Hello Tufts blogs! This is my chance to write my two cents on the web, and as I have a lot to say about Tufts, here goes! As the carefree days of summer come to a close, I'm SO HAPPY to see my friends again. This summer I spent more time with my family, including my grandmother, which brings me to a new hobby of mine: explaining the iPhone to her. After watching her grandchildren become attached to their phones, she felt that now would be a good time to acquaint herself with this technology.
While taking notes on paper, my grandmother approached apps as if they were separate worlds within the phone, or black holes where she would get stuck. This was a significantly different approach than my own ideas about Apple, which forced me to look at smartphones and their features in a different light. I found the whole learning process surprisingly correlated with the research culture at Tufts. In research, “black holes” are the exciting part! The part where you learn something that no one else in this world knows.
A few weeks ago, I bumped into my Climate Change Engineering professor, John Durant. We started talking about the research of one of his post-doctoral students, Neelakshi Hudda. Neelakshi’s research focuses on air pollution levels caused by airplane traffic around Boston’s Logan Airport and she invited me to assist with her field work this summer. Using a condensation particle counter to measure ultrafine pollutants, we measured two types of pollution: “localized” pollution sputtered out from nearby traffic, and “background” pollution, which perpetually hovers over certain urban areas. The “background” pollutants, Neelakshi hypothesized, should steadily show up in higher concentrations as we approached Logan airport. Smaller than a red blood cell, hydrocarbons and other residue mix into the atmosphere after they leave the exhaust pipes of transportation vehicles. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but it was too late for me, and there were moments were I felt compelled to hold my breath.
Now of course there are massive, world-travelling machines landing every few minutes causing pollution. Since wind patterns play a large factor in how pollutants disperse, we took a trip to Winthrop, a city northeast of Logan since the wind was coming from the southwest. Just on the trial run, the research process is an ebb and flow of frustrations and rewards. Off the bat, we were held back finding a car inverter to transfer the car’s direct current to alternating current so that we could power the laptop and instruments. However, the data recorded on just the trial run already began to support the hypotheses. I was particularly impressed to hear that we could layer the car’s route with the data we collected on pollution using ArcGIS, a type of software that generates maps based on geographical data. This software got me really excited; we learned the basics in the climate change elective class, and made detailed (and pretty!) maps like the ones at the bottom of the page. My maps show where a wind farm could potentially be located in Massachusetts based on various factors. It provides a visual analysis that makes it easier to spot patterns.
At one period, we parked in a Winthrop neighborhood with no traffic in sight. However, the measured pollutants per cubic centimeter were at a much higher level than when we started at Tufts. Yes, a breakthrough! This opens up so many questions! How does it affect citizens of Winthrop? How does humidity, temperature, or precipitation affect pollution levels? Long term, should we look into improving airplanes or dealing with the after effects and clean up the pollution in Winthrop? Can I do more field work?
Okay Camille. Calm down. The answer is yes! Through the summer, I continued to help Neelakshi, and will continue to become more involved in research and field work opportunities with Professor Durant.
Just like my grandmother sending her first snapchat, talking to my professor was a baby step into the world of research at Tufts. I enjoy the opportunity to ask tons of questions, stay on campus, travel off campus, and explore the world of science and engineering. Soon enough, my grandmother will be hooked on social media, just as I am hooked on research at Tufts.