Project #3: Public Health Outreach: Visiting Scholars and Air Quality Improvement Project (AirQual)

Project Collaborator: John Godleski, MD; Edwin Miller, Vice President for Public Policy, American Lung Association of New England.

Overview: This project features the work of the Particles Core; the purpose is to compile nearly 20 years of particle and ambient air research from 1993 to 2012 into a database format that can be used by lay people for community planning, siting of roads and buildings. and development of land use policy. The AIRQUAL database will be organized around the questions typically asked by planners and the public as they site roads and make decisions about land use. The Visiting Scholars, in the Outreach program, will undertake several of the key components of this project. Our regional partner in this endeavor is the recently formed American Lung Association of New England.

Project Aims:

1. Create an integrated, searchable database of Harvard particulate research and create graphics that illustrate the findings of the particulate core.

2. Use web-based dissemination of the database and associated graphics on the Harvard Center website to reach decision-makers at local and regional levels, educators, and health/environment advocates and stakeholders.