As wildfire smoke in the air becomes the new normal for summer in Alberta, a University of Alberta researcher is working to help us all breathe a little easier.
Haoran Yu, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering, focuses on analyzing airborne particles from wildfire smoke to better understand how they get into the air, infiltrate indoor spaces and “cause a cascade of bad effects” on the health of people and communities.
“When we are thinking about a particle, we must know that there are a lot of hidden molecules that add together to form a single particle, making it a complex mixture,” Yu explains.
In his research, Yu uses measures such as oxidative potential and chemical composition to shed light on how that complex molecular mix can have different effects on our health. His work informs air quality management and emergency preparedness strategies to improve public health.
“It’s a field that combines environmental engineering, public health and chemistry, and I find it both urgent and inspiring,” Yu says.
View this post on Instagram