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Sensor100
February 2016
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With New Sensors, A ClearerView Of Air Quality
High-resolution air pollution sensor networks and wearable sensors that give real-time
data on common air pollutants could usher in a new generation of air quality studies.
That’s what Prof. Drew Gentner is aiming for with a project that
begins at theYale Center for Engineering Innovation & Design
(CEID) this semester.With students, he will design and build about
50 stationary air sensors, each smaller than the size of a shoebox.
They will also design and build about 15 portable units.These sen-
sors, similar in size to smartphones, will be worn by volunteers in
Baltimore as they go about their daily routines.
When the portable sensors are complete, people will be able to wear them for days
at a time.The stationary sensors will be located in representative locations around the
city: roads, schools and other places where people spend a lot of time.“With these
networks we’ll have real time measurements, 24 hours a day of the fine spatial, tempo-
ral, and chemical resolution on
the air pollutants responsible
for detrimental effects on hu-
man health and climate,” said
Gentner,Assistant Professor of
Chemical & Environmental Engi-
neering, who is also associated
with the School of Forestry &
Environmental Studies.
Baltimore was the chosen site
for sensors partly because
of the proximity to SEARCH
partner Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity and for the availability of
participants from a wide range
of backgrounds. Gentner said the portable sensors should be ready for use in 2017.
“We’ll be collecting the data for about two years and our subsequent analyses will look
at how individual and broader policy choices affect air pollution and human exposure.”
Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science February 3