Oct 7: Atmospheric particles' effects on health and climate

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Lungs Too)

For the third presentation in the series Climate Change Here and Now, Ellis Robinson investigates the origins and effects of atmospheric particles—unavoidable by-products of the way our society creates and uses energy.

Invisible to the naked eye, we only notice the presence of atmospheric particles on the haziest of days or as smoke from a fire. But their impacts are felt far and wide. Long a significant part of Pittsburgh’s dirty air challenge, local levels of fine particulate pollution were within federal standards for the first time in 2013. Globally, particulates are a critical factor in the climate equation and are responsible for many of the leading causes of death.

Despite the omnipresence of these particles and their recognized effects on public health and climate, how they form and evolve in the atmosphere is poorly understood. Ellis will give a broad overview of the global significance of atmospheric particles and then focus on his research at Carnegie Mellon University, where laboratory and field experiments (including research on the impact of wildfires) have begun to chip away at these unsolved questions.

This event's featured speaker is Science & Engineering Ambassador Ellis Robinson, a recent graduate of the doctoral program in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Ellis is also a co-creator, producer, and host of the science podcast “I Wonder.”  

6-8 p.m. at Bar Marco's Union Hall (2216 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222).   Complimentary hors d'oeuvres will be provided along with a cash bar, and the event is free but please be sure to RSVP here.

Previous events in the Climate series featured Ambassadors Daniel Tkacik and Neil Donahue.

The Science & Engineering Ambassadors program is an activity of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).  The program connects opinion leaders with local experts, building relationships at the community level on the topic of energy.  The NAS and NAE are private, non-profit societies of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the public good.