Fall 2018 Seminar Schedule.

Join us every Friday from 12:45-1:45pm in BUSM (HOU R103, BU Medical School) unless otherwise indicated below:

Detailed Schedule (To follow)

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Address Urban Environmental Challenges: Connecting Environmental Health & Biogeosciences

EH Seminar Series – Fall 2018

September 14:

Raquel Jimenez Celsi and Daniel Nguyen

PhD Candidates, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH

Introduction to Seminar Series

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Address Urban Environmental Challenges: Connecting Environmental Health & Biogeosciences

September 21:

Randall Martin, PhD

Arthur B. McDonald Chair of Research Excellence

Director, Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University

Research Associate, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Title:  Blending Biogeoscience and Environmental Health Research to Address Major Environmental and Public Health Challenges Such as Air Quality

Summary:  Major environmental and public health challenges such as air quality and environmental degradation span multiple disciplines, including biogeoscience and environmental health. Satellite remote sensing, chemical transport modeling, and targeted measurements are increasingly combined by both the environmental health and biogeoscience communities to address these challenges. This talk will highlight recent advances in combining information from these multiple sources to address challenges of joint interest with an emphasis on air quality.

Bio:  Professor Martin is the coordinator of the atmospheric science program and director of the Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group at Dalhousie University, and is a Research Associate at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. His research focuses on characterizing atmospheric composition to inform effective policies surrounding major environmental and public health challenges ranging from air quality to climate change. He leads a research group at the interface of satellite remote sensing and global modeling, with applications that include population exposure for health studies, top-down constraints on emissions, and analysis of processes that affect atmospheric composition. His group’s work has been featured as Paper of the Year by the leading journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Data from his group are used for the OECD Regional Well-Being Index, for WHO estimates of global mortality due to fine particulate matter, for the Global Burden of Disease Project to examine the risk factors affecting global public health, and for the Environmental Performance Index, and for a wide range of health studies. Martin served as the scientific co-chair of a recent IGAC/iCACGP international conference on atmospheric chemistry. He currently serves as Co-Model Scientist for the GEOS-Chem model, on the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch Task Team for Observational Requirements, on the Outdoor Air Pollution Expert Working Group of the Global Burden of Disease Project, and on several satellite Science Teams. He leads the SPARTAN network to evaluate and enhance satellite-based estimates of fine particulate matter. His professional honors include a Steacie Memorial Fellowship and selection to the Royal Society of Canada. Google Scholar reports over 25,000 citations of his 200 journal publications.

Recommended Reading:

• van Donkelaar, A., R.V. Martin, M. Brauer, R. Kahn, R. Levy, C. Verduzco, and P.J. Villeneuve, Global Estimates of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations from Satellite-Based Aerosol Optical Depth: Development and Application, Health Perspec., doi:10.1289/ehp.0901623, 118(6), 2010.

September 28:            

Lucy Hutyra, PhD

Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University

Title: Cycling of CO2 in urban environments: Disentangling emissions and biological uptake to measure progress in climate action plans 

Summary: The announcement that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord has catalyzed efforts for cities to take climate action.  More than 400 U.S. mayors, representing 69 million people, have committed to uphold the commitments in the Paris Agreement. Many cities have proclaimed even more ambitious targets, aiming for reductions of 80% or more in local emissions by 2050.  In this seminar, Dr. Hutyra will use the Boston region as a case study to understand spatial and temporal patterns in fossil fuel emissions, biological uptake, and land use change within the urban carbon cycle in the context of climate action plans.

Bio: Lucy Hutyra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth & Environment at Boston University. She received her PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2007 from Harvard University for her thesis “Carbon and Water Exchange in Amazonian Rain Forests.” In 1998 she received BS in Forest Ecology and Management from the University of Washington. Professor Hutyra’s current research interests center on characterization of the urban carbon cycle, including quantifying the effects of urbanization on vegetation structure and productivity, developing urban greenhouse gas monitoring systems, and refining fossil fuel emissions estimates. Hutyra is an Investigator on several large NASA research projects linking remote sensing, atmospheric observations, field measurements, and models to study the urban carbon cycle. She was the recipient of an NSF CAREER award in 2012, serves on the North American Carbon Program Scientific Steering Group, and is a member of the NASA Earth Sciences Federal Advisory Group.  Hutyra has published approaching 100 peer-reviewed scientific studies on various aspects of the carbon cycle.

Recommended Reading:

October 5:     

Iyad Kheirbek

Head of Air Quality, C40 Cities

Title:  Air Quality Data to Action:  Case Studies and Strategies from New York City and C40 Cities

Summary: This presentation will discuss urban air quality initiatives in two setting – New York City and C40 Cities, a network world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change and creating healthier cities.   In 2007 NYC announced its first sustainability plan, PlaNYC, followed in 2015 by OneNYC – both setting the goal of having the cleanest air of any US city by 2030.  Iyad Kheirbek will describe actions taken by the City of New York to collect and analyze data to support policy efforts to meet this ambitious goal. He will also discuss a new air quality program being undertaken at C40 Cities to support cities globally in addressing their air quality challenges while taking aggressive climate action. 

Bio: Iyad Kheirbek serves as the Head of Air Quality at C40, and is responsible for the development and delivery of C40’s global air quality strategy.  Prior to joining C40, Iyad spent a decade working on air quality, climate, and public health issues with the City of New York, most recently serving as the Executive Director of the Air Quality program at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  In the that role, Iyad was responsible for leading the New York City Community Air Survey, the largest ongoing urban air monitoring program in the US, and led air quality and public health research and policy analysis to support development and implementation of New York City’s air quality and climate agendas.  Prior to joining the New York City, Iyad worked as an environmental scientist for the nonprofit NESCAUM, assisting States in the Northeastern US in developing air quality and climate programs.

Recommended Reading:

• Kheirbek I, Haney J, Douglas S, Ito K, Caputo S Jr, Matte T. The public health benefits of reducing fine particulate matter through conversion to cleaner heating fuels in New York City. Environ Sci Technol. 2014 Dec 2;48(23):13573-82. doi: 10.1021/es503587p. Epub 2014 Nov 14.
• Matte TD, Ross Z, Kheirbek I, Eisl H, Johnson S, Gorczynski JE, Kass D, Markowitz S, Pezeshki G, Clougherty JE. Monitoring intraurban spatial patterns of multiple combustion air pollutants in New York City: design and implementation. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2013 May-Jun;23(3):223-31. doi: 10.1038/jes.2012.126. Epub 2013 Jan 16.

October 12:    

Pam Templer

Department of Biology, Boston University

Title:  Effects of climate change and air pollution on trees, soils, water, and air quality

Summary:  Dr. Templer will share research her lab conducts in northern forests ecosystems and the greater Boston area to evaluate the effects of warmer temperatures, a smaller snowpack, air pollutants, and urbanization on the ability for trees and soils to improve water and air quality.

Bio: Pamela Templer, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Biology and Director of both the interdisciplinary Biogeoscience Program and BU URBAN Graduate Program at Boston University. She is a biogeochemist who has published widely on the effects of air pollution, climate change, and urbanization on forest ecosystems, water and air quality. She and members of her lab currently work in temperate forests of the northeastern United States and Japan, redwood forests of California, and tropical forests of Mexico and Puerto Rico. Additional information about Pamela and her lab can be found here: http://people.bu.edu/ptempler/

Recommended Reading:

• Templer PH, Toll JW, Hutyra LR, Raciti SM.Nitrogen and carbon export from urban areas through removal and export of litterfall. Environ Pollut. 2015 Feb;197:256-261. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2014.11.016. Epub 2014 Nov 27.
• Decina SM, Templer PH, Hutyra LR, Gately CK, Rao P. Variability, drivers, and effects of atmospheric nitrogen inputs across an urban area: Emerging patterns among human activities, the atmosphere, and soils. Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 31;609:1524-1534. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.

October 19:    

Nathan Phillips         

Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University

Topic: An Unfolding Crisis in the Merrimack Valley & its Broader Implications for Energy & Environmental Justice.

Summary:This seminar will recount the gas fire & explosions on Sept 13 in the Merrimack Valley & how this initial emergency has segued into a race against time to restore heat before winter. It will highlight environmental and energy justice considerations in the short term and longer term, I and how what plays out in the Merrimack Valley serves as a warning about broader society’s choices for clean, safe, healthy & secure energy for our future.

Bio: Coming

Recommended Reading:

• Fugitive methane emissions from leak-prone natural gas distribution infrastructure in urban environments

• Recent Massachusetts Explosions Can Happen in Any Gas System

October 26

Randi Rotjan

Title:  Hidden problems in secret corals: Exploring Microplastic Abundance in Local, Temperate Corals Along an Urban Gradient

Summary:  Microplastics (<5mm) are a recognized threat to aquatic food webs, and examination of their ingestion / egestion dynamics is an active and growing field of study. We explored these dynamics in a coastal, temperate, urban coral on the US East Coast in wild corals, and also conducted lab experiments to explore feeding preference, microplastic localization, and subsequent consequences of microplastic ingestion. In the end, the million dollar question remains: how do we measure this mess? And this temperate, urban coral may help provide the answer.

Bio: Dr. Randi Rotjan is a global change biologist and a Research Assistant Professor at Boston University in the Biology Department and in the Boston University Marine Program. She received a B.S. from Cornell University, a Ph.D. from Tufts, and did her postdoctoral work at Harvard. She was an Associate Research Scientist at the New England Aquarium for 8 years, where she simultaneously held positions at UMass Boston and the Smithsonian Institution. She is the co-Chief Scientist of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) Conservation Trust, where she leads the science program for the worlds’ largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site, fully closed to all commercial extractive activities. Rotjan is also the founder and co-Chair of the PIPA Scientific Advisory Committee. At BU, she teaches Marine Urban Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology, Marine Biology, and Coral Reef Dynamics. She is a member of Women Working for Oceans (W2O) and the Explorers Club. She lives in the Boston area with her two sweet children, awesome husband, and a yard full of native plants.

Recommended Reading: Coming

November 1:

Alumni Event- No Seminar

November 9:

EH Retreat – No Seminar

November 16:

Student seminar: Julia Bauer and Stephanie Kim

PhD Candidates, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH

November 23:

Thanksgiving Holiday – No Seminar

November 30:

Student seminar: Kate Connolly and Jeff Carlson

PhD Candidates, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH

December 7:

Student seminar: Leila Heidari and Victoria Fruh

PhD Candidates, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH

December 14:

Student seminar: Lindsey Butler

PhD Candidate, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH