Education

Research Description

Dr. Grieshop's research focuses on interactions between energy use and the environment and more specifically on improving our technical understanding of the emission and atmospheric transformations of air pollutants. This work aims to inform effective policies to improve air quality and mitigate climate impacts in both developed and developing countries. Current research includes a collaborative project to quantify the emission, indoor concentration, and health and climate impacts of a cookstove replacement program in rural India and a project to characterize the atmospheric aging of emissions from these household energy systems. Other work has focused on air quality in near-road environments and on characterizing the volatility of organic particulate matter. His work integrates laboratory and field based experimentation with modeling and policy analysis efforts to address environmental problems.

Honors and Awards

• NSF CAREER, 2014

Publications

Seasonally varying secondary organic aerosol formation from in-situ oxidation of near-highway air

Saha, P. K., Reece, S. M., & Grieshop, A. P. (2018), Environmental Science & Technology, 52(13), 7192-7202.

Characterization of air pollutant concentrations, fleet emission factors, and dispersion near a North Carolina interstate freeway across two seasons

Saha, P. K., Khlystov, A., Snyder, M. G., & Grieshop, A. P. (2018), Atmospheric Environment, 177, 143-153.

Downwind evolution of the volatility and mixing state of near-road aerosols near a US interstate highway

Saha, P. K., Khlystov, A., & Grieshop, A. P. (2018), Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 18(3), 2139-2154.

Clean cooking and the SDGs: Integrated analytical approaches to guide energy interventions for health and environment goals

Rosenthal, J., Quinn, A., Grieshop, A. P., Pillarisetti, A., & Glass, R. I. (2018), Energy for Sustainable Development, 42, 152-159.

Primary and photochemically aged aerosol emissions from biomass cookstoves: Chemical and physical characterization

Reece, S. M., Sinha, A., & Grieshop, A. P. (2017), Environmental Science & Technology, 51(16), 9379-9390.

In-use emissions and estimated impacts of traditional, natural- and forced-draft cookstoves in rural Malawi

Wathore, R., Mortimer, K., & Grieshop, A. P. (2017), Environmental Science & Technology, 51(3), 1929-1938.

Quantifying the volatility of organic aerosol in the southeastern US

Saha, P. K., Khlystov, A., Yahya, K., Zhang, Y., Xu, L., Ng, N. L., & Grieshop, A. P. (2017), Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17(1), 501-520.

Health and climate-relevant pollutant concentrations from a carbon-finance approved cookstove intervention in rural India

Aung, T. W., Jain, G., Sethuraman, K., Baumgartner, J., Reynolds, C., Grieshop, A. P., Marshall, J. D., & Brauer, M. (2016), Environmental Science & Technology, 50(13), 7228-7238.

Exploring divergent volatility properties from yield and thermodenuder measurements of secondary organic aerosol from alpha-Pinene ozonolysis

Saha, P. K., & Grieshop, A. P. (2016), Environmental Science & Technology, 50(11), 5740-5749.

Determining aerosol volatility parameters using a "dual thermodenuder" system: Application to laboratory-generated organic aerosols

Saha, P. K., Khlystov, A., & Grieshop, A. P. (2015), Aerosol Science and Technology, 49(8), 620-632.

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Grants

PIRE: Confronting Energy Poverty: Building an Interdisciplinary Evidence Base, Network, and Capacity for Transformative Change

National Science Foundation (NSF)(1/01/18 - 12/31/18)

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PIRE: Confronting Energy Poverty: Building an Interdisciplinary Evidence Base, Network, and Capacity for Transformative Change

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Start Date: 1/01/18

End Date: 12/31/18

Abstract

Overview Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of the global challenge of energy poverty, with the absolute number of energy poor projected to increase through 2030. Energy poverty has implications for climate, environmental sustainability, human health, and well-being, with negative impacts realized at individual and collective-scales, and in local, regional, and global contexts. The complex socio-environmental challenge of energy poverty requires contributions from the basic, applied, and social sciences, and integration of evidence and learning using robust interdisciplinary frameworks. We will partner with and facilitate the networking of academic, practitioner, and policy communities in the US and Southern Africa to fill critical gaps in the theoretical and empirical evidence base regarding mitigating energy poverty. International partnership is critical to the identification of important and representative energy poverty innovations to study, to creating a network of institutions using common frameworks, research design, and empirical strategies, and to cultivating long-term interdisciplinary energy poverty research capacity in the Southern Africa region. Intellectual Merit Our aim is to build an interdisciplinary evidence base and network focused on energy poverty in Southern Africa, building capacity for transformative change. We center our research and capacity building around three themes: technology and incentives; space and place; and population and environment dynamics. We will measure the air quality, land use, and human welfare impacts of a representative set of technology and behavioral interventions designed to mitigate energy poverty. Based upon knowledge generated, we test new approaches for using and integrating appropriate technology and incentives to address energy poverty. In the second theme, we will investigate the spatial dimension of energy poverty by analyzing neighborhood effects as determinants of energy poverty, and consider the question of optimal scale of implementation of energy poverty interventions for maximizing environmental benefits and social welfare outcomes. Finally, we will investigate sustainable wood energy systems as a potential strategy for coping with the challenge of population and environment dynamics in the region, and analyze the associated environmental and economic synergies and trade-offs. This PIRE is innovative for several reasons. First, we use rigorous quantitative interdisciplinary impact evaluation as the anchor for our research and training program. We seek to study what works, why it works, and over what spatial and temporal scale. Second, the study of energy poverty is highly fragmented across a large number of disciplines with very little cross-fertilization or engagement with interdisciplinary frameworks including complex socio-ecological systems and population and environment dynamics. We use these important theoretical lenses to shed new light on this highly intractable problem, and to guide a coherent body of empirical research. Third, despite facing a looming crisis, energy poverty in Southern Africa is dramatically understudied. Broader Impacts Research findings from this study will provide new theoretical and empirical knowledge on energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa to academics, practitioners, and policy makers. We will build new networks and promote collaborative research and exchange among over 50 scientists, graduate, and undergraduate students across the US and Southern Africa, with the aim of creating a robust interdisciplinary network of scholars. To facilitate this, we will coordinate a series of regional training workshops focused on interdisciplinary energy poverty research. A central component of the PIRE is continuous engagement with policy makers and practitioners. We will organize a series of regional policy workshops that will take place at regular intervals during the life of the Energy Poverty PIRE. We propose several innovations in teaching and scholarship that will benefit the academic community including: development of a

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(1/01/17 - 5/31/19)

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

Sponsor: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Start Date: 1/01/17

End Date: 5/31/19

Abstract

Our proposal will determine the most important variables that explain spatial and temporal variance of near road traffic-related pollutant concentrations: We will explore the relative influence of traffic activity, the built environment (roadways and other built structures), and environmental (e.g. temperature, wind and background concentrations) factors on multi-pollutant transport, differential evolution and how all of these influence human exposure. We will also demonstrate novel surrogates of near-road traffic-related pollution: We will develop data and modeling approaches to quantify exposure concentrations of multiple pollutants emitted from vehicles or formed as secondary pollutants in the near-roadway microenvironment: fine particulate matter (PM), ultrafine particles (UPF), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The role of individual pollutants and mixtures of pollutants, and whether some pollutants are good surrogates for others, will be assessed. We will improve inputs for exposure models for traffic-related health: We will explore the implications of our measurement findings by applying them in spatial and temporal analysis of the relationship between human exposure (or surrogates for human exposure) and adverse effects, including evaluation of mixtures of pollutants and other proxies for exposure

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In-home emission testing of Mimi Moto pellet-fueled forced draft stoves and traditional cooking methods in Rwanda: Particulate matter emission factors and characterization

United Nations Office for Project Services(7/01/17 - 12/31/18)

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In-home emission testing of Mimi Moto pellet-fueled forced draft stoves and traditional cooking methods in Rwanda: Particulate matter emission factors and characterization

Sponsor: United Nations Office for Project Services

Start Date: 7/01/17

End Date: 12/31/18

Abstract

The goal of this study is to provide detailed emissions measurements for baseline and replacement stove technologies in use by communities taking part in a stove intervention being conducted by the social enterprise Enyenyeri in Rwanda, which is distributing fan-driven gasifier stoves and pelletized biomass fuels in Rwanda. The work will provide emission factors for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), particulate elemental and organic carbon (EC; OC), CO and CO2 for in-home use of both baseline and intervention technologies during wet- and dry-season testing. Tests will be conducted in sufficient numbers to provide some constraint on variability in emission factors across and, to a limited degree, within households. Real-time data will be analyzed to give insight into patterns in household cooking activities and the associated emission characteristics. Extensions to these core activities will include efforts to integrate the use patterns observed into laboratory testing protocols and off-line optical analysis of field-test filters to build on current efforts in my lab to develop a low-cost analysis method suitable for in-field application.

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Experimental Interventions to Facilitate Clean Cookstove Adoption, Promote Clean Indoor Air, and Mitigate Climate Change

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(9/01/15 - 9/30/19)

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Experimental Interventions to Facilitate Clean Cookstove Adoption, Promote Clean Indoor Air, and Mitigate Climate Change

Sponsor: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Start Date: 9/01/15

End Date: 9/30/19

Abstract

This project has four broad objectives regarding feasible improvements to stoves design and dissemination: (1) to assess why different stove models are (or are not) adopted, (2) to experiment by varying stove price and information dissemination methods to determine the impact of these variables on stove adoption rates, (3) to measure in situ the impacts of stove adoption on indoor air pollution, outdoor air pollution, and climate-forcing, and 4) to model the impacts of widespread stove adoption on regional and global climate through a range of scenarios directly informed by field experiments. The project will be based in two Indian states: Karnataka (South India) and Himachal Pradesh (North India). India contains one of the largest concentrations of solid fuel -dependent households on the world. Approximately 160 million households (90% of rural households, 27% of urban households) use solid fuels for cooking. Stoves offered in our interventions will be drawn from an array of available cleaner-burning fuel-efficient stoves ranging from relatively simple and affordable ?rocket? stoves (already successfully promoted in Karnataka and elsewhere) to sophisticated clean-burning forced-draft stoves and, if appropriate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Stoves. Stoves have been selected to represent varying degrees of improvement in fuel consumption, indoor air pollutant emissions, and climate impacts as well as cost, performance, and the degree to which their operation deviates from traditional cooking practices (e.g., fuel preparation, cooking time, and other features). Field measurements will be applied in atmospheric models to quantify the emissions climate-forcing response to regional or global stove adoption under a range of scenarios. North Carolina State University (NCSU) investigators will: 1) lead the effort to measure emissions from the cookstoves in-use in village households during the course of the experimental interventions and, 2) co-lead the measurements of indoor and outdoor air quality with Dr. Julian Marshall from University of Minnesota, 3) lead the analysis of air pollution data and samples collected during the study, and 4) participate in team efforts to analyze study results and disseminate via publications and presentations the results of the project. Custom equipment that has been developed by the PI for measurement of real-time stove emissions, which is currently in use in a randomized control trial of cookstove replacements in Karnataka, India, will be used in both northern- and southern-India experimental sites. Previous to deployment, activities will include designing research and training protocols, calibrating and preparing sampling equipment and preparing filter media for use in sampling. Field work by the NCSU graduate student at the two Indian field sites will include development of field protocols, training field staff and research infrastructure (e.g., central sampling station for outdoor air quality and meteorology in each village location) setup and data collection activities. The graduate student will deploy personal sampling pumps, the RealTime Air Quality (RTAQ, University of Minnesota) and Stove Emission Measurement System (STEMS) instruments and data collection and quality assurance activities that accompany their use. NCSU investigators will conduct laboratory analysis of PM samples collected during field sampling and analyze data from the STEMS and RTAQ instruments. Finally, the NCSU investigators will work with project co-PIs to publishing the results of analysis in archival journals and present the work in national and international settings.

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CNHL:Energy Transitions and Environmental Change in East and Southern Africa’s Coupled Human, Terrestrial and Atmospheric Systems

National Science Foundation (NSF)(10/01/16 - 9/30/18)

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CNHL:Energy Transitions and Environmental Change in East and Southern Africa’s Coupled Human, Terrestrial and Atmospheric Systems

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Start Date: 10/01/16

End Date: 9/30/18

Abstract

The proposed study is a four-year project to conduct research on the impacts on land use, air quality and regional climate change of biofuel use in Southern and East regions of Africa. Data collection will occur in southern Malawi, centered on several communities participating in a Structured Conditional Transfer program for household cookstove replacements being initiated by a non-governmental organization. Data collected will include those on land use/land cover change, air pollutant emissions, ambient air pollution concentrations, fuel demand and household behavior and decisions. Dr. Pamela Jagger from UNC-CH is the Principal Investigator of the study. Dr. Grieshop will serve as co-PI on the project and will lead the air pollutant emission and air quality measurement components of the study. Air pollutant measurements will include focused emission measurements on indoor air pollution sources (e.g. cookstoves) and other small biofuel-based sources (e.g. brick and charcoal kilns). A network of small, low-cost air quality monitors will be deployed to examine community and regional air quality and also to examine emission sources (e.g. agricultural burning) via near-field concentration measurements.

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(8/15/15 - 6/30/17)

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

Sponsor: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Start Date: 8/15/15

End Date: 6/30/17

Abstract

Our proposal will determine the most important variables that explain spatial and temporal variance of near road traffic-related pollutant concentrations: We will explore the relative influence of traffic activity, the built environment (roadways and other built structures), and environmental (e.g. temperature, wind and background concentrations) factors on multi-pollutant transport, differential evolution and how all of these influence human exposure. We will also demonstrate novel surrogates of near-road traffic-related pollution: We will develop data and modeling approaches to quantify exposure concentrations of multiple pollutants emitted from vehicles or formed as secondary pollutants in the near-roadway microenvironment: fine particulate matter (PM), ultrafine particles (UPF), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The role of individual pollutants and mixtures of pollutants, and whether some pollutants are good surrogates for others, will be assessed. We will improve inputs for exposure models for traffic-related health: We will explore the implications of our measurement findings by applying them in spatial and temporal analysis of the relationship between human exposure (or surrogates for human exposure) and adverse effects, including evaluation of mixtures of pollutants and other proxies for exposure

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Development and Demonstration of Methods for Measurement of Human Exposure to Air Pollution Using Portable Sensors Applied to High Potential Dose Scenarios in Urban Environments

NCSU Center for Human Health and the Environment(8/16/15 - 12/31/16)

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Development and Demonstration of Methods for Measurement of Human Exposure to Air Pollution Using Portable Sensors Applied to High Potential Dose Scenarios in Urban Environments

Sponsor: NCSU Center for Human Health and the Environment

Start Date: 8/16/15

End Date: 12/31/16

Abstract

The aims of this project are to demonstrate a method for quantification of spatial and temporal variability in real world air pollutant exposure concentrations, activity patterns, and potential dose. New technologies are emerging for portable and, in some cases, “low cost,” sensing of air quality at the point of contact with humans or other receptors. However, the development of methods for in-use measurement of exposure concentrations is an emerging area and requires research to tailor the measurement methodology to health-relevant metrics of exposure, such as potential dose. The method will be demonstrated by application to an exemplary case study for exposure to air pollution in an urban “green” environment by persons engaged in various levels of activity and exercise, including pedestrians and bicyclists. The methodological approach includes: (a) development of a study design that accounts for choices of study routes, transport modes (pedestrian, cycle), and activity patterns; (b) selection, assembly, and deployment of a portable exposure concentration monitoring instrument package; (c) field data collection of exposure concentrations for the selected study design; (d) quantification of surrogate indicators of ventilation (breathing); (e) data processing; (f) geospatial data analysis to identify locations associated with high exposure and high dose; (g) temporal analysis to determine peak times for exposure and dose; and (h) evaluation of the approach and development of recommendations for improved methods and additional applications. This pilot work will result in a peer-reviewed archival journal paper and serve as the foundation for a larger grant application at a later time.

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In Home Emission Testing of Baseline and Alternative Cookstove Technologies in Malawi: Particulate Matter Emission Factors and Characterization

United Nations Foundation (UNF)(8/01/15 - 12/31/16)

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In Home Emission Testing of Baseline and Alternative Cookstove Technologies in Malawi: Particulate Matter Emission Factors and Characterization

Sponsor: United Nations Foundation (UNF)

Start Date: 8/01/15

End Date: 12/31/16

Abstract

The goal of this study is to provide detailed emissions measurements for baseline and replacement stove technologies in use by communities taking part in two independent stove intervention programs in rural Malawi: the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS) being led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the carbon-finance-funded Chitetezo Mbaula intervention being conducted by the NGO Concern Universal (CU). The work plan described below will provide emission factors for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), BC, particulate elemental and organic carbon (EC; OC), CO and CO2 for in-home use of both baseline and intervention technologies. Tests will be conducted in sufficient numbers to provide some constraint on variability in emission factors across and, to a limited degree, within households. Real-time data will be analyzed to give insight into patterns in household cooking activities and the associated emission characteristics. Extensions to these core activities will include efforts to integrate the use patterns observed into laboratory testing protocols and off-line optical analysis of field-test filters to build on current efforts in my lab to develop a low-cost analysis method suitable for in-field application.

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CAREER:From the Kitchen to the Clouds: Research and Teaching on the Emission and Evolution of Aerosols from Household Energy Use by the Global Poor

National Science Foundation (NSF)(5/01/14 - 4/30/19)

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CAREER:From the Kitchen to the Clouds: Research and Teaching on the Emission and Evolution of Aerosols from Household Energy Use by the Global Poor

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Start Date: 5/01/14

End Date: 4/30/19

Abstract

he fundamental question addressed in the proposed work is: What are the net climate and air pollution impacts of current and potential future sources of household cooking and heating energy? Primitive fuel use for household energy provision has massive impacts on human health and the global climate. I propose a research and teaching program that lies at the nexus of an urgent global health problem and fundamental questions being tackled by engineers and atmospheric scientists. The research will build a multi-scale understanding of the impacts of primitive household energy use by focusing on the complex emissions and aging processes biomass burning aerosols undergo and quantifying the potential benefits associated with new technologies. Associated integrated educational activities will expose students to international environmental issues through hands-on activities and data collection. Over 3 billion people globally rely on primitive cooking devices and biomass fuel to meet household energy needs for cooking and heating, with enormous attendant human impacts. Biofuel burning is a major global source of atmospheric black carbon aerosols and other emissions with strong warming impacts on the global climate system. Therefore, reducing emissions from household biomass burning has the potential to provide both enormous global health and climate benefits. However, the impacts of current practices and the potential improvements associated with new technologies are both highly uncertain due to limited scientific understanding and lack of engineering and market solutions appropriate to the conditions in poorer households and nations. Biofuel burning emissions are a function of variables such as fuel type and moisture level and micro-scale heat and mass transfer processes. The emitted smoke contains organic carbon aerosols, which may fully or partly counteract the warming impacts of the co-emitted black carbon through direct (shortwave scattering) and indirect (cloud) climate effects. Therefore, the net climate benefits from reducing emissions are a strong function of the relative prevalence of these different aerosol components. Biomass combustion emissions continually evolve (?age?) via atmospheric chemistry. This aging can more than triple the organic aerosol emitted, while drastically changing its chemical nature and optical properties. Aging may dictate whether biofuel burning emissions have net warming or cooling climate effects. A key question is whether efforts to reduce the health impacts of fuel use lead to solutions that worsen the associated climate impacts, or vice versa. The work proposed here endeavors to minimize such a possibility by enhancing our understanding of household biofuel emissions sources and impacts and providing methods and tools to design effective means to mitigate impacts. The scale of the problem is such that anticipating solutions? effectiveness is of critical importance; missteps at scale will have massive human, environmental and economic costs. An interlinked, iterative program of field and lab experimentation will lead to robust insights and methodologies that neither alone could produce. Standard laboratory tests recreate neither the usage patterns nor performance of domestic energy devices. Therefore, in situ measurement of stove use and the quantity and physicochemical characteristics of emissions in actual kitchens is required. I have developed instrument packages and completed such testing in India during the initiation of my research group. Field measurements with established partners in India will enable detailed in-home measurements to be conducted. Field testing yields data on stove use patterns, important fuel and activity parameters and environmental parameters that influence pollutant production and transformation. In-home measurements will also include a human exposure measurement component. The challenges and limitations associated with field testing in resource-constrained settings make lab testing essential to develop and understand effective technologies

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(7/01/14 - 8/15/15)

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Characterizing the Determinants of Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure: Measurement and Modeling of Land-Use, Traffic, Emissions, Transformation and Transport

Sponsor: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Start Date: 7/01/14

End Date: 8/15/15

Abstract

Our proposal will determine the most important variables that explain spatial and temporal variance of near road traffic-related pollutant concentrations: We will explore the relative influence of traffic activity, human activity, the built environment (roadways and other built structures), and environmental (e.g. temperature, wind and background concentrations) factors on multi-pollutant transport, differential evolution and how all of these influence human exposure. We will also demonstrate novel surrogates of near-road traffic-related pollution: We will develop data and modeling approaches to quantify exposure concentrations of multiple pollutants emitted from vehicles or formed as secondary pollutants in the near-roadway microenvironment: fine particulate matter (PM), ultrafine particles (UPF), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The role of individual pollutants and mixtures of pollutants, and whether some pollutants are good surrogates for others, will be assessed. We will improve inputs for exposure models for traffic-related health: We will explore the implications of our measurement findings by applying them in spatial and temporal analysis of the relationship between human exposure (or surrogates for human exposure) and adverse effects, including evaluation of mixtures of pollutants and other proxies for exposure

Close