Research

Working towards a vision of pollution-free urban and rural environments, our focus is to understand the impact of both conventional and emerging air pollutants from transport, industrial and non-vehicle sources, air quality, public health and the built infrastructure.

We are looking at developing engineering driven solutions and regulatory strategies for their mitigation by means of advanced measurements and modelling techniques.

Overview

Making an impact

Impact in Conversation: Professor Prashant Kumar | University of Surrey

Professor Prashant Kumar discusses his work on mitigating air pollution on the local and international stages.

Research areas

Particulate matter

Aerosols
Ultrafine particles
Nanoparticles
Engineered nanoparticles.

Cities and megacities

Low-cost sensing
Energy-pollution nexus
Emission modelling.

Smart cities

Environmental sensing
Urban mobility
Transport accessibility.

Indoor air quality

Sources and control measures
Biophilia
Exposure assessment
Ventilation and interzonal flows
Building airtightness and Infiltration
Filtration
Standards, regulation and certification schemes
Post-occupancy evaluation
Health, wellbeing and comfort.

Outdoor air pollution

Sources and control measures
Processes
Exhaust and non-exhaust emissions
Dispersion modelling
Exposure and health impact assessments
Effective chimney heights
Standards and regulation
Meteorological measurements.

Gaseous pollutants

Nitrogen oxides (nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide)
Carbon monoxide
Carbon dioxide
Ozone
Sulphur dioxide
Volatile organic compounds
Formaldehyde.

Built environment

Green infrastructure
Green/grey infrastructure interactions
Air pollution impacts on built infrastructure
Nature-based solutions (green, blue and hybrid approaches)
Sustainability.

Natural environment

Biogenic
Peatlands
Wildfire and other naturally occurring phenomena which have a significant impact on rural/urban environments
Scenario and impact modelling of natural hazards.

Viruses

Covid-19
Airborne transmission and infection
Social distances
Ventilation requirements
Filtration
Face masks.

Interfaces of air pollution

With water, energy, land use
Nanotechnology
Transportation
Built infrastructure.

Co-pollutants

Noise
Light
Global climate related pollutants (eg. CO₂ and CH₄).

Climate change

Greenhouse gas emissions
Weather and climate related natural hazards (floods, droughts, heatwaves)
Climate-proof nature-based solutions.

Research graphs

What we are researching

We have numerous case studies to support our research areas and we are also working to support the fight against Covid-19 with various projects in collaboration with partners around the world.