BIOAEROSOL TRAFFIC IN
OUR CHANGING ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
By Mark Hernandez, PhD, PE – Professor of
Environmental Engineering ,
University of Colorado at Boulder
Until very recently, aerobiology has largely been ignored by the engineering community; the lack of activity is inconsistent with the Civil Engineers’ charter to protect public health. The era of global warming, widespread asthma and bioterrorism brings renewed attention to aerobiology, where the characterization and control of bioaerosols is a last frontier for environmental engineers. The contribution of the most common primary biopolymers - DNA, lipids, carbohydrates and proteins - to the pool of atmospheric organic carbon remains relatively unknown, as is their potential effect on weather, to participate in secondary aerosol formation or otherwise contribute to toxicological activity. On this talk, Mr. Hernandez will offer a synopsis of more than a decade of bioaerosol research from a variety of indoor and pristine environments, as well as those impacted by natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina, Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, and the Great Plains Floods). Learn the microbiology of what we are breathing every day.
Mark Hernandez is professor at the Department of Civil,
Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, He serves as the principal
investigator for an externally funded graduate research program in applied
environmental microbiology and is a lecturer in courses on introductory
environmental engineering, wastewater treatment engineering, and environmental
microbiology. Mark Hernandez is also the faculty director of the Colorado
Diversity Initiative.
Wednesday,
January 23, 2013
Denver
Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall
6:30 – 8
p.m.