This repository contains a selection of code written and applied during my dissertation, the final writeup for which is available here: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bs6d62s.

To date, code have been added for

• Chapter 4. Bridging a dumb gap: smart smoke detectors as a tool for consumer and regulatory PM2.5 monitoring
  • A huge shoutout to Ajay Pillarisetti @ajaypillarisetti, Tracy Allen at EME Systems, the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, and the National Science Foundation.

A reiteration of the Acknowledgements from my dissertation; I owe a GREAT deal of thanks to the UC Berkeley community:

I may not have followed my heart to UC Berkeley were it not for the funding that Dr. Kirk Smith, Dr. Michael Bates, Maria Hernandez, Norma Firestone, and others at the School of Public Health helped me procure: the James A. Buchanan Scholarship, Reshetko Fellowship, Preston Scholarship, and School of Public Health Power Top-Off Award. The School of Public Health Block Grant helped me to focus more on my studies, and less on financial worries. During my final two years at UC Berkeley, I was funded by the National Science Foundation Systems Approach to Green Energy Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (NSF SAGE IGERT) through the UC Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry. Under this program, Dr. Daniel Kammen, Dr. Marty Mulvihill, Dr. Tom McKone, and Tom McKeag provided invaluable mentorship.

There are too many friends and colleagues to mention here whose kindness, support, and gentle direction have carried me through my time at UC Berkeley. Most of all, my true love and my rock, Elise and our dog-child Jackson. Cynthia, Bruce, and Vicki– my loving and supportive parents – nurtured the curiosity and drive to achieve that led me to pursue higher education. I would be nothing without them. I am proud to call Alie and Jenna – my unending sources of cheer and support – my sisters and Ian, Anna, Grant, and Alissa my siblings-in-law (and adventure!). My parents-in-law, Tanya and Don, have been a most unexpected and delightful addition to my support network; the last stretches of writing this dissertation would have been immensely less satisfying without the den provided in their quiet, picturesque perch in the hills of Edmonds, WA.

In my five years at UC Berkeley, I have shared great comradery with and received sage advice from my office mates in University Hall: Nick Lam, Zoë Chafe, Manish Desai, Ajay Pillarisetti, and Amanda Northcross. The UC Berkeley Environmental Health Science Division’s Norma Firestone, Terry Jackson, and the inimitable Maria Hernandez quelled or prevented innumerable administrative crises. Dr. Michael Bates was instrumental in fulfilling my goal to research air quality in the Himalayas, offering sage tutelage along the way. Ajay Pillarisetti provided feedback and assistance during the analysis phases of Chapters 2-4, aided with field efforts in Chapter 3, occasionally joined in on Chapter 4 device teardown sessions, and provided brainstorming support and literary advice throughout the smart smoke detector research endeavor. Ajay has never failed to lend insightful advice, editing help, or project input. I am also grateful to the large (and growing!) open source software community, which fostered my education in programming and hardware-monkeying, and facilitated aspects of my research and analysis.

Chapter 2 was a truly collaborative project. I thank the co-authors whose expertise, connections, and, well, gumption were instrumental in navigating the complexities of such a large scale and cooperative project: Dr. Rufus Edwards of UC Irvine, Dr. Jay Turner at Washington University in Saint Louis, Yuma Damdinsuren who was an independent consultant on the project, Dr. Purevdorj Olkhanud of the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS) during the project period, Munkhtuul Odsuren of MNUMS during the project period, Dr. Sarath Guttikunda of the Desert Research Institute, Dr. Chimedsuren Ochir of MNUMS during the project period, and Dr. Kirk Smith of UC Berkeley. I am grateful to the National Statistics Office of Mongolia, the Statistics Department of Ulaanbaatar, and the Health Development Center of the Ministry of Health and Sports which provided access to various demographics and health databases during Chapter 2 work. I am grateful to SI and the Millennium Challenge Corporation for their open access databases of household measurements conducted as part of the impact evaluation of the Energy and Environment Projects. I thank Paul Chung and Alan Hubbard of UC Berkeley and Nick Lam from the University of Illinois for their advice during the project. I acknowledge Boldkhuu Nanzad of the Ministry of Energy of Mongolia for advocating for the research involved in Chapter 2, and Dana Charron of Berkeley Air Monitoring Group and Maria Hernandez for their assistance with contractual matters in both Chapters 2 and 3. The final Chapter 2 analysis benefits from comments made by a number of participants at a workshop presenting preliminary results conducted as part of the impact evaluation of the Energy and Environment Projects.

The success of Chapter 3 was fostered by the generosity and backing of local leaders, Lao Government officials, and, of course, the kind study participants who allowed us into their homes, kitchens, and lives. I am immensely grateful for Samantha Delapena, Charity Garland, and David Pennise at Berkeley Air Monitoring Group, who handled gravimetric filter preparations, weighing, and related tasks (and hassles!) for the data collected in Chapter 3. The Berkeley Air Monitoring Group crew, including Kirstie Jagoe, also put a great deal of effort into the field preparation, team training, design, initial field work, and data quality assurance involved in the study from which Chapter 3 evolved. I owe a debt of gratitude to Philipp Koetting and Aurelie Pelletreau at LIRE along with Mette Rohr Boatman at Geo-Sys who assembled, managed, and led the field teams who collected the data used in Chapter 3: Keolamphan Bouthasing, Chanthee Khammavong, Laura Magni, Thomas Motmans (who served as interim field manager for a short period), Phetdavone Narmmaxay, Souksengdao Phetsaphangthong, Soraia Sadid, Lamduan Thammavong, and Khamlah Vongnakhone. I would like to thank the folks at Geo-Sys who worked with me to revisit Lao questionnaire audio recordings to address odd and missing values. In addition, I am thankful for the guidance and patience of Natsuko Toba and Rutu Dave at the World Bank, Ken Newcombe of C-Quest Capital, and Maria Hernandez, and the support of SNV Vientiane, the stove disseminator.

Chapter 4 would have come and gone as a pipe dream were it not for the assistance of the brilliant Tracy Allen of EME Systems, who advised the Nest Protect teardown and sensor access processes at his workshop in Berkeley, CA. A portion of Tracy’s efforts, time using EME Systems equipment and workshop space, and the electronic components required to develop this project were funded through the NSF SAGE IGERT Innovation Fund. Ajay Pillarisetti edited this Innovation Fund proposal. Both Tracy and Ajay also generously provided feedback on a draft of this chapter. I would also like to thank Berkeley Air Monitoring Group, which kindly lent some of the equipment used in or with the gravimetric sampling train and particle-removal train (during temperature response testing) during Chapter 4 laboratory validation work.

I owe great thanks to my graduate examination and dissertation committees, which provided invaluable feedback during all stages of this work (Drs. John Balmes, Ellen Eisen, Alan Hubbard, Mark Nicas, and Kirk Smith).

Finally, I would like to acknowledge in no uncertain terms my primary advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Kirk Smith, whose wise advice and shared experiences have vastly improved the efficiency and impact of my work. Kirk has always found time to advise – and with great perspicacity – amidst his grueling schedule. I aspire to put into my life’s work even a fraction of the verve and vigor that have gone into his.

Hill, L. A. (2017). A breath of fresher air: improving methods for PM2.5 exposure assessment from Mongolia to California. UC Berkeley. ProQuest ID: Hill_berkeley_0028E_17191. Merritt ID: ark:/13030/m5cp20vn. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bs6d62s