The Albert Marsh Environmental Sciences Scholarship will be used to fund my attendance of the 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research Conference in Raleigh North Carolina. At this conference, I will present my work investigating the chemical drivers of optical properties of a variety of organic aerosols. Aerosols are known to affect the earth's radiation budget, and therefore climate change and weather, but the size of the aerosol effect is poorly understood. My work applies aerosol mass spectroscopy and component analysis methods to better understand how the chemistry of an aerosol controls how aerosols interact with radiation. This work will lead to a better understanding of the effects of aerosols and their importance within the climate system. -Alex