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

Application of low-cost fine particulate mass monitors to convert satellite aerosol optical depth to surface concentrations in North America and Africa

Malings, C., Westervelt, D. M., Hauryliuk, A., Presto, A. A., Grieshop, A., Bittner, A., … Subramanian, R. (2020), ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES, 13(7), 3873–3892. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020

Aligning evidence generation and use across health, development, and environment

Tallis, H., Kreis, K., Olander, L., Ringler, C., Ameyaw, D., Borsuk, M. E., … Zobrist, S. (2019). [Review of , ]. CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 39, 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.09.004

Characterization of a dimer preparation method for nanoscale organic aerosol

Rothfuss, N. E., Petters, S. S., Champion, W. M., Grieshop, A. P., & Petters, M. D. (2019), AEROSOL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2019.1623379

Determinants of Cookstoves and Fuel Choice Among Rural Households in India

Menghwani, V., Zerriffi, H., Dwivedi, P., Marshall, J. D., Grieshop, A., & Bailis, R. (2019), ECOHEALTH, 16(1), 21–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1389-3

Pellet-Fed Gasifier Stoves Approach Gas-Stove Like Performance during in-Home Use in Rwanda

Champion, W. M., & Grieshop, A. P. (2019), ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 53(11), 6570–6579. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b00009

Temperature- and Humidity-Dependent Phase States of Secondary Organic Aerosols

Petters, S. S., Kreidenweis, S. M., Grieshop, A. P., Ziemann, P. J., & Petters, M. D. (2019), GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 46(2), 1005–1013. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080563

Volatility and Viscosity Are Correlated in Terpene Secondary Organic Aerosol Formed in a Flow Reactor

Champion, W. M., Rothfuss, N. E., Petters, M. D., & Grieshop, A. P. (2019), ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, 6(9), 513–519. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00412

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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.01.019

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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2017.11.003

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. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2139-2018

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Grants

Training for Innovation in Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure (TISSI)

VentureWell (formerly know as National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance)(6/30/20 - 12/31/21)

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Training for Innovation in Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure (TISSI)

Sponsor: VentureWell (formerly know as National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance)

Start Date: 6/30/20

End Date: 12/31/21

Abstract

The goal of this program is to create a new design elective, 'Innovation in Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure' that will be incorporated in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering curriculum. The course will be facilitated by PI Grieshop and Co-PI Berglund, who will lead teams of students in course projects. Course projects will be developed in cooperation with faculty who will provide guidance throughout the semester in technical content and design. We will develop course projects around new technologies in water quality sensors, pavement materials, and water treatment that have clear market pathways. We will work with the Entrepreneurial Program at NC State to develop the technologies and connections that are needed to bring new inventions to the market. We plan to offer Innovation in Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure as an elective special topics course, with a long-term goal to develop this into a senior design course. The Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Program recently adopted a new sophomore-level course, Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure, that is designed to introduce students to principles in problem solving, environmental sustainability, and engineering economics, along with social sustainability. The proposed course will build on principles that are developed at the sophomore level and will provide new training opportunities in entrepreneurship, sustainability, and state-of-the-art smart technologies. We expect that this will add a new dimension to our degrees to attract strong, passionate, and creative students to NC State. We hope to enable a new passion for innovation, smart technologies, and sustainable solutions in the up-coming generation of civil and environmental engineers.

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Scholarship to Support Maksim Islam Research: Exploring Two Aspects of Cookstove Emissions - Brown Carbon Absorption and the Link Between Emission and Indoor Air Quality

Jacobs (4/01/20 - 12/31/20)

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Scholarship to Support Maksim Islam Research: Exploring Two Aspects of Cookstove Emissions - Brown Carbon Absorption and the Link Between Emission and Indoor Air Quality

Sponsor: Jacobs

Start Date: 4/01/20

End Date: 12/31/20

Abstract

Globally over 3 billion people use solid fuel cookstoves as their main source of household energy (World Health Organization 2018). Emissions from these stoves contribute to household air pollution (HAP) causing negative health impacts to those exposed. According to World Health Organization (WHO), two to four million premature deaths each year are attributed to HAP exposure (World Health Organization 2018). Combustion of solid fuel emits black carbon (BC) that is thought to have the 2nd largest global warming impact after CO2 (Bond et al. 2013). Recent studies suggest that biomass burning also emits light absorbing organic carbon (commonly known as Brown Carbon, BrC), which is still poorly understood (Saleh et al. 2014; Xie et al. 2018).

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Scholarship to Support Research Understanding the Effects on Emissions of Modified Operation of Pellet Stoves

Jacobs (4/01/20 - 12/31/20)

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Scholarship to Support Research Understanding the Effects on Emissions of Modified Operation of Pellet Stoves

Sponsor: Jacobs

Start Date: 4/01/20

End Date: 12/31/20

Abstract

In 2017, 3.6 billion people were exposed to household air pollution from the use of solid fuels for cooking (Health Effects Institute, 2019). In a field study conducted in Rwanda, a former member of the Grieshop Atmosphere and Environment Lab (GAEL) measured emissions from a variety of biomass stoves, including pellet, wood, and charcoal. Biomass pellet stoves were found to have substantially lower emissions than other biomass stoves and in many cases were comparable to (liquefied petroleum gas) LPG stoves, which are considered the current “gold standard” in terms of reducing cookstove pollutant exposures. However, emission factors (EFs) of particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) during high emitting pellet tests overlap with low emitting wood and charcoal tests. These high emitting pellet tests emitted the most PM and black carbon (BC) at the beginning and end of testing (Champion & Grieshop, 2019). The manufacturer of the stove in this study (the Mimi Moto pellet stove) found similar results during their testing. The use of pellet embers from a previous cooking event to ignite the next cooking event was also associated with higher emissions.

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Scholarship to Maksim Islam to Support Research Closing the ‘Field to Lab Gap’ in Cookstove Emissions Testing

Jacobs (7/01/19 - 8/31/20)

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Scholarship to Maksim Islam to Support Research Closing the ‘Field to Lab Gap’ in Cookstove Emissions Testing

Sponsor: Jacobs

Start Date: 7/01/19

End Date: 8/31/20

Abstract

Globally over 3 billion people use solid fuel cookstoves as a source of their household energy causing household air pollution (HAP) and myriad climate impacts. Considering these harmful impacts, a wide range of improved/alternative cookstove models have been introduced and evaluated in laboratory studies, where many show promising performance. However, this promise has frequently not been met during in-home field measurements. Therefore, there is a need to better understand the factors influencing field performance so that standardized tests can better represent real-world conditions. With funding from this scholarship program, Mohammad Maksimul (Maksim) Islam, a 3rd year PhD student in the Grieshop Atmosphere and Environment Lab will explore this topic with a view to identify factors driving lab/field emission variability. This work will be in consultation with researchers at in the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) at the US EPA labs in Research Triangle Park. In this work, Maksim will apply methods that he and previous students developed to quantify the variation in cooking activity during real-world use. In this activity, he will extend this analysis to more recent field emission measurements conducted in Rwanda and India on a variety of cookstove models (e.g. Mimi-moto, improved and traditional chimney stoves and some rocket and gasifier models). Other activities may be analysis of low performing field tests of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stoves in an EPA-funded study and characterization of the light absorbing carbon from existing particulate matter samples. Major objectives of the work include explaining lab/field variability in emissions, and support the ISO protocol being evaluated in the EPA lab. It will also give insights into the factors contributing to the high emission of modern fuel (LPG) stoves and help understand the spectral dependence of optical properties (black carbon/brown carbon) in cookstove emissions.

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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)(10/01/18 - 9/30/21)

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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: 10/01/18

End Date: 9/30/21

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

National Science Foundation (NSF)(1/01/18 - 12/31/20)

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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: 12/31/20

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.

Close