Environmental Sciences and Engineering News
Fourth-generation vaping devices increase risk to immune cells
July 7, 2022 With the FDA ordering Juul to stop selling their e-cigarette devices, UNC researchers, led by Dr. Ilona Jaspers, published the first study to compare the respiratory immune health effects of different types of devices.
Climate warming could deepen environmental injustice in urban areas
July 6, 2022 Extreme heat events could become more intense and frequent, increasing the risk of harm to health and global economies and deepening climate injustices, according to new research from Dr. Yuqiang Zhang at the Gillings School.
Professorship supports Manga’s work to unlock secrets of safe sanitation
June 2, 2022 Dr. Musa Manga, whose postdoctoral research upended conventional wisdom about safe sanitation, adds to environmental health and engineering expertise at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. His appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Gillings School’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering on June 1, 2022, bolsters ESE’s century-long record of responding to, planning for and working to mitigate evolving water-related public health threats.
Sanitation innovation holds promise but must consider risks to users
May 27, 2022 In an invited perspective written earlier this year, UNC Gillings faculty member Dr. Joe Brown weighs innovative strategies for more productive use of human and animal waste with potential negative side effects.
Cooperation rewards water utilities
May 25, 2022 Mark Twain is attributed with the quote, “Whisky is for drinking, and water is for fighting over!” But what if, when it comes to urban water utilities, cooperation yields more benefits than going it alone?
How would electric school bus charging benefit the power grid and environment?
May 25, 2022 In a recent study, faculty member Dr. Noah Kittner contributed to an innovative model that demonstrates how electric school bus charging schedules could aid in energy storage.
Floor waxing could be an important source of PFAS contamination, with increased occupational health risks for workers
May 25, 2022 There’s a special satisfaction that comes from walking on perfectly shined floors — but is it worth the potential risk to floor waxing workers? A study published earlier this year measured per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in dust and airborne particulate matter during professional floor stripping and waxing. Researchers concluded that significantly higher levels of PFAS were present during floor waxing.
Gillings researchers receive EPA grant to study PFAS in outdoor air
May 18, 2022 Environmental sciences and engineering researchers at the Gillings School have been awarded nearly $800,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop new analytical methods that can improve the detection of emerging air pollutants like PFAS.
Salzberg receives inaugural Faculty Award for Global Excellence
May 11, 2022 Dr. Aaron Salzberg, director of The UNC Water Institute, is one of three Carolina faculty to receive the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs’ inaugural Faculty Award for Global Excellence in recognition of his contributions to advance global partnerships, education and research at UNC.
