prather, a distinguished professor who holds a joint appointment between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UC San Diego’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, pioneered many aspects of the study of marine aerosols, which are small particles in the atmosphere. Her research has provided new understanding of atmospheric rivers, a key source of California’s rain and snowfall.