Naruki Hiranuma (a.k.a., Seonggi Moon), Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Office: Killgore Research Center, Room 137
Email: nhiranuma@wtamu.edu
Phone: 806-651-3872
Professional Profile
Dr. Hiranuma joined WTAMU in 2016 after earning an M.S. degree from the same program and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Texas A&M University. In his career at WTAMU, he has been the recipient of the 2018 Early Career Research Program Award, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the 2020 National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Both awards include 5-year grants to support the university mission and achieve his career objective, which is an integration of climate science and pedagogy. From Japan, he now lives in Amarillo, where he is deeply involved in outreach collaborations with local organizations and agencies in the Texas Panhandle.
Teaching and Related Service
Dr. Hiranuma teaches many in-person and online environmental science courses to both traditional and non-traditional students. His educational activities target integrating research and teaching. Combining the topics of chemistry, physics, and climate science is an efficient and interesting tool to connect students with fundamental science by demonstrating how science provides information to interpret, digest, and solve everyday life problems. He has developed and implemented a series of mobile online hands-on laboratory modules to achieve his goal. At WTAMU, he has served as a research mentor for 2 postdoctoral research associates and 16 students.
Research and Creative Activity
Dr. Hiranuma’s research interests exist in atmospheric aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, precipitation, and assessment of aerosol particles’ impact on public health. At WTAMU, he applies advanced aerosol particle measurement techniques to generate new knowledge regarding cloud microphysics and mitigating regional concerns of agricultural aerosol that contains fine, coarse, and biological aerosol particles on air quality and weather.
Dr. Hiranuma heads the Atmospheric and Aerosol Measurement Laboratory (A 2ML) for an integrated laboratory and field studies. The research capabilities of A 2ML include (1) quantifying atmospheric ice-nucleating ability of aerosol particles using online/offline ice nucleation chambers, (2) cloud deconvolution by using counterflow virtual impactors, (3) characterization of physicochemical properties of atmospheric particles and cloud residuals through a variety of single-particle microscopy techniques, and (4) developing physical parameterizations of obtained experimental results and implementing in atmospheric cloud process, weather and climate models. A unique combination of these capabilities enables to comprehensively assess what aerosol particle properties (i.e., chemical, physical, and/or biological) matter the most for cloud formation.
Community Service
2022 – Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory User Executive Committee member
2022 – Advisor for Climate Science Society, conducting science outreach for >750 local students
2019 – Topical advisory panel and guest editor of the Atmosphere from Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2014 – Workshop co-organizer and transnational user of the AIDA chamber
2013 – Symposium organizer, session chair, and co-chair at conferences of the American Meteorological Society and American Geophysical Union
2009 – Reviewer of > 50 renowned peer-reviewed journals and grant applications for the U.S. and foreign agencies
Recent Awards
2023 University Distinction in Sponsored Research Award, West Texas A&M University Faculty WT Award
2022 DOE RDPP Award
Title and ID: Characterization and application of a high-resolution microfluidic device in atmospheric ice nucleation research and integrated science teaching (DE-SC0023066)
2020 University Intellectual Contributions Award, West Texas A&M University
2020 NSF CAREER Award
Title and ID: CAREER: The role of ice-nucleating particles and their feedback on clouds in warming Arctic climate (1941317)
2018 DOE ECRP Award
Title and ID: Implications of aerosol physicochemical properties including ice nucleation from ARM mega sites towards understanding atmospheric cloud microphysical processes (DE-SC0018979)
Selected Publications (*WT student)
[1] *Wilbourn, E. K. , * Alrimaly, S., * Williams, H., * Hurst, J., McGovern, G. P., Anderson, T. A., and Hiranuma, N.: Integrated science teaching in atmospheric ice nucleation research: immersion freezing experiments, J. Chemi. Educ., 100, 1511-1522, 2023.
[2] Rinaldi, M., Hiranuma, N., Santachiara, G., Mazzola, M., Mansour, K., Paglione, M., * Rodriguez, C. A., Traversi, R., Becagli, S., Cappelletti, D. M., and Belosi, F.: Ice-nucleating particle concentration measurements from Ny-Ålesund during the Arctic Spring-Summer in 2018, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14725-14748, 2021.
[3] * Vepuri, H. S. K., * Rodriguez, C. A., Georgakopoulos, D. G., Hume, D., Webb, J., Mayer, G. D., and Hiranuma, N.: Ice-nucleating particles in precipitation samples from the Texas Panhandle, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4503–4520, 2021.
[4] Hiranuma, N. , Auvermann, B. W., Belosi, F., Bush, J., *Cory, K. M., Georgakopoulos, D., Höhler, K., *Hou, Y., Saathoff, H., Santachiara, G., Shen, X., Steinke, I., Ullrich, R., Umo, N., *Vepuri, H. S. K., Vogel, F., and Möhler, O.: Laboratory and field studies of ice-nucleating particles from open-lot livestock facilities in Texas , Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14215-14234, 2021.
[5] Möhler, O., Adams, M., Lacher, L., Vogel, F., Nadolny, J., Ullrich, R., Boffo, C., Pfeuffer, T., Hobl, A., Weiß, M., * Vepuri, H. S. K., Hiranuma, N., and Murray, B. J.: The Portable Ice Nucleation Experiment (PINE): a new online instrument for laboratory studies and automated long-term field observations of ice-nucleating particles, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1143–1166, 2021.
[6] Hiranuma, N., Adachi, K., Bell, D. M., Belosi, F., Beydoun, H., Bhaduri, B., Bingemer, H., Budke, C., Clemen, H.-C., Conen, F., *Cory, K. M., Curtius, J., DeMott, P. J., Eppers, O., Grawe, S., Hartmann, S., Hoffmann, N., Höhler, K., Jantsch, E., Kiselev, A., Koop, T., Kulkarni, G., Mayer, A., Murakami, M., Murray, B. J., Nicosia, A., Petters, M. D., Piazza, M., Polen, M., Reicher, N., Rudich, Y., Saito, A., Santachiara, G., Schiebel, T., Schill, G. P., Schneider, J., Segev, L., Stopelli, E., Sullivan, R. C., Suski, K., Szakáll, M., Tajiri, T., Taylor, H., Tobo, Y., Ullrich, R., Weber, D., Wex, H., Whale, T. F., *Whiteside, C. L., Yamashita, K., Zelenyuk, A., and Möhler, O.: A comprehensive characterization of ice nucleation by three different types of cellulose particles immersed in water, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4823–4849, 2019.
[7] Hiranuma, N ., Möhler, O., Kulkarni, G., Schnaiter, M., Vogt, S., Vochezer, P., Järvinen, E., Wagner, R., Bell, D. M., Wilson, J., Zelenyuk, A., and Cziczo, D. J.: Development and characterization of an ice-selecting pumped counterflow virtual impactor (IS-PCVI) to study ice crystal residuals, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3817–3836, 2016.
[8] Hiranuma, N ., Augustin-Bauditz, S., Bingemer, H., Budke, C., Curtius, J., Danielczok, A., Diehl, K., Dreischmeier, K., Ebert, M., Frank, F., Hoffmann, N., Kandler, K., Kiselev, A., Koop, T., Leisner, T., Möhler, O., Nillius, B., Peckhaus, A., Rose, D., Weinbruch, S., Wex, H., Boose, Y., DeMott, P. J., Hader, J. D., Hill, T. C. J., Kanji, Z. A., Kulkarni, G., Levin, E. J. T., McCluskey, C. S., Murakami, M., Murray, B. J., Niedermeier, D., Petters, M. D., O'Sullivan, D., Saito, A., Schill, G. P., Tajiri, T., Tolbert, M. A., Welti, A., Whale, T. F., Wright, T. P., and Yamashita, K.: A comprehensive laboratory study on the immersion freezing behavior of illite NX particles: a comparison of seventeen ice nucleation measurement techniques, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2489–2518, 2015a.
[9] Hiranuma, N ., Möhler, O., Yamashita, K., Tajiri, T., Saito, A., Hoffmann, N., Hoose, C., Jantsch, E., Koop, T., and Murakami. M.: Ice nucleation by cellulose and its potential contribution to ice formation in clouds, Nature Geoscience, 8, 273–277, 2015b.