Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water
The student will work closely with a team of scientists trying to solve the problem of arsenic removal from drinking water in Bangladesh. The specific activies undertaken by the student will include participating in experiments to remove arsenic through a novel low-cost electrochemical method being developed at LBNL, and possibly building and testing the performance of simple low-cost filters for arsenic-removal based on electrochemical process.
The student can expect to learn how science is applied to environmental engineering problem, how research problems are defined and solved, how researchers interact with one another in a collaborative cross-disciplinary science project where there no one knows the "right" answer."
Majors: Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Engineering
Mentor: Ashok Gadgil
MS: 90R3058
Phone: 510.486.4651
email: AJGadgil@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Re-Posted: January 31, 2007

Arsenic Removal from Groundwater
This group is interested in removing Arsenic from groundwater using an electrochemical technique. Arsenic contamination represents a significant health risk for people living in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Presently available filters for arsenic removal are not effective for Bangladeshi water because of high arsenic content. The project aims to improve on the existing filter by using electrochemical methods.
A student in this group will help with the design and testing of the electrochemical filter. Analysis of the inlet and outlet water, as well as analysis of the electrochemical data will be needed. Finally, the student will help with quantifying the advantages of the electrochemical technique and the limits of its applicability.
The student can expect to gain a strong understanding of arsenic removal methods as applied to the field as well as an understanding of arsenic chemistry and electrochemistry and an understanding of electrochemical techniques.
Majors: Environmental engineering, Chemistry, or Chemical engineering
Mentor: Venkat Srinivasan
Mail stop: 70R0108B
Phone: 510) 495 2679
email: vsrinivasan@lbl.gov
Posted: 2/13/2006

Atmosphere-Ecosystem-Human Interactions : Relationships between Greenhouse Gas Exchange, Air Quality, and Climate
This group's research examines human influences on the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere, develops methods to quantify ecosystem-atmosphere trace gas on plot to regional scales, and studies how climate change may be affected by the terrestrial processes. A sample of possible research projects includes:
1) Regional scale measurements and modeling of methane emissions in California
2) Estimation of regional CO2 fluxes through analysis of aircraft trace gas measurements (CO2, CO, CH4) from multi-platform measurement mission
3) Analysis of carbon cycle responses of annual grasses to climate change manipulations
4) Measurements of trace gas fluxes (e.g., NH3, CH4) from California agriculture
5) Mapping CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion for the US
6) Student's own creative idea
Projects can include laboratory and field work and or/ statistical data analysis. Where possible, projects will lead to publishable results. For the greatest chance to contribute, a student should possess a strong interest in environmental and/or atmospheric science, some experience with measurements/instrumentation and/or mathematical/statistical analysis, a love of nature, and an adventurous spirit.
Majors: Atmospheric, environmental, or computer science, Chemistry, Math, Physics
Mentor: Marc L. Fischer
Mailing Stop: 90K-125
Phone: 510/486-5539
email: mlfischer@lbl.gov
Re-posted: 14 January 2008

Atmospheric Sciences
The climate group in EETD's Atmospheric Sciences Departmentis engaged in research related to aerosol effects on climate in collaboration with the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Aerosols are known to affect climate through changes in the radiation and cloud fields that in turn affect temperature, precipitation, energy budgets etc. One of the most challenging aspects in determining the exact magnitude of the influence of aerosols on climate is through the aerosol-cloud interaction process. Aerosols can influence cloud microphysical and radiative properties and the resulting magnitude is estimated to be sufficiently large as to partially offset the greenhouse gas effect. However, considerable uncertainty exists in this aerosol-cloud interaction process and thus, various opportunities exist in this area of research.
Student opportunities include investigating climate change from both modeling studies (NASA GISS climate model) and from observations. Research topics include (1) comparing climate diagnostics such as temperature, precipitation etc. from model simulations of climate change with satellite based retrievals, (2) investigating aerosol and cloud properties from field measurements from various locations and relating it to model produced diagnostics, (3) evaluating the role of dynamics in aerosol-cloud interactions through models, observations and reanalysis data.
The position requires programming knowledge and the student will be working on large data sets (model and satellite based data).
Majors: Atmospheric Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Physics, Math
Mentor: Surabi Menon
MS: 90KR109
Phone: 510 486 6752
Fax: 1 510 486 5928
Email: smenon@lbl.gov
website: http://eetd.lbl.gov/AQ/smenon
Re-posted: 11 January 2008

Carbon Particles: Air Pollution and Climate Change
One aim of this research is to develop improved methods to measure the chemical and optical properties of climate-relevant aerosol particles. The group's focus is on carbonaceous aerosols, including organic carbon and black carbon, which comprise a significant fraction of the atmospheric aerosol mass. Black carbon is the principal sunlight-absorbing aerosol component; it absorbs light over the entire visible spectrum and thus appears black. Organic carbon scatters sunlight. As a result, black carbon has a positive (warming) radiative forcing and organic carbon has a negative (cooling) radiative forcing. To understand the impact of these aerosols on climate change, their atmospheric concentrations and optical properties must be known. Another aim of the research is to establish current and historical trends in black carbon concentration by 1) measuring black carbon emissions from cars and trucks and 2) using archived data records, such as coefficient of haze (COH), to estimate historical trends in black carbon.
The group is currently engaged in several research projects that address the goals outlined above. Much of the research includes hands-on laboratory and field experiments. A participating student would have the opportunity to work on one or more of the following projects.
1) Development of a multiple wavelength thermal-optical analyzer for measuring carbon particle mass and light absorption properties.
2) Assessment of the widely used light-transmission method to measure black carbon concentration and aerosol absorption coefficient.
3) Aerosol generation experiments to determine the effect of particle composition on the light absorption by black carbon.
4) Optical and chemical characterization of aerosol samples collected in various geographical locations.
5) Laboratory experiments to minimize sampling induced artifacts for organic carbon.
6) Analysis of archived data to determine atmospheric trends in black carbon concentration.
To be successful with this experience, familiarity with basic chemistry and physics, optics, computer programming (LabView) and some laboratory experience is desirable.
Majors: Physics, chemistry, computer science, atmospheric science, environmental, chemical and electrical engineering.
Mentor: Tom Kirchstetter
Mailing address: MS 70-215
Phone 510-486-5319
email: twkirchstetter@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Re-posted: 1/18/2007

Economizer Study in Data Centers
Data centers house the enormous amounts of computer equipment that provides computational power, data and global networking capabilities. A major fraction of the intense energy use in data centers is dedicated to cooling the computer equipment. This project aims to assess the energy efficiency of data center cooling systems using emerging technologies like air-side economizers. The student will participate in experiments to measure the specific constituents of indoor and outdoor air, and analyze the indoor aerosols. Finally, the student will help to analyze the energy and cost implications of economizer use and compare its advantages and limitations with other emerging technologies.
The student can expect to gain a strong understanding of aerosol measurement and instrumentation methods, speciation analysis of particulate matter, and energy analysis.
The student should hold a valid driver's license.
Majors: Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Physics
Mentor: Ashok Gadgil
MS: 90R3058
Phone: 510.486.4651
Email: AJGadgil@lbl.gov
Posted 8 January 2008

Efficiency for Sustainable Development in Africa
This group engages in a diverse set of energy, water, and environmental policy analysis activities:
1.The Energy Efficiency Standards activity consists of research into the energy and economic impacts of energy-efficiency performance standards on a wide range of energy-consuming products, including home appliances and equipment, commercial space conditioning and water heating equipment, plumbing products, distribution transformers, electric motors, and commercial and residential lighting products. (URL: http://eappc76.lbl.gov/tmacal/ees.cfm)
2.The Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) promotes the appropriate use of energy efficiency labels and standards for appliances, equipment, and lighting in developing and transitional countries. (URL: http://www.clasponline.org/)
3.The Water Energy Technology Team (WETT), consists of resource engineers, scientists and economists, who are performing diverse research to address water and wastewater challenges both domestically and internationally. (URL: http://water-energy.lbl.gov/)
4.Improved Cookstove Research examines the benefits and costs, from improved stove technologies and programs. This is not yet a formal activity of the division but arises from the initiative individual scientists in the division. (see for example URL: http://www.punchdown.org/rvb/mogogo/)
5.Air Quality Policy Research examines the dynamic economic and resource connections between air quality impacts and energy and water use. It attempts to utilize a dynamic understanding of air quality impacts to design more creative strategies and policies for air quality improvement.
The student will analyze project and policy cost/benefit data for energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean water project, and/or improved stove projects, policies and programs for one to several African countries. The analyses conducted by the student may include cost/benefit forecasts for programs or policies, estimation of quantitative sustainable development metrics, or the analysis of project and program survey and evaluation data.
The student can expect to learn about the technologies, costs and benefits of sustainable development projects, policies and programs in developing African countries.
Majors: Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or Economics
Background and skills that are useful for a successful placement include: excellent computer and quantitative skills, intelligence, and initiative.
Mentor: Robert Van Buskirk
Mailstop: 90-4000
Phone: 510-495-2310
Fax: 510-486-6996
email: rdvanbuskirk@lbl.gov
Posted: February 2, 2004

End Use Forecasting
This group does technical support for the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR voluntary programs, whose goal it is to harness market forces to prevent pollution and save money at the same time. The group provides technical information that helps EPA design new programs and target their marketing.
The group needs students with the following sets of skills: Someone with a technical background who is good with spreadsheets and some simple calculations, who is thorough and organized, and who would enjoy doing research tasks such as tracking down reports and data and helping the group analyze the data -- there are several possible projects for this person, focusing on energy use in buildings. If the person had experience with statistics and web programming, all the better. Hands-on skills in field data metering would also be useful, for use in metering power levels of office equipment and other plug-in devices found in office buildings.
The student(s) could expect to learn about energy use in buildings, and the different ways to reduce energy use cost-effectively. They would also learn about the design of policies and programs that encourage people to buy more energy efficient products.
Majors: Technical fields, including physical sciences and engineering, economics, statistics, mathematics, computer science (we would consider exceptional people with other backgrounds as well).
Mentors: Rich Brown, John Busch, or Maggie Pinckard, depending on skills and interests and which project the student works on.
Mail stop: 90-4000
Phone: 510/486-5896
Email: REBrown@lbl.gov
Posted: 20 January 2004

Health Effects of Building Environments -- Statistical Analyses in Health Studies This group is working on a variety of projects that investigate relationships between contaminants in indoor environments and health outcomes of the occupants. The student will assist in computerized analyses; helping to clean and organize data and writing simple code for analyses. The student can expect to learn about computerized data analysis related to health, including how data is organized in computers, how to clean, organize, and manage data, and how to ask questions of the data, using one of the major analysis software packages such as SAS to look for relationships between environmental factors and health outcomes. Depending on the phase of the study, assistance with the collection of data or other study aspects may also be possible. Students are welcome to inquire about current projects.
Majors: Public Health, Statistics, Computer programming, Biology/Pre-Med
Mentor: Mark Mendell
Mailing address: 90-3058
Phone: 510/486-5762
email: mjmendell@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Revised: 11 January 2008

Indoor Environmental Quality
This group is involved in several projects regarding indoor environmental quality (IEQ). They are completing a 3-year study of IEQ in schools. In this study they have tested energy efficient technologies that save energy and improve IEQ in specially designed relocatable classrooms (sometimes called "portables"). Students with an interest in working on, and learning skills related to statistical analyses of a large dataset reflecting potential ways to reduce childrensą exposures to indoor air pollutants and noise in classrooms may wish to consider applying to join this project.
In a second project the group will be developing specialized instrumentation for use in a large study on tobacco smoke and childhood asthma. In this study, they need to measure the presence of tobacco smoke particles and gases in 500 homes of asthmatic children. They are developing and testing a new type of instrument that can be used to affordably make such measurements in large studies. Once a working prototype has been created, fully tested, and meets the desired specifications, they will build a large number of these devices and deploy them in a large asthma intervention study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Student tasks in this project will include helping with prototype fabrication, running of validation experiments in an environmental chamber (a machine does the smoking), fabrication of field study instruments, and analysis of samples returning from the field. Student tasks will vary depending upon the phase of the project.
A range of other IEQ-related projects may be available depending upon when the student will be at LBNL, and current funding of projects. Students are welcome to inquire about current projects.
Students in this position should possess manual dexterity and familiarity with working with hand tools. They should also have basic knowledge of electricity and electronics, chemistry, physics and good computer skills. Training is always available to interested students.
Majors: Engineering, physics, chemistry, public health, environmental studies.
Mentor: Michael Apte
Mailing address: MS 90-3058
Phone 510-486-4669
email: MGApte@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Re-Posted December 8, 2005

Indoor fate of nicotine
Nicotine is an indoor pollutant specifically related with tobacco smoke. Previous studies have shown that it sorbs strongly to indoor surfaces (such as carpet and walls), and can be re-emitted at low levels over extended periods. One of the goals of this research project is to obtain a better description of the sorption process on various indoor surfaces, and to evaluate the reactivity of sorbed nicotine towards atmospheric oxidants. Atmospheric ozone of outdoor origin can be present indoors typically at 20-70% of the outdoor levels. Several types of office equipment, such as photocopiers and laser printers, are also known to generate ozone. Understanding sorption and reactivity of nicotine indoors is important for two reasons:
a) more information is needed to better model the indoor dynamics of nicotine (its rates and extent of sorption and re-emission) in order to evaluate the limitations and applicability of the use of nicotine metabolites as biomarkers of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
b) large amounts of sorbed nicotine may become a source of oxidation byproducts that can be toxic or irritant.
A participant student would have the opportunity to work on a lab-scale chamber study to describe nicotine sorption and desorption under a variety of conditions (different indoor materials, ozone levels, relative humidity). Familiarity with basic chemistry and some laboratory experience is helpful for a successful experience
Majors: Chemistry, chemical and environmental engineering.
Mentor: Hugo Destaillats
Mailing address: 70-274
Phone 510-486-5897
email: HDestaillats@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Re-Posted: January 14 2004

Polymer Membrane Materials for Fuel Cells, Batteries, Organic Light Emitting Diodes, Sensors and Catalysis.
Work is on preparation and testing of polymer membrane materials. A student in this group would expect to make measurements on polymer materials and to use the materials in devices such as fuel cells of biocatalytic reactors. The student can expect to learn chemical analyses, mechanical and thermal characterization techniques, electrochemistry and engineering.
Majors: chemistry; material science; chemical, mechanical, or civil engineering.
Mentor: John Kerr
Division: Environmental Energy Technologies
Mail stop: 62-203
Email address: jbkerr@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Posted: 1/18/2007

Residential Furnace Energy Efficiency Standards: Impact of Part Load Operation on Energy Use
Furnaces are common household space-heating appliances in the United States. On a national basis, 60% of households have residential furnaces. They account for over 70% of total gas consumption in the U.S. residential sector. The energy consumption of these appliances is significant and technologically feasible options exist to reduce this consumption. Residential furnaces are rated using Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) as an efficiency descriptor. The AFUE is intended to represent the effective annual operating efficiency of a furnace and is determined under laboratory conditions using a test procedure specified by ASHRAE and DOE. The Energy Efficiency Standards group is currently working on updating the existing efficiency standards for residential furnaces.
A potential update of the furnace efficiency standard will reduce the furnace energy use. However, it is important to understand how more efficient furnaces will perform in the field, where they frequently operate at part load conditions and their performance is impacted by the different climate conditions as well as by the different residential characteristics with respect to vintage, number of stories, envelope, occupant behavior, etc. The group is applying EnergyPlus building energy simulation tool to account for those parameters and to evaluate the resulting impact on the predicted heating energy use.
The student would utilize existing residential prototypes to develop EnergyPlus models for several gas furnace types operating at several efficiency levels. S/he will perform the simulations and will develop and maintain a database to summarize and document the results.
The student can expect to learn about the residential heating and the different aspects of the furnace energy efficiency improvements. The student will also gain experience in whole building computer modeling using the newly developed EnergyPlus advanced building simulation tool. The student will work and learn in a collaborative and stimulating scientific environment.
The student should be majoring in engineering, mathematics, or physics, and have had courses in probability or statistics, and computer programming. Some knowledge of heat transfer fundamentals, building construction, and HVAC systems would be beneficial, but is not essential.
Majors: Engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, physics
Mentor: Alex Lekov
MS: 90-4000
e-mail: ablekov@lbl.gov
Posted: 14 December 2003

Semi-Volatile and Particulate Organics
This group is working on characterization of semi-volatile and particulate organics and their global dynamic behavior. The objective of this work is to develop, validate, and apply new measurement methods for accurate determination of semivolatile organic pollutants in ambient air and combustion sources; and assess the impact of measurement uncertainty on predicted global behavior of persistent organic pollutants such as polycyclic organic hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides and dioxins.
The student will be measureing the partioning of gas and particle phase pollutants from several urban areas in the US and Canada. The student will use high performance liquid chromatography to analyze extracts from pollutants collected with LBNL's Integrated Gas and Particle Sampler, orgnize the results using spreadsheet and dattabase software, and determine the gas-particle partioning using Junge-Pankow models.
As a member of an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional scientific team, the student will learn to apply the scientific method to real-world environmental problems, as well as gain in-depth laboratory experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation. The student will also practice report writing and presentation skills.
Experience with some instrumentation and familiarity with "Excel" spreadsheets is helpful for being successful in this position. At least two laboratory classes after general chemistry are also highly desirable.
Majors: Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Physics, Biochemistry, Public Health, Environmental Science, Earth Science
Mentor: Lara A. Gundel
Mailing Address: 90-3058
Phone: 510.486.7276
email: lagundel@lbl.gov
Student Research Abstract; Summer, 2005
Posted: 2/3/02