PRATT Environmental News

  • March 25, 2008

    New Faculty Profile: Brian Mann

    Not long ago, while taking a walk and bemoaning the fact his cell phone kept dying, Brian Mann had an inspiration. "I know I walk enough to recharge my cell phone," he thought. "Now I just need to find a way to turn that motion into energy." The idea of exploring everyday activities or natural phenomena as novel sources of energy, known as energy harvesting, is the newest research interest for Mann, who joined the faculty ...
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  • March 19, 2008

    Findings Could Improve Fuel Cell Efficiency

    DURHAM, N.C. - A new type of membrane based on tiny iron particles appears to address one of the major limitations exhibited by current power-generating fuel cell technology. While there are many types of fuel cells, in general they generate electricity as the result of chemical reactions between an external fuel -- most commonly hydrogen -- and an agent that reacts with it. The membrane that separates the two parts of the cell and facilitates ...
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  • March 17, 2008

    Five Questions About Rainfall and Drought for Ana Barros

    by Ana P. Barros is a professor of environmental engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering who studies the water cycle and how land, air and water interact. It's complicated: Rainfall is affected by global patterns, and landforms. Does being east of the mountains make the drought worse in North Carolina? Would we get more rain if they weren't in the way? Locations downslope and downwind of mountains with regard to regionally predominant storm tracks tend to ...
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  • November 21, 2007

    Our World of Water -- Crisis and Confusion

    DURHAM, NC -- Taken for granted by some, stolen by others, water is one of the world's most valuable commodities. In some places, a gallon of water is worth more than a gallon of petroleum, according to Miguel Medina, a specialist in hydrology and water resources at Duke's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "More than 2.4 billion people in the world do not have access to sanitation, more than 1.2 billion don't have access to ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    Air Quality

    Aerosol particles in the air originating from a number of sources, including motor vehicles, industrial processes and forest fires, reduce air quality and can lead to asthma and cardiovascular problems, among other illnesses. The standard method for keeping tabs on the air-polluting particles relies on pumping air through filters, which are then submitted for costly and time-consuming chemical extraction and analysis. Did you know? As the No.1 source of air pollution in the U.S., transportation yields ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    More Runoff - But Why?

    Even though humans are using more water than ever, continental water runoff steadily increased in the 20th Century. Competing scientific explanations abound. Some argue that global warming is causing more rainfall than the soil can absorb. Others contend runoff is a result of less overall transpiration by plants due to global change. Environmental engineering Associate Professor Amilcare Porporato, a specialist in ecohydrology, wants to determine whether evapotranspiration has decreased and why. Using the Southeastern region of ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    Nothing but Sand

    Human encroachment, agriculture, livestock grazing and climate changes have dramatically increased the conversion of fragile grasslands to deserts worldwide. A major impact of desertification is loss of biodiversity and decreased capacity to produce crops. Ironically, droughts are common in these arid and semi arid lands and well-managed lands can recover if damage during droughts can be minimized. Did you know? Desertification has its greatest impact in Africa where two thirds of the continent is desert or ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    Rainfall to Faucet

    Almost 25 percent of the world's population lives in mountainous regions, and over 60 percent relies on mountains for freshwater needs ranging from drinking water to food production, ecosystem services, and industrial use. Most of the world's fertile agricultural lands lie at the foothills and in the interior valleys of mountain ranges. Did you know? The watersheds of the Southern Appalachian Mountains provide drinking water for 10 million people. The highest precipitation amounts registered anywhere in ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    Skimming the Trees

    Debate over global warming is a daily news headline, but today's climate models are hampered by limited field observation data. Duke environmental engineering Professor Roni Avissar was the first to realize the potential of helicopters in climate research by overcoming a misconception that the aerodynamics of helicopters in flight would unavoidably interfere with the climate sensors' ability to make accurate measurements. Did you know? Global Climate Models are computer-driven models for weather forecasting, understanding climate and ...
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  • August 15, 2007

    Understanding Climate

    The amount and type of vegetation found at the Earth's surface--be it forests or agricultural fields--has a significant impact on the interaction between the land and atmosphere, including the absorption of solar energy and the evaporation of water. That interaction influences cloud cover and the exchange of carbon dioxide, among other factors, ultimately driving the climate system. Yet, climate models used to forecast global climate and local weather patterns contain little detail about land cover. ...
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  • April 1, 2007

    Nanomaterials' Fate: A Conversation with Mark Wiesner

    Mark Wiesner, professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Wiesner, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and an expert on the transport and fate of nanomaterials in the environment, was an invited speaker at BioVision 2007: The World Life Sciences Forum taking place in Lyon, France, from March 11-14. According to the BioVision web site, the forum addresses global issues in the life sciences in an effort to "mobilize foremost specialists ...
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  • April 1, 2007

    Nanomaterials' Fate: A Conversation with Mark Wiesner

    Mark Wiesner, professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Wiesner, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and an expert on the transport and fate of nanomaterials in the environment, was an invited speaker at BioVision 2007: The World Life Sciences Forum taking place in Lyon, France, from March 11-14. According to the BioVision web site, the forum addresses global issues in the life sciences in an effort to "mobilize foremost specialists ...
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  • July 6, 2006

    Nanomaterials Scientist Mark Wiesner Joins Duke Civil and Environmental Faculty

    Durham, N.C. Mark R. Wiesner, former director of the Environmental and Energy Systems Institute at Rice University, has joined Duke's faculty as a professor of civil and environmental engineering. Wiesner's research focuses on membrane processes, nanostructured materials, transport and fate of nanomaterials in the environment, colloidal and interfacial processes, environmental systems analysis and energy technologies. He joined Duke's Pratt School of Engineering on July 1. "I'm interested in the environmental implications of the manufacturing, use ...
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  • June 1, 2006

    Presenting Energy Tech to Nicholas Students

    A new course taught by three mechanical engineers from Duke's Pratt School of Engineering offers graduate students at the Nicholas School of the Environment the chance to bone up on the realities of energy technologies and their environmental implications. The ENVIRON 298.23 course, Energy Technology: Impact on the Environment, covers topics ranging from thermodynamics to the fundamentals of nuclear reactors, solar energy, and hybrid cars. "We are aiming to inform our students people who are likely ...
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  • June 1, 2006

    Presenting Energy Tech to Nicholas Students

    A new course taught by three mechanical engineers from Duke's Pratt School of Engineering offers graduate students at the Nicholas School of the Environment the chance to bone up on the realities of energy technologies and their environmental implications. The ENVIRON 298.23 course, Energy Technology: Impact on the Environment, covers topics ranging from thermodynamics to the fundamentals of nuclear reactors, solar energy, and hybrid cars. "We are aiming to inform our students people who are likely ...
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  • December 22, 2005

    Planting Trees to Combat Global Warming May Cause Other Environmental Problems, Study Suggests

    DURHAM, N.C. -- Growing tree plantations to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to mitigate global warming -- so called "carbon sequestration" -- could trigger environmental changes that outweigh some of the benefits, a multi-institutional team led by Duke University suggested in a new report. Those effects include water and nutrient depletion and increased soil salinity and acidity, said the researchers. The findings demonstrate the utility of regional climate models for forecasting the broader environmental implications ...
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  • November 2, 2005

    UV Measurement Tool To Aid Defense Against Infection Spread By Tap Water

    DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have developed a new way to measure microbes' exposure to ultraviolet light. The tool could bolster efforts to use UV light to improve the quality and safety of tap water in the U.S. The novel "microsphere dosimeter" technique is the first direct test of how much UV light microorganisms in fluids have been exposed to, said the researchers -- a critical step in validating the use ...
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  • September 14, 2005

    Tropical Deforestation Affects Rainfall in the U.S. and Around the Globe

    by Mike Bettwy, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Today, scientists estimate that between one-third and one-half of our planet's land surfaces have been transformed by human development. Now, a new study is offering insight into the long-term impacts of these changes, particularly the effects of large-scale deforestation in tropical regions on the global climate. Researchers from Duke University, Durham, N.C., analyzed multiple years of data using the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Computer Model ...
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  • September 13, 2005

    News Tip: Pumping New Orleans Floodwater Into Lake Is Only A "Lesser Evil," Duke ...

    The pumping of New Orleans floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain will create "long-term, harmful implications for the lake ecosystem and future human use of the area," warns Duke University environmental engineer Karl Linden. The possibility of even more serious harm may be avoided by extensive testing of waters in the industrial zone for toxic chemicals and developing a plan to treat those waters before disposal, he added. So far, there has been no sampling performed in any ...
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  • September 10, 2005

    Faculty Explore the Complexities of Katrina's Devastation

    Durham, N.C. -- Duke environmental experts and civil engineers have responded to Hurricane Katrina devastation with a broad range of insights. They are criticizing the failure to heed computer models that warned of disaster; pondering how to rebuild the city to avoid future catastrophe and examining the potential for ecological damage in the storm's aftermath. Pratt School of Engineering urban hydrologist Miguel Medina Jr. criticized the failure to heed the long history of engineering predictions and ...
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  • September 7, 2005

    News Tip: After Waters Recede, Next Step May Be To Raise Level of New Orleans

    Note to editors: Henry Petroski can be reached for additional comment at (919) 660-5203 or petroski@duke.edu. When civil engineers start planning for rebuilding New Orleans, there are few historical examples to guide them. Duke University engineering professor Henry Petroski says the closest example he can think of is the 1900 Galveston, Texas, hurricane which, like Katrina, left a city partially underwater. To protect Galveston from a recurrence, engineers found a bold and challenging solution that Petroski said ...
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  • September 1, 2005

    Environmental Engineering Gets Helicopter

    The Pratt School of Engineering has purchased a new Bell JetRanger helicopter to give the university and nation a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made environmental processes. The turbine-powered Bell 206B-3, painted in Duke blue with black stripes, arrived June 18 at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, where it is housed with Duke Hospital's two Life Flight helicopters. Its first mission in July was to gather important ...
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  • September 1, 2005

    Environmental Engineering Gets Helicopter

    The Pratt School of Engineering has purchased a new Bell JetRanger helicopter to give the university and nation a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made environmental processes. The turbine-powered Bell 206B-3, painted in Duke blue with black stripes, arrived June 18 at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, where it is housed with Duke Hospital's two Life Flight helicopters. Its first mission in July was to gather important ...
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  • June 24, 2005

    Duke's Engineering School Buys Research Helicopter

    DURHAM, N.C. Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering has purchased a new Bell JetRanger helicopter to give the university and nation a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made environmental processes. The turbine-powered Bell 206B-3, painted in Duke blue with black stripes, arrived June 18, 2005, at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, where it is hangared with Duke Hospital's two Life Flight helicopters. The engineering school ...
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  • February 1, 2005

    Tool To Aid Defense Against Infected Tap Water

    Karl Linden Researchers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have developed a new way to measure microbes' exposure to ultraviolet light. The tool could bolster efforts to use UV light to improve the quality and safety of tap water in the U.S. The novel "microsphere dosimeter" technique is the first direct test of how much UV light microorganisms in fluids have been exposed to, said the researchers -- a critical step in validating the use of UV ...
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  • February 1, 2005

    Tool To Aid Defense Against Infected Tap Water

    Karl Linden Researchers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have developed a new way to measure microbes' exposure to ultraviolet light. The tool could bolster efforts to use UV light to improve the quality and safety of tap water in the U.S. The novel "microsphere dosimeter" technique is the first direct test of how much UV light microorganisms in fluids have been exposed to, said the researchers -- a critical step in validating the use of UV ...
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  • December 1, 2004

    Study: Tropical Deforestation Affects Global Rainfall

    Roni Avissar Scientists estimate that between one-third and one-half of our planet's land surfaces have been transformed by human development. Now, a new study ifrom Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering is offering insight into the long-term impacts of these changes, particularly the effects of large-scale deforestation in tropical regions on the global climate. The Duke researchers, led by Professor Roni Avissar, chair of civil and environmental engineering at Pratt, analyzed years of data using the NASA ...
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  • December 1, 2004

    Study: Tropical Deforestation Affects Global Rainfall

    Roni Avissar Scientists estimate that between one-third and one-half of our planet's land surfaces have been transformed by human development. Now, a new study ifrom Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering is offering insight into the long-term impacts of these changes, particularly the effects of large-scale deforestation in tropical regions on the global climate. The Duke researchers, led by Professor Roni Avissar, chair of civil and environmental engineering at Pratt, analyzed years of data using the NASA ...
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  • February 1, 2004

    Pratt Acquires New Research Helicopter

    Duke's Pratt School of Engineering has acquired a new turbine-powered helicopter that will give the university and nation a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made atmospheric processes. Visit URL: hop.pratt.duke.edu Professor Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, accepted the Bell 206 Jet Ranger at the Bell Helicopter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 24, and flew it to Heli-Dyne Systems Inc., ...
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  • February 1, 2004

    Pratt Acquires New Research Helicopter

    Duke's Pratt School of Engineering has acquired a new turbine-powered helicopter that will give the university and nation a new platform of research sensors to bridge a gap in airborne studies of natural and man-made atmospheric processes. Visit URL: hop.pratt.duke.edu Professor Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, accepted the Bell 206 Jet Ranger at the Bell Helicopter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 24, and flew it to Heli-Dyne Systems Inc., ...
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  • October 25, 2002

    Study Suggests Amazon Deforestation Could Affect Climate in U.S.

    DURHAM, N.C. -- New mathematical simulations of climate behavior by Duke University researchers indicate that deforestation in the Amazon can cause a reduction of rainfall in the Midwestern United States and the Dakotas in the summer, when precipitation is most needed for agriculture. "What this suggests is that if you mess up the planet at one point, the impact could have far-reaching effects," said Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at ...
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  • September 18, 2002

    Duke Engineers Creating 'More Refined' Global Climate Model

    DURHAM, N.C. -- Frustrated by the limitations of present numerical models that simulate how Earth's climate will be altered by factors such as pollution and landscape modification, Duke University engineers are creating a new model incorporating previously-missing regional and local processes. "The model we are developing is much more refined," said the project's leader, Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. Unlike previous designs now used ...
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  • January 1, 2002

    Study Suggests Amazon Deforestation Could Affect Climate in U.S.

    New mathematical simulations of climate behavior by Duke University researchers indicate that deforestation in the Amazon can cause a reduction of rainfall in the Midwestern United States and the Dakotas in the summer, when precipitation is most needed for agriculture. "What this suggests is that if you mess up the planet at one point, the impact could have far-reaching effects," said Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "You have to be ...
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  • January 1, 2002

    Study Suggests Amazon Deforestation Could Affect Climate in U.S.

    New mathematical simulations of climate behavior by Duke University researchers indicate that deforestation in the Amazon can cause a reduction of rainfall in the Midwestern United States and the Dakotas in the summer, when precipitation is most needed for agriculture. "What this suggests is that if you mess up the planet at one point, the impact could have far-reaching effects," said Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "You have to be ...
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  • December 1, 2001

    Duke Engineers Creating 'More Refined' Global Climate Model

    Frustrated by the limitations of present numerical models that simulate how Earth's climate will be altered by factors such as pollution and landscape modification, Duke University engineers are creating a new model incorporating previously-missing regional and local processes. "The model we are developing is much more refined," said the project's leader, Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering. Unlike previous designs now used by the world's climatologists, ...
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  • December 1, 2001

    Duke Engineers Creating 'More Refined' Global Climate Model

    Frustrated by the limitations of present numerical models that simulate how Earth's climate will be altered by factors such as pollution and landscape modification, Duke University engineers are creating a new model incorporating previously-missing regional and local processes. "The model we are developing is much more refined," said the project's leader, Roni Avissar, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering. Unlike previous designs now used by the world's climatologists, ...
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