Principal Investigator: Dr. Elliott Gall
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| Dr. Elliott Gall is an Associate Professor at Portland State University in the department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He received his B.S.E. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. At PSU, Dr. Gall leads the Healthy Buildings Research Laboratory, where he and his research team conduct fundamental and applied research exploring the many factors that impact our exposure to air pollution inside buildings. HBRL research is supported by federal, state, and local agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. EPA, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, ASHRAE, and the American Lung Association. The HBRL team has authored or co-authored 60 peer-reviewed journal publications on indoor and urban air pollution. HBRL research at Portland State is featured in national and local media, including National Public Radio, The Atlantic, PBS, National Geographic, and the Guardian. Dr. Gall is an active member of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ), and served as the Conference Vice President and Technical Program Director for Indoor Air 2024. He was acknowledged by ISIAQ with the 2018 Yaglou Award for his work on indoor ozone chemistry. He is serving as an author of the Air Quality chapter of 6th quadrennial National Climate Assessment with the United States Global Change Research Program. |
Graduate Students
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| Brett Stinson, Ph.D. StudentBrett Stinson is currently majoring in mechanical engineering with a focus on fluid and thermal science at Portland State University (PSU). He is a McNair, S-STEM, Green Building, and Ford Family Foundation scholar, president of PSU’s ASHRAE chapter, and SALP-recognized Student Leadership Fellow. He recently completed his Honors College thesis titled Modeling Airflows and VOC Source Strengths for an Occupied School and has submitted work to the 2021 PSU Student Research Symposium, 2022 ASHRAE Winter Conference, and Indoor Chemistry 2021 conference. His research interests include indoor air quality, sustainable building design, and energy conservation. Brett is on track to complete his master’s degree in fluid and thermal science at PSU in spring 2023, and then plans to pursue a PhD. Through his research in building science, he hopes to make the world a healthier, safer place for future generations. |
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| Ryan Bixler, Ph.D. Student (co-advised with Xiaowei Zhu)Ryan Bixler is a 3rd year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on computational fluid dynamics and indoor air quality. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical and Materials Engineering from Portland State in 2021 and 2023 respectively. He currently divides his time between PSU and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) where he is a member of (A-1) atmospheric modeling team. Ryan’s current work as part of LANLs QUIC-Indoor team is developing a rapid response flow and pollution dispersion model focusing on hazardous material transport in indoor environments. This work is part of LANLs Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) program and funded by the DHS. Ryan’s primary research questions are tracer behavior and Indoor flow validation. |
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| Casey Coffland, M.S./Ph.D. Student |
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| Jessica Lorensi, M.S. StudentJessica Lorensi is currently earning a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University (PSU), focusing on indoor air quality. She has a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Her work involves field studies to better understand pollutant behavior and human exposure indoors. |
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| John Abed, Pathways M.S. Student (co-advised with Xiaowei Zhu) |
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| Calvin Henry, M.S. Student |
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| Paul Neuburger, M.S. StudentPaul Neuburger is currently majoring in Materials Science and Engineering with the goal of completing a Masters from Portland State University in 2027. He currently has over 4 years of experience in the semiconductor industry with a background in cleanrooms and metal/glass fabrication. Research areas of interest include: vibrational metal casting, high-entropy alloys, material property simulations, natural materials, sustainability, and air quality. Paul hopes for his research to be used to improve air quality and to provide a broader use-case for environmentally friendly materials. |
Current Undergraduate Students
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| Emily LeiEmily is conducting research on the persistence of organic compounds on indoor surfaces following wildfire and WUI-fire events. |
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| Guisel Rodriguez |
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| Ian Bozovich |
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| Moriah Conkel |
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| Erick Schneider |
Former graduate students and researchers and current affiliations
Zachary Golden, M.S,. 2024, PAE
Rex Xu, M.S., 2023, co-advised with Luke Zhu, Intel
Ryan Bixler, M.S., 2023, current Ph.D. student
Brett Stinson, M.S. 2023, current Ph.D. student
Aurelie Laguerre, Staff Scientist, 2018-2023, Salk Institute
Matthew Survilo, M.S. 2020, Slip Robotics
Mimi Shang, M.S. 2020, Daimler
Naveen Weerasekera, M.S. 2019, Intel
Pradeep Ramasubramanian, Ph.D. 2018, Exponent
Omed Abbass, Ph.D. 2017, co-advised with David Sailor, University of Kirkuk