Program in Air Quality Engineering

Research at Berkeley on air quality problems spans a wide range of scales from indoor microenvironments, plume dispersion, urban and regional air pollution, to global changes in climate and atmospheric chemistry. We are especially interested in environmental and public health issues related to the built environment, including energy and transportation systems. Please follow the links below for details on the activities of specific research groups. We also provide a range of course offerings of interest to students majoring in energy, environment, and public health-related fields.

Research

There are six core faculty members in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering with research that focuses on Air Quality, Atmospheric Sciences, and Life Cycle Assessment/Sustainability:

Tina Chow
Ashok Gadgil
Allen Goldstein
Robert Harley
Arpad Horvath
William Nazaroff

There are many other Berkeley faculty with related interests. Students are encouraged to investigate course offerings and additional research opportunities:

Berkeley Atmospheric Science Center
Energy and Resources Group
School of Public Health

Classes

The four primary courses in air quality (CE 107 and CE 218ABC) emphasize the processes that determine the concentrations, fates, and effects of air pollutants; they also consider the social context in which engineered solutions must be developed. These courses are designed to be complementary and to provide a foundation for either professional practice or advanced study and research. Students pursuing a major emphasis in AQE should consider including as many of these courses in their program of study as is practical. We also offer various weekly seminar series that you are encouraged to attend. Many graduate students find that expertise they gain from one or two courses in air quality engineering is useful, even if their primary interest lies in other specialties such as water quality or fluid mechanics.

Core Courses

Selected Electives