Environmental Sciences and Engineering Research
Pollution emitted near equator has biggest impact on global ozone
Research led by Dr. Jason West confirms that the location of air pollutants has a big impact upon ozone levels. Because the interplay of pollutants with higher temperatures speeds up the chemical reactions that form ozone, the worst effects of pollution are seen near the equator. West suggests that effects of current pollution levels could be difficult to remedy without strategic policy planning.
Prevalence of drug-resistant staph may be higher in young children of hog workers, study finds
In one rural North Carolina county, young children residing with adults who work in large industrial hog farming operations had a higher prevalence of two types of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria in their nasal passages than children living with adults who do not work in such operations.
Researchers identify new methodology for examining changes in lung cells after pollution exposure
Hang Nguyen, MS, doctoral student of environmental science and engineering in the Gillings School, is first author of a recent study that provided the initial test of a new methodology for examining the genomic response of lung cells to real-world mixtures of air pollutants.
UNC Gillings' Water Institute, World Vision partnership will improve clean water access in 10 African nations
A six-year grant from World Vision to The Water Institute at UNC will create a partnership to improve water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in several low- and middle-income countries, with a long-term goal of helping to solve the global water and sanitation crisis by 2030.
Science for Safer Food
Over the last decade, Dr. Rachel Noble has developed technology that keeps our food – from oysters harvested off the coast of North Carolina to spinach grown in California’s Salinas Valley – safe from bacteria such as E. coli.
Extending municipal water service would reduce emergency room visits linked to contaminated wells, study finds
The state of North Carolina could prevent an estimated 2,920 annual emergency department visits by extending community water service to 10 percent of the population that currently relies on private wells. This finding comes from a recent study co-authored by a professor and two alumni of the Gillings School's environmental sciences and engineering department.
UNC-led team to study California's high agricultural productivity despite years of drought
Dr. Gregory Characklis will lead a three-year, $3 million National Science Foundation-funded study to examine the interdependency of systems that supply food, energy and water in California. His research team will consider how, despite years of drought, the state has seen increases in the production of farm-raised food. Is that situation sustainable?
UNC’s Gillings School number one public school of public health for NIH funding
September 7, 2016 Once again, the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health is the number one public school of public health when it comes to funding... Read more »
UNC’s Endeavors magazine highlights Gillings School researchers
August 18, 2016 Endeavors, the online magazine highlighting research and creative activity at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, featured six Gillings School of Global Public Health researchers... Read more »
Extending municipal water service may reduce GI illness in those who rely on private wells
June 8, 2016 A study co-authored by a researcher at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health provides new evidence that extending regulated community water service to populations currently... Read more »
