Pollution

Amanda Giang PhD '17 is working to empower local, regional and global decision makers with better policies to minimize impacts of mercury and other long-range persistent pollutants.

Monitoring and mitigating mercury

Amanda Giang PhD '17 models a pollutant’s pathways and helps decision makers craft more effective mitigation policies.

June 14, 2017

"We can’t only care about global-scale climate change; we also need to consider the local quality of life because these two things are closely related. If you want to know more about China’s future, you need to understand its local life," says Siqi Zheng, faculty director of the Samuel Tak Lee MIT Real Estate Entrepreneurship Lab.

3Q: Siqi Zheng on air quality and urban development in China

Author of “Blue Skies over Beijing” links Chinese air quality and urban development.

May 19, 2017

Years of rapid urbanization, rising incomes, and transport investment focused on automobiles has led to a significant rise in traffic congestion in Beijing and other Chinese cities. An MIT study considers how effective new measures will be in reducing China’s air pollution.

Tackling air pollution in China

Combining climate policy and vehicle emissions standards could pack a one-two punch.

May 17, 2017

For their 2017 J-WAFS Seed Grant project, MIT professors Stephen Graves and Bishwapriya Sanyal will analyze irrigation practice, supply chain design, and extension services in Senegal. Their goal is to understand how policy and market conditions influence the availability of irrigation technologies in developing countries. Seen here: Irrigated rice cultivation in the Senegal River Valley.

J-WAFS awards $1.4 million in third round of seed grant funding

Principal investigators will receive grants of up to $200,000 per year for two years, overhead free, for innovative research on food and water challenges.

May 10, 2017

Researchers have developed a new method for removing even extremely low levels of unwanted compounds from water. The new method relies on an electrochemical process to selectively remove organic contaminants such as pesticides, chemical waste products, and pharmaceuticals.

MIT researchers develop new way to clear pollutants from water

Electrochemical method can remove even tiny amounts of contamination.

May 10, 2017

Clean power planning

A new study details why it’s prudent to invest in carbon-free electricity now.

April 20, 2017

A new surface coating developed by Kripa Varanasi and his team causes water to bead up on the inner surface of a pipe rather than spreading out. This prevents the formation of ices that could lead to a clog in an oil pipeline or well.

Researchers design coatings to prevent pipeline clogging

Solution developed at MIT could stop buildup of hydrate ices that slow or block oil and gas flow.

April 14, 2017

“MIT has given me more opportunities than I could have imagined as a prefrosh,” Senior Elizabeth Rider says. “I've traveled to new places and met new people that I wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity to.”

Environmentalist and explorer

Senior Elizabeth Rider uses atmospheric chemistry research to create international connections.

April 11, 2017

Ellen Swallow Richards (back row, far left) stands in 1888 with students from the MIT Women’s Laboratory, which she founded in the previous year.

Scene at MIT: Ellen Swallow Richards leads the Women's Laboratory

A trailblazing industrial and environmental chemist, Ellen Swallow Richards was MIT’s first female graduate and first female instructor.

March 21, 2017

A production line in a Volkswagen factory in Poland. Scientists at MIT and elsewhere report that the manufacturer’s emissions in excess of the test-stand limit value have had a significant effect on public health not just in Germany but across Europe.

Study: Volkswagen’s excess emissions will lead to 1,200 premature deaths in Europe

Countries hit hardest by automaker’s emissions scandal include Germany, Poland, France, and Czech Republic.

March 3, 2017

Richard Ha (second from right), farmer and Hawaii native, shows MIT TREX participants how he generates his own electricity using water.

Getting their hands dirty: Students experience fieldwork in Hawaii

TREX program from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers undergraduates the opportunity to get out in the field.

February 17, 2017

Ozone exacts a particularly heavy toll on people living in economically disadvantaged areas, where industrial and power plants tend to cluster. While policies have been implemented to reduce ozone emissions across the country, they have not yet addressed built-in inequities in the U.S. economy, leaving low-income Americans at greatest risk for health and economic damages.

Modeling the unequal benefits of U.S. environmental policy

New toolset evaluates economic impacts of ozone reduction policies for nine income groups.

February 15, 2017

“The ultimate objective,” atmospheric scientist Jesse Kroll says, “is to understand what policies could help, and what changes policymakers could make to minimize the negative health and climate effects of particulate pollution.”

Zeroing in on the chemistry of the air

Jesse Kroll examines how pollutants change chemically as they waft around the globe.

February 1, 2017

Projecting food, water, energy, climate and other global changes

Marking 25 years of science and policy studies, the MIT Joint Program launches new website showcasing its expanded research portfolio.

January 27, 2017

Kevin Kung, a Tata Fellow and PhD candidate in biological engineering, feeds rice husks into the torrefaction reactor in his lab at MIT. A thermochemical process will convert the biomass to a more energy-dense form, making it easier to transport and use as fuel.

Tapping the hidden value of farm waste

MIT researchers are developing mobile torrefaction technology that can convert biomass into clean-burning fuel, unlocking potential income for farmers.

January 25, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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