Engineering Students Receive Awards for Air Quality Research

Two Utah State University engineering students received honors this summer at the International Air and Waste Management Association's annual conference.

 

Vishal Doshi received second place in the master’s category and was awarded a certificate and $300 for his paper and poster "Vehicular Ammonia Emissions in Cache Valley, Utah." Kori Moore was awarded first place in the undergraduate category, giving him a certificate and $500 for his paper and poster “Indoor/Outdoor Particulate Matter Concentration and Composition at Four Schools in Cache Valley.” The students were mentored by Randall Martin, professor of civil and environmental engineering.

 

“This conference was a great experience, and it’s a good feeling to know that you can stand on your own among people with great experience and knowledge in the environmental engineering arena,” said Doshi.

 

Doshi, whose research involved preparing a comprehensive database of ammonia sources in CacheValley, hopes his research will contribute to improved winter pollution levels in Cache Valley.

 

Moore hopes to do the same and concentrated his research on whether or not inside air was any cleaner than outside air when air pollution levels are at their worst. The Cache County and Logan School districts have a policy to keep students indoors when pollution levels are high, so Moore went to several Cache Valley schools and tested indoor air because he wanted to know if, in fact, staying indoors was healthier than going outdoors on those days.

 

“It is,” said Moore. “The indoor air we tested was consistently clean, and staying inside can make a difference, especially for the children and elderly.”