GeoHealth Frontlines

EP3. Modeling pollution gap

In our third episode, we welcome Dr. Chris Tessum from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a leader in air quality modeling at the intersection of atmospheric science, environmental justice, and public health. Tune in as he shares his journey into GeoHealth, how a graduate class project grew into InMAP, one of the most widely used reduced-complexity air quality models. Also how his work revealed racial-ethnic inequities in air pollution exposure, and where machine learning is taking the field next. Guest: Dr. Christopher Tessum is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on modeling air pollution and its health impacts, quantifying inequalities and inequities in exposure, and developing tools to evaluate solutions. He has received early career awards from the U.S. EPA, NASA, and NSF, and is the recipient of the AGU GeoHealth Early Career Award. More about Dr. Tessum's group: https://tessumlab.cee.illinois.edu/ (00:00) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (02:49) From mechanical engineering to environmental science: a winding path (07:47) Postdoc years and arriving at the University of Illinois (09:30) What are reduced-complexity air quality models? (10:40) The design philosophy behind InMAP (15:22) Origin story: the class project that became InMAP (20:16) How the research community uses (and sometimes misuses) InMAP (24:07) The 2019 PNAS paper on racial-ethnic inequities in air pollution exposure (28:28) Key finding: people of color exposed to ~50% more pollution than they cause (30:46) Public reactions, media coverage, and pushback to equity research (33:19) Why clean-air policies haven't closed the disparity gap (38:23) Machine learning and the next generation of air quality models (41:07) Growing the GeoHealth community and looking ahead

Ep2: Seeing Air Pollution from Space

In our second episode, we welcome Professor Tracey Holloway from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a leader in air quality science at the intersection of satellites, policy, and public health. Tune in as she shares her journey into GeoHealth, how satellite observations can help us understand air pollution at scales relevant to people and decision-makers, and lessons from leading NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST) on translating science into real-world impact. Guest: Professor Tracey Holloway is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research advances air quality science to inform policy and public health. She has served as a two-time leader of NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST) and has been recognized as an AGU Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. More about Dr. Holloway's group: https://hollowaygroup.org/ (00:00) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (02:08) Journey of an atmospheric scientist and public health researcher (07:22) From atmospheric science to public health (10:44) NASA HAQAST: connecting satellite data to public health (15:25) Lessons from science-stakeholder collaboration (18:40) Satellite data as a tool for air quality and health research (23:19) Designing satellites with health applications in mind (26:42) Energy systems and US air quality: a 50-year success story (31:08) Co-benefits of low-carbon energy transitions (34:58) Advice for early career scientists Episode cover image credit to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics/NASA

EP1: The Dust We Breathe

We’re thrilled to introduce GeoHealth Frontlines, a new podcast from the AGU GeoHealth Section. Hosted by the AGU GeoHealth communication and outreach committee, the series spotlights conversations with scientists, policymakers, and practitioners tackling the world’s most pressing environment-health challenges. In our first episode, we welcome Professor Daniel Tong from George Mason University — an expert in air quality and emissions modeling, chair of the WMO Sand and Dust Storms Advisory System, and current President of AGU GeoHealth. Tune in as he shares his journey, insights from the UN High-Level Meeting on Dust Storms, how desert dust affects global health and policy, and how you can get involved with AGU Geohealth. Guest: Professor Daniel Tong is an associate professor at Atmospheric, Oceanic & Earth Sciences Department in George Mason University. He has over 20 years of experience in emissions and air quality modeling. Among his many positions, he is the Chair of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Sand and Dust Storms Warning Advisory & Assessment System, and the current president of AGU Geohealth. (00:10) Introduction to GeoHealth Frontlines (01:46) Journey of a climate and health researcher (05:08) UN Sand and Dust Storm Meeting (07:24) Dust as a health threat (10:06) Dust and Valley fever (17:38) Scientist's tool to study dust (24:18) Is dust getting worse under climate change? (28:28) New dust sources (32:18) Getting involved in GeoHealth