Air Quality Research Program

Faculty     Programs     Education     Research Team

Faculty   

 
Dr. David Allen

The Reese Professor in Chemical Engineering;
Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Resources;
Chairman, Texas Council on Environmental Technology; 
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology (1983);
Presidential Young Investigator (1986);
AT&T Foundation Fellow in Industrial Ecology (1993);
Award for Excellence in Teaching (UCL A, 1986

Dr. David Allen (Chemical Engineering Web Page)

Bio. Sketch

Resume

Programs

Air Resources Engineering

    The University of Texas at Austin has developed one of the world's largest and most active programs in Air Resources Engineering.  The group focusing on outdoor air quality, under the direction of Professor David T. Allen,  currently includes approximately 15 graduate students, 4 professional research staff, and 5 undergraduate researchers in three academic departments.  Research activities within the group fall into four broad categories: sources of air pollution, laboratory investigations of atmospheric physical and chemical processes, ambient air quality monitoring, ambient air quality modeling, indoor air quality, and air pollution control. 

Sources of Air Pollution

    The design of effective strategies for improving air quality relies on knowledge of the relative importance and chemical characteristics of sources of air pollution.  The University of Texas at Austin researchers are involved in numerous studies intended to improve the current state of understanding of a wide range of sources that emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), and particulate matter.  In the past several years, The University of Texas at Austin researchers have conducted studies of emissions due to natural vegetation, automotive refueling, and agricultural burning.  In addition, comprehensive emission inventories have been prepared for individual cities.

Laboratory Investigations of Atmospheric Physical and Chemical Processes  

    Laboratory studies of the fundamental physical and chemical processes that control the fate and transport of air pollutants complement the activities on source characterization. Laboratory chambers are used to characterize the chemical pathways important in ozone formation and the chemical pathways that convert gas-phase VOCs into organic matter in atmospheric particulates. The chemical mechanisms and gas-to-particle conversion rates identified in these studies can be used directly in airshed models and reveal the relative importance of different VOC constituents in particle and ozone formation. The chemistry of liquid and solid particulate matter formed over the Gulf of Mexico (marine aerosols) and the cycling of chlorine in the atmosphere are also being investigated.

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring

    Another group of projects focuses on characterizing air quality in Texas cities.  During the past two years, UT researchers have done ambient monitoring in Austin, Dallas, Longview, San Antonio, Tyler, and Victoria.  Samples are taken from ground-based stations and from aircraft operated by collaborating institutions, the measuring both gas-phase and particulate-phase air pollutants.  Measurements are used to calibrate air quality models such as the Urban Airshed Model (UAM) or the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extensions (CAMx) which, in turn, are used to evaluate emission reduction strategies. 

    Two major air quality monitoring initiatives are planned for the Year 2000 and beyond.  To assure that air pollution policies in Texas are based on sound science, local, state, and national air quality experts, led by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and Professor Allen at the University of Texas, developed the largest air quality field study ever undertaken in Texas.  The work is designed to improve understanding of the chemical and physical processes that control air pollutant formation and transport along the Gulf Coast of southeastern Texas.  The details of the study are described at the web site http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/texaqs.  Complementing the comprehensive air quality study will be a focussed, 4-year sampling and analysis program for fine particulate matter, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  This Gulf Coast Aerosol Research and Characterization program is one of 7 particulate matter research “supersites” established by the U.S. EPA nationwide (http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~gcarch/HoustonSuperSite).  Together, these programs will play a major role in defining the scientific understanding that underlies air quality management in Texas for the next decade.

Ambient Air Quality Modeling

    Professor Allen and Dr. Elena McDonald-Buller direct a program that performs regional air quality modeling.  The focus is on characterizing the effectiveness of control strategies in Texas.  Modeling has been performed for individual cities, such as Victoria and Austin, as well as for the State as a whole. The modeling group utilizes both regulatory modeling tools, such as the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extensions (CAMx), as well as research tools such as the SAPRC chemical kinetics model.
    
    The modeling activities serve as a focal point for all of the outdoor air quality activities of the UT group, since the models integrate the best available understanding of emissions, atmospheric chemical processes and atmospheric physical processes into a tool that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of air quality policies.

Education

    Complementing the extensive research program is an equally extensive program in graduate, undergraduate and public education.  The UT faculty offers its students seven courses related to Air Resources Engineering on a regular basis, making it one of the largest Air Resources Engineering academic programs in the world.   Courses include:

Professional short courses are also offered several times each year, and UT also serves as a major contributor to a summer institute for middle and high school teachers.