Applied Interdisciplinary Research in Air
We apply physics, chemistry, and biology to quantify emissions, transport, transformation, and fate of contaminants in the air.
AIR QUALITY
Air pollution is responsible for 8 million premature deaths per year. Developing accurate estimates of air pollutant emissions is critical for effective air quality management. We specialize in the following questions:
How much pollution is emitted by sources such as motor vehicles, construction equipment, airports, agricultural activities?
How do these emissions affect air quality?
BIOAEROSOLS
We apply engineering tools to study the dynamics of bioaerosols in the atmosphere. We are working on the following questions:
How do environmental factors affect transmission of the flu, coronavirus, and other respiratory pathogens?
How are antimicrobial resistance genes released and transported in the atmosphere?
What types of viruses are present in the built environment?
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanomaterials originate from natural, incidental, and engineered sources. We are interested in the release, transformation, fate, and toxicity of nanomaterials in the atmosphere. Our projects address the following questions:
How much engineered nanomaterials are released into air from the production, use, and disposal of consumer products?
How can we use nanotechnology to probe the chemistry of droplets?