Particulates Matter

Vikram Rao is the executive director of the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, having assumed this position on September 1, 2008. He spent 9 years with Halliburton and another 25 with predecessor companies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and chief technology officer responsible for Halliburton’s technology effort as well as intellectual asset management. He joined a predecessor company in 1974 as a senior research engineer. Dr. Rao currently advises the non-profit RTI International and the firms BioLargo Inc., Biota Technology Inc., Alchemy Sciences Inc., Fervo Energy Inc., Sage Geosystems Inc., Clyra Medical Technologies Inc., and Cybele Microbiome Inc. He is a past chairman of the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission. He is the author of more than 30 publications and has been awarded 42 United States patents and foreign analogs. RTI Press released his book Shale Gas: The Promise and the Peril in July 2012 and a revised second edition in 2015. His book Sustainable Shale Oil and Gas in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, with Dr. Rob Knight, was released in 2016. Rao earned a doctorate and a master’s in engineering from Stanford University and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Chennai, India. William Vizuete is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. His work focuses on air quality and climate change and endeavors to understand how pollution forms in the atmosphere, and its connection to human health. Through this research, Dr. Vizuete has increased scientific knowledge in these areas and produced new insights through air quality models, field studies, laboratory experiments, and the development of a novel in vitro technology to assess air pollution toxicity. Dr. Vizuete is also known for his groundbreaking research on the legal cannabis industry and its impact on air quality.

• Part I: PM and ozone fundamentalsChapter 1. Why particulates matterChapter 2. Principal sources of PMChapter 3. Ozone: Good high, bad nighPart II: Impacts of differences in particle sizeChapter 4. The importance of being smallChapter 5. Health effects of airborne particulatesPart III: Methods for measuring PM and estimating health effectsChapter 6. Detection and evaluation of airborne particulatesChapter 7. Estimation of toxicity of airborne particulatesPart IV: Engineered solutions for PM amelioration and eliminationChapter 8. Wood fires: DomesticatedChapter 9. Wood fires: WildChapter 10. Reducing PM and NOx in diesel engine exhaustChapter 11. Alternative fuelsChapter 12. Electric vehicles: Transformational solution for low-PM transportation Chapter 13. Clean coal and dirty solar panelsPart V: Charting the future for research and policyChapter 14. Research and policy directions

"This well-crafted book covers broad swathes of contemporary air pollution science, public health and policy with a select and authoritative bibliography. The authors expertly distill accurate scientific detail into readily understandable concepts while maintaining excellent balance. Readers are led on an enjoyable path from the source, composition and health impact of airborne particulates through some of the mainstays of aerosol physics, atmospheric chemistry, good and bad ozone, to the history and implications of climate change. Attention is paid to emerging issues such as wildland fires amidst the backdrop of household biomass burning in the developing world; the emergence of SARS CoV-19; and other potential vulnerabilities associated with poor air quality. The book also provides excellent descriptions of the internal combustion engine, energy generation from fossil fuels and "renewables", and the control technologies associated with these processes. Interesting vignettes peppered throughout the volume describe real-life examples of the subject at hand in a more conversational manner that enhance the readability. This book is an excellent primer for laypersons and scholars alike who wish to know more about the sources, environmental fate and public health implications of airborne particulates and other pollutants from both local and global perspectives." --M Ian Gilmour Ph.D, DABT, Chief, Cardiopulmonary and Immunotoxicology Branch, Public Health Integrated Toxicology Division, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency