Mumbai (NVI): Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has launched the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Facility in partnership with the McKelvey School of Engineering of Washington University for the on-the-ground air quality and short & long term action plans to curb the problem of air pollution.
More than 129 Indian cities have been declared as non-attainment status, with Mumbai and Delhi recording the worst Air Quality Index (AQI) of 2019.
The new research facility will bring in high-tech instrumentation for fundamental research in aerosol science and engineering, as well as new equipment for on-the-ground air quality monitoring and characterization to take the research to next level and set up systems and structures for sustaining the air quality. .
“This will provide an opportunity for students to engage in cutting-edge research that is very relevant, guided by world leading faculty members from the two institutions. The work will be relevant to both India and the US,” Professor Pratim Biswas, the Lucy and Stanley Lopata Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering, WUStL said in an official statement.
The research facility will offer great potential to rapidly advance understanding of air quality in India, which is of high importance given the elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter that have been observed in the region, the statement addded.
IIT Bombay has been engaged in air quality and aerosols related research with other IIT’s, CSIR-NEERI, Pollution Control Boards and industry.
