What's New

Publications

"An inexpensive light-scattering particle monitor: chamber and field validations with woodsmoke"(Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2007, 1099-1106 doi: 39/b709329m).
"Speciation of ambient fine organic carbon particles and source apportionment of PM2.5 in Indian cities,"Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 2007, 112, D15303, doi:10.1029/2007JD008386.

Talks

Integrated & Real-time PM2.5 Concentrations in Kitchens, Bedrooms, and Outdoors in Highland Guatemala Using both Gravimetric and UCB Particle Monitor
Partnership for Clean Indoor Air: Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring
Partnership for Clean Indoor Air: Indoor PM2.5 and CO Concentrations Reduction from Improved Stoves Installation in Rural Northwest Yunnan Province, China
Current Source Apportionment Studies in ASIA: An Overview

Poster Presentations

Size Distributed Chemical Composition of Fine Particles Emitted from Burning Asian Coal

Dr. Chowdhury has left his position as a Post Doctoral Researcher at the University of California at Berkeley to start as an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University from August 2007

Research Page

My Research Interests

Characterization of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter Atmospheric Chemistry Measurement of Air Pollutants Particle Monitor Development and Testing Source Apportionment of Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter Organic Tracer Analysis Exposure Assessment of Air Pollutant Source emission characterization

Significance of My Research

Particulate matter air pollution has been of concern not only in the US but all over the world. Adverse effects of air pollution include health effects such as respiratory and cardiac problems, visibility reduction, and a documented effect on global warming. Particulate matter or aerosols are emitted from various sources, both natural and anthropogenic, and once mixed in the atmosphere they are transported long range from urban to rural and from one continent to another. Even though air quality in many US cities have improved in the last decade, particulate matter air pollution still remains a major problem here; and in most Asian cities and in many developing nations this problem has reached immediately hazardous conditions. With long range transport, particulate matter emission in one region causes air pollution in another region. My research seeks to measure air pollution from particulate matter and understand its sources, chemistry, and health effects, both in the US and across the world, particularly in India, China, and Guatemala.

Research Description

My research specialty is in both outdoor and indoor air pollution characterization, instrumentation and methods development, as well as, health effects associated with Particulate Matter (PM). Fig 1 shows the relationship among the different areas of my research. The indoor component of my work focuses on the co-benefits that can be attained with a shift to cleaner burning fuels in the household energy sector in the developing world. In order to do that, I develop methods to measure and understand exposure to indoor air pollution, as well as, understand the health effects of PM on sensitive groups such as pregnant women and children. The outdoor component of my work focuses on identifying and understanding the origin of air pollution in cities and regions by monitoring air pollutants which are subsequently chemically analyzed in the laboratory to help conduct receptor-oriented source apportionment modeling. Of interest are the size distribution and chemical composition of particulate matter (both fine and ultra fine particles) as well as source emission characterization.

Fig 1. My research areas and inter-relationship among the different areas.

I am also collaborating with Prof. Kirk R. Smith at UC Berkeley in developing new instrumentation and methods. As part of this collaboration, we have conducted the first randomized stove intervention trial in the Highlands of Guatemala. I lead the Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) portion of this collaboration work. As part of the bigger Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) study, the objective of which was to understand the indirect effects of aerosols over the Indian Ocean, I monitored PM and its chemistry to support light scattering calculations. Expanding on the work from INDOEX, for the first time in India, I conducted a four-city monitoring and receptor-based source apportionment work using organic compounds as tracers and this work has recently been published. The results from the inorganic speciation work of the particles are currently being analyzed for a follow-up publication. These results provide important insights into the PM makeup of these highly populated and polluted cities.

Current Projects

Size distribution and chemical characterization of the ambient fine and ultra fine particles in India cities
Source emission characterization from burning Asian coals and Biomass
Source Apportionment of six California counties using CMB modeling
Chronic Respiratory Effects of Early Childhood Exposure to Respirable Particulate Matter (CRECER): Link
Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects (RESPIRE): Link
UCB Particle Monitor Development: Link