Impact Engines | Intelligent Solutions to Urban Pollution for Equity and Resilience

Healthier Air and People: Intelligent Solutions to Urban Pollution for Equity and Resilience

The Healthier Air and People: Intelligent Solutions to Urban Pollution for Equity and Resilience (iSUPER) Impact Engine will pair low-cost, adaptable sensing technologies with novel pollution prediction models to accurately identify hyperlocal pollution hot spots in real time.

THE CONTEXT

Air pollution is a major global health risk throughout densely populated urban centers, especially in disadvantaged socioeconomic communities. Existing air pollution sensor locations are limited and sparsely located in urban areas.

THE PROBLEM

Hyperlocal data is critically needed to make sound policy decisions and recommendations for air pollution control, environmental justice, and urban infrastructure improvement at the city level.

THE SOLUTION

The Intelligent Solutions to Urban Pollution for Equity and Resilience (iSUPER) Impact Engine will pair low-cost, adaptable sensing technologies with novel pollution prediction models to accurately identify hyperlocal pollution hot spots in real time. This innovative use of these technologies will generate neighborhood-level data that will help guide decisionmakers towards effective governance and policymaking. The pilot program will measure data in two Boston neighborhoods representing communities with different histories, land use patterns, population densities, and pollution impact characteristics.

See live readings from the iSUPER QuantAQ sensor network HERE!

ABOUT AIR QUALITY SENSOR NETWORKS

Data provided here are uploaded in near real-time and represent raw measurements reported by the commercially manufactured sensors. Air quality sensors use different measurement technologies than US EPA approved Reference/Regulatory Monitors and may occasionally report questionable data, especially under certain weather conditions such as fog or snow. To learn more about US EPA guidelines about using sensors and understanding data from sensors please reference the US EPA Air Sensor Toolbox: https://www.epa.gov/air-sensor-toolbox. Data are provided for general informational purposes only.

THE IMPACT

iSUPER will build digital, climate-smart infrastructures with advanced data analytics, AI/WIoT-enabled AP monitoring devices and sensors and real-time surveillance systems.

This Impact Engine will provide data, science, and tools for cities to reduce air pollution, improve health, and address inequity.

iSUPER will co-design implementation strategies with city-level managers, planners, and other stakeholders to address city-scale challenges.

LEADERSHIP

Yang Zhang

Professor and Distinguished Fellow and Associate Chair for Research, Civil and Environmental Engineering

BIO

CROSSDISCIPLINARY TEAM

Haris N. Koutsopoulos

Professor & Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Affiliated Faculty, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Qi “Ryan” Wang

Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Affiliated Faculty, School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs

Matthew J. Eckelman

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Affiliated Faculty, Chemical Engineering; Affiliated Faculty, Marine and Environmental Sciences; Affiliated Faculty, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Amy Mueller

Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Assistant Professor, Marine and Environmental Sciences; Affiliated Faculty, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ming Wang

COE Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Director, VOTERS

Jennifer Dy

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director of Experiential AI Postdoc Education, Roux Institute

Stratis Ioannidis

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Affiliated Faculty, Khoury College of Computer Sciences

David Kaeli

COE Distinguished Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Program Director, Data Science; Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering; Affiliated Faculty, Khoury College of Computer Sciences

Sara Wylie

Associate Professor Sociology and Health Sciences

Julia Varshavsky

Assistant Professor, Health Sciences; Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Daniel T. O'Brien

Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Criminology and Criminal Justice; Director, Boston Area Research Initiative; Director, PhD in Public Policy Program

Becca Berkey

Lecturer of Human Services; Director of Service-Learning,College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Community-Engaged Teaching & Research

Khaled Ghannam

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Shang Liu

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

PARTNERSHIPS

Government

The Town of Brookline
The City of Revere
The City of Chelsea

Academia

Yale University, USA
University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA
Institute for the Environment, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
The Research Center for the Atmospheric Environment at the University of Paris (CEREA), France
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Industry

The J.J. Wilbur Company, Inc., USA
QuantAQ

Non-Profits

The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), USA
Environmental Defense Fund- Global Clean Air Initiative
GreenRoots
Brookline GreenSpace Alliance

National Laboratories

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA

START A CONVERSATION

If you’re looking to learn more about this Impact Engine or would like to talk about Impact Engines in general, our support team is eager to assist.

For iSUPER – email us at ask-isuper@listserv.neu.edu

For the Impact Engine program – email us at impactengines@northeastern.edu