Mary Julia (Judy) Wornat
	Robert Hughes Harvey Professor B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981 S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983 Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988 Office: 212 ChE Building Telephone: (225) 578-7509 E-mail: mjwornat@lsu.edu

Research Interests

Professor Wornat is conducting research in the pyrolysis and combustion of solid fuels, liquid fuels, and related model compounds--with particular emphasis on the chemical and physical mechanisms governing the formation of environmental pollutants. Specific aspects include: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and soot; gas-phase and heterogeneous reactions; chemistry of aromatic compounds; analytical techniques for the compositional determination of complex organic mixtures; supercritical fuel reactions; health effects of combustion by-products.

Selected Publications

• Thomas, S., and Wornat, M. J., "The Effects of Oxygen on the Yields of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Formed During the Pyrolysis and Fuel-Rich Oxidation of Catechol," Fuel 87:768-781 (2008).
  
  
• Oña, J. O., and Wornat, M. J., "The Influence of Solvents on the Ultraviolet-Visible Absorption Spectra of Polycyclic Hydrocarbons: Applications in the Identification of Fuel Products by HPLC/UV/MS," Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds 28: 15-38 (2008).
  
  
• Somers, M. L., McClaine, J. W., and Wornat, M. J., "The Formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from the Supercritical Pyrolysis of 1-Methylnaphthalene," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31: 501-509 (2007).
  
  
• McClaine, J. W., and Wornat, M. J., "Reaction Mechanisms Governing the Formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Supercritical Pyrolysis of Toluene: C₂₈H₁₄ Isomers," Journal of Physical Chemistry C 111: 86-95 (2007).
  
  
• McClaine, J. W., Oña, J. O., and Wornat, M. J., "Identification of a New C₂₈H₁₄ Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon as a Product of Supercritical Fuel Pyrolysis: Tribenzo[cd,ghi,lm]perylene," Journal of Chromatography A 1138: 175-183 (2007).
  
  
• Somers, M. L., and Wornat, M. J., "UV Spectral Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Products of Supercritical 1-Methylnaphthalene Pyrolysis," Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds 27: 261-280 (2007).

Principal Research Efforts

• Mechanisms of PAH Formation from Aromatic Fuels
  
  
• Soot-Associated PAH from Chinese Homes with High Incidence Rates of Cancer
  
  
• Pyrolysis of Model Compounds Representing Entities of Coal and Biomass
  
  
• Supercritical Pyrolysis of Fuels for Hypersonic Aircraft
  
  
• Spectroscopy of New Cyclopenta-Fused and Ethynyl-Substituted PAH
  
  
• Photochemical Reactions of PAH at the Air/Water Interface
  
  
• Combustion-Generated Nanoparticles: The Role of Transition Metals in PAH Formation and Growth

This page was last modified on April 9, 2008