Embrace complexity: Visions for the future of environmental (and air quality) science ... ·...

Embrace complexity:

Visions for the future of environmental

(and air quality) science & engineering

Drew R. GentnerAssistant Professor

Chemical & Environmental Engineering

Yale University

Jan. 8th, 2016

AEESP/NSF

Grand Challenges

Workshop

Outline:

• Next generation

approaches for

environmental engineering

research

• Needs and trends in air

quality research

• Preparing the coming

generation of scientists and

engineers

Embrace complexity:



Outline:

• Next generation

approaches for

environmental engineering

research

• Needs and trends in air

quality research

• Preparing the coming

generation of scientists and

engineers

Embrace complexity:



“Goals:

• Identify areas of environmental research currently experiencing high

growth, both those consistent with traditional Environmental

Engineering and Science research themes, as well as those that are

currently outside the discipline’s traditional themes;

• Consider recommendations with respect to how the Environmental

Engineering community can better position itself to more rapidly

expand into high growth research areas;

• Develop suggestions regarding how curricula might be adapted to

prepare students for research or work in these new areas.”

Realizations: The (EnvE) devil is in the details…

Environmental systems/processes (including air & climate) are

exceedingly complex across chemical, spatial, and temporal

scales


• Environmental processes are very heterogeneous

across spatiotemporal scales



scales

New York City Air Quality Survey




• Exceptional chemical diversity = 100,000’s of

compounds in the atmosphere



scales

Snapshots of multi-dimensional

chromatography and multi-dimensional

mass spectrometry




• Exceptional chemical diversity = 100,000’s of

compounds in the atmosphere



scales

Snapshots of multi-dimensional

chromatography and multi-dimensional

mass spectrometry

Get ready: With advancements in the sensitivity and

efficiency of analytical instrumentation, the quantity and detail

of data streams are rapidly increasing

Rapidly growing capabilities for sensors and networks

• Small, affordable instruments

and the potential for

dispersed networks across

spatial scales

• New methods and tools for a

new era – capacity to probe

dynamics with

spatiotemporal resolution





spatial scales



dynamics with


• Commercial trends: Growing

number of good sensor and

network system companies

• Required: Engineering

skills and extensive

QC/QA





spatial scales



dynamics with


• Commercial trends: Growing

number of good sensor and

network system companies

• Required: Engineering

skills and extensive

QC/QA

Small-scale sensors are increasingly capable of producing

research-grade data that can catalyze a new generation of

environmental engineering research.

Think on the scale of your environment.

Think in networks and systems.

Embrace the complexity.

Multi-platform opportunities for transferable insights

• Multiplatform studies that connect the lab and the field (and

modelers) can constructively tackle this complexity




• Laboratory systems (simplified & complex), field sites

(stationary & mobile), sensor networks, airborne

measurements, satellites,…







• Tremendous potential of

remote sensing: Integrate

airborne and satellite

measurement capabilities

into your research







• Tremendous potential of

remote sensing: Integrate

airborne and satellite

measurement capabilities

into your research

Coming soon!

Low Earth Orbit

Geostationary Satellites

Picture: CHRONOS (UCAR)

Sleeping in the bed you made (tackling the data)

A new generation of analytical and statistical capabilities

• Need to build the expertise and statistical methods resources

that are capable of deciphering the high resolution data

• Get comfortable with designing and using automated data

processing and analysis

• Further development of multivariate tools (e.g. positive matrix

factorization, Bayesian statistics, machine learning)

• Capitalize on the surge in computing resources

• High performance computing centers

• Single desktop processing power

• Need automated programs and workflows for multi-

dimensional analytical chemistry techniques

• Non-targeted analyses of complex chemical mixtures

Collaborative research at the nexus

• Inter-, multi-, and trans-

disciplinary research

collaborations at the nexus

are well-suited to tackle the

inherent complexity

• Provides the capabilities to

probe connections across

multifaceted systems

• Capitalize on opportunities

to work closely with

researchers in:

• Public health

• Climate

• Energy

Environmental engineering

and sustainability nexus

Air quality’s role in environmental pollution

Air pollution kills

8 million people

per year

The single largest

environmental health

risk in the world

1/8th of

global

deaths= =

Sources: W.H.O. (for 2012)


Air pollution kills

8 million people

per year

Sources: W.H.O. (for 2012) & D.D. Parrish (NOAA)

The single largest


risk in the world

1/8th of

global

deaths= =

A call help developing

regions and megacities:

• Urbanization, climate

change, and increased

energy use will likely

exacerbate existing

health effects

• Disproportionately

affects disadvantaged

populations


Air pollution kills

8 million people

per year

A call help developing

regions and megacities:

• Urbanization, climate

change, and increased

energy use will likely

exacerbate existing

health effects

• Disproportionately

affects disadvantaged

populations

The single largest


risk in the world

1/8th of

global

deaths= =

U.S. EPA Standard

Sources: W.H.O. (for 2012) & D.D. Parrish (NOAA)

Needs and trends in EnvE research on air quality(Based in part on survey of air quality EnvE community)


• Clear need for research at the nexus of air, climate, health,

and energy

• Multi-platform connections across lab, field, and models



and energy


• Research on source characterization and emissions



and energy



• Interconnectivity of air quality impacts with climate and

health effects (incl. net effects of emitted aerosols and

co-emitted gases)

• Decarbonizing energy and transportation systems



and energy





co-emitted gases)


• Characterizing the atmosphere – much remains unknown

• Known unknowns and the unknown unknowns

• Transformations via multi-phase chemistry



and energy





co-emitted gases)


• Characterizing the atmosphere – much remains unknown

• Known unknowns and the unknown unknowns

• Transformations via multi-phase chemistry

• Indoor air quality and chemistry

Preparing the coming generation of students

• Need to foster complete engineering skill sets in our

undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering

students

• Computer programming – datasets and methods are too

big to tackle efficiently with Excel (Igor Pro, MatLab, R,

etc.)

• Sensors and networks require electrical engineering and

computer science skills (at least for the near future)

• Part engineers, part statisticians: Need to be comfortable

with advanced statistics to analyze driving factors in the

environment (e.g. sources, physical/chemical dynamics,

transport)

• Fluency in climate and energy sciences

Acknowledgements

For their helpful survey responses:

Chris Cappa (UC Davis)

Cort Anastasio (UC Davis)

Allen Goldstein (UC Berkeley)

Neil Donahue (CMU)

Chris Frey (NC State)

Andy Grieshop (NC State)

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