Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about air pollution and its misconceptions. He shared his insights related to how plant and human emissions interact and what that means for our shared environment, as well as how he got into this field of study and his hope for the future.
About Isaacman-VanWertz
Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz is an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and an affiliate faculty member of the Global Change Center. His research focuses on understanding the chemical transformations of reactive organic compounds in the atmosphere – their physicochemical properties, their fate in the environment, and their impacts on ecosystems and populations. He is currently researching air quality in Ecuador with a focus on the impact of climate change on the Amazon rain forest and its feedback on the atmosphere.
Chapters
03:17 – Researching Air Quality in Ecuador
05:02 – Understanding the Interaction between Humans and the Environment
08:55 – Individual Actions to Help Improve Air Quality
09:18 – The Impact of Human Factors on Plant Emissions
12:12 – Chemical Reactions and Air Pollution Formation
17:01 – How Gabriel Got into Studying Air Quality
21:40 – Finding Hope in Addressing Pollution and Climate Change
