Air Quality

People of color breathe Denver’s smelliest air

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:17:27 +0000

People of color breathe Denver’s smelliest air Alexander Jame… Mon, 03/17/2025 - 15:17

A new CU �鶹ӰԺ-led study, headlined by Professor Shelly Miller, shows that Denver residents in marginalized areas of the city are more likely to be exposed to odor emitting facilities. However, these communities are also the least likely to report these odors to the city, a statistic that Miller and her colleagues would like to see change.

Off

Traditional

White

Wiedinmyer on the power, importance of NOAA weather forecasting

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:16:26 +0000

Wiedinmyer on the power, importance of NOAA weather forecasting Alexander Jame… Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:16

Research Professor Christine Wiedinmyer is an atmospheric expert whose research investigates the impact of air pollutants on air quality, climate and public health. In this article by The Conversation, Wiedinmyer gives a behind-the-scenes look at how NOAA forecasters use technology to predict the weather, and how important they are to the fabric of our everyday life.

Off

Traditional

White

Spinout LongPath Technologies to expand methane detection with $162M DOE loan

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 23:45:31 +0000

Spinout LongPath Technologies to expand methane detection with $162M DOE loan Alexander Jame… Wed, 11/20/2024 - 16:45

Greg Rieker, associate professor of mechanical engineering and co-founder of LongPath Technologies, gathered with others on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus to celebrate a $162.4 million loan package from the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan will help Rieker and LongPath expand methane detection using laser-based quantum devices that scan the atmosphere in real time.

Off

Traditional

White

PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowships

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 22:51:12 +0000

PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowships Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/24/2024 - 16:51

Jeff Zehnder

The National Science Foundation has bestowed three prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards to �鶹ӰԺ mechanical engineering graduate students.

The national awards recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

PhD students Reegan Ketzenberger, Caleb Song, and Jennifer Wu are each receiving the honor for 2024. Find out more about their research below.

Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.

Two mechanical engineering PhD students, Alex Hedrick and Carly Rowe, also received honorable mentions from the National Science Foundation program.

Off

Traditional

White

CU �鶹ӰԺ Engineering study finds at least nine pesticide chemicals near �鶹ӰԺ County homes

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 22:41:01 +0000

CU �鶹ӰԺ Engineering study finds at least nine pesticide chemicals near �鶹ӰԺ County homes Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/28/2022 - 16:41

Rachel Leuthauser

EPA guidance and resources about pesticides

Find 'Minimum Risk Pesticides'

Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering researchers have identified at least nine pesticide chemicals in the air around �鶹ӰԺ County homes that humans and their dogs have been exposed to.

The air quality study, led by PhD candidate Aniya Khalili and funded by a �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award, tracked the chemicals that people and their dogs came into contact with in fall 2021. The 38 human-dog pairs that participated in the study had to wear wristbands and dog collar clips for a week that contained sampling tubes to measure the pesticides around them.

“We used high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze the samples," said Khalili. "The results showed that of the 15 compounds we were testing for, we detected nine of them. Three of them were detected in all the human and dog samples.”

The three compounds identified in all 76 samples were n-nitrosodiphenylamine, 4-nitroaniline and 4-chloroaniline. Each of those compounds can be found in pesticides and could pose various health risks including eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation. Very high and repeated exposures may damage the liver and kidneys, according to the EPA.

Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate Aniya Khalili documents the results of her study.

Khalili handles one of the dog collar clips that tracks the chemicals in the air.

“These results could mean that the chemicals are in the air since the 38 people are not living together and have different lifestyles,” said Khalili. “If they are exposed to the same compound, it could say something about the community that we are living in.”

The study also detected DDD in one human and two dogs, and DDT in two humans and one dog, even though the United States has banned the use of both due to damage to wildlife. The EPA has said that "after the use of DDT was discontinued in the United States, its concentration in the environment and animals has decreased, but because of its persistence, residues of concern from historical use still remain."

“The fact that we even have detected DDD and DDT in any of the participants’ samples is a big deal,” said Khalili. “There is a 99% correlation between the dogs and their owners that were exposed to DDD and DDT, and yes, it is a small percentage out of the 38 pairings in the whole study. But we shouldn’t be exposed to those compounds at all.”

Khalili’s study focused on detecting the compounds rather than identifying where they are coming from. She noted the chemicals could have originated from pesticides, dog tick and flea medications, or industrial sources.

Khalili conducted this research after seeing several yellow flags on people’s yards around �鶹ӰԺ indicating that chemicals had recently been applied. She wanted to educate the community about the compounds that are in some of those pesticides and inspire people to live cleaner lifestyles.

Many of the participants have told Khalili that they are already being more conscious about using pesticides around their homes to protect themselves and their dogs. Khalili said she’s proud and excited to see community members taking this next step. Moving forward, she wants to promote even bigger changes.

“I would love to see the regulations around the compounds in these products that we use for gardening be revised,” said Khalili. “It wouldn’t happen overnight. We would need more studies to ensure that policymakers can rely on the results and make a change. I’d like to not see those yellow flags around anymore.”

Khalili partnered with the City of �鶹ӰԺ and Healthy Baby Bright Futures to recruit participants and design the deployment of the study, since the city and organization are well connected with the community. Both collaborators also had a stake in the research, as they were interested in seeing what compounds are in their air.

“It was important to work with the City of �鶹ӰԺ because they could be empowered to make changes to regulations,” said Khalili. “With Healthy Baby Bright Futures, it was an educational opportunity. Our study can help teach mothers to not let their babies crawl on chemically treated grass, for example.”

The air quality study, led by mechanical engineering PhD candidate Aniya Khalili, aims to inspire the community to lead cleaner lifestyles and promote further research on pesticide exposure.

Off

Traditional

White

How does Marshall Fire smoke affect indoor, outdoor air quality?

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 21:30:29 +0000

How does Marshall Fire smoke affect indoor, outdoor air quality? Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/14/2022 - 14:30

Professors Michael Hannigan and Marina Vance join scientists from CIRES and NOAA to install instruments in surviving houses to understand the smoke impacts on indoor air quality.

Off

Traditional

White

The Conversation: Here’s where (and how) you are most likely to catch COVID – new study

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 20:45:59 +0000

The Conversation: Here’s where (and how) you are most likely to catch COVID – new study Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/11/2022 - 13:45

Professor Shelly Miller shares her recent research about COVID-19 transmission with The Conversation.

Off

Traditional

White

In 2022, consider these 5 climate resolutions

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 20:09:05 +0000

In 2022, consider these 5 climate resolutions Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/17/2021 - 13:09

When possible, choose electricity over gas at home. Using natural gas makes your home a hidden source of air pollution, according to research from mechanical engineering faculty.

Off

Traditional

White

As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 20:24:20 +0000

As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/30/2021 - 13:24

A team of scientists led by the Department of Mechanical Engineering are using the once-in-a-lifetime event to answer an unusual question: How much do vehicles in a city like Los Angeles add to the ammonia emissions that can hang in the air and sicken residents?

Off

Traditional

White

Don’t throw that cloth mask away yet—it still works

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 21:01:03 +0000

Don’t throw that cloth mask away yet—it still works Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/09/2021 - 15:01

The reusable cloth masks people have been using for the past year or more may look a little worse for the wear. But new research from Professor Marina Vance finds that washing and drying them doesn’t reduce their ability to filter out viral particles.

Off

Traditional

White