Amy Sullivan celebrated for work as American Association for Aerosol Research President

At the American Association for Aerosol Research 43rd Annual Conference held October 13-17, 2025 in Buffalo, New York, outgoing president CSU Research Scientist Amy Sullivan passed the gavel to the incoming president. Both the past AAAR president and incoming president praised her leadership, and the membership gave her a standing ovation.  

CSU Distinguished Professor Sonia Kreidenweis said she’d never seen a standing ovation in that situation before.  

“I was like, oh, is this really happening?” said Sullivan. “All these people in the room, I’ve likely worked with at some point on something. The fact that they also felt what I was feeling – this was just such a special year.” 

What made the year so special?  

With funding and other limitations for members earlier in the year, the conference organizers did not expect a big turnout for the conference. It looked like it could be a particularly quiet year. Then, the miraculous happened with a record-breaking attendance of 829 people.  

“It was so hard to know what was going to happen,” said Sullivan. “And we all got to be together. You could just feel the excitement and energy.”  

Sullivan and the planning team made the strategic decision to put more resources toward travel grants than previous years, quadrupling the number of supported attendees. The conference also included a trip to Niagara falls, Geeks Who Drink trivia with a special AAAR round, and a musical bingo bash.  AAAR was also able to launch a new, updated job board.  

Sullivan has been attending AAAR conferences since 2003. A couple people who had been to all 43 meetings also joined this year in Buffalo.  

Field Campaigns 

Based out of CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science, Sullivan uses her chemistry training to understand the composition of aerosols. “I’ve developed the techniques that we use to be able to make the measurements. I also build instrumentation and then go out into the field and make measurements, which is one of my favorite things.”  

Sullivan said that getting measurements in unexpected or unanticipated field conditions with new techniques is extremely satisfying. Last winter, Sullivan worked in Mammoth Caves National Park and Great Smoky National Park at IMPROVE site locations, collecting additional, detailed aerosol information.  

“You don’t see the mountains the same way you used to and so its something that’s very tangible to people.” said Sullivan. Her work is helping to understand visibility changes and what it is that’s causing them.