News and Events

Harshit Agrawal, a third year graduate student at CE-CERT received a fellowship from MAN Diesel allowing him to work at their facility in Denmark for three months beginning August 25. MAN Diesel is the world's leading provider of large-bore diesel engines for marine and power plant applications which fits perfectly with Harshit's primary research focus, which is "Evaluation of Impacts of Marine Port Sources on Regional Air Quality". Harshit completed his B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay in 2005 and joined University of California, Riverside with a Dean's fellowship in September 2005. In the past three years he has been working on physical and chemical characterization of emissions from aircraft engines, slow and medium speed marine diesel engines, and comparison of different sources of diesel emissions.

The Bourns College of Engineering's annual TechHorizons Conference May 13 and 14 featured a focus on Environmental Sustainability. Center Director Matt Barth talked to The Press-Enterprise of Riverside about the Conference and CE-CERT.

Lindsay Yee, a graduating senior who has done considerable work in CE-CERT's Atmospheric Pollution Laboratory, has won a highly competitive three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Yee plans to pursue a Ph.D. in atmospheric studies at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech). At CE-CERT, Yee worked under Dr. David Cocker in the APL while accumulating a 3.9 GPA and winning the Ford Motor Co. Undergraduate Scholarship and first place in the Jim Guthrie Undergraduate Research Competition. She is an Environmental Engineering major with a concentration in Air Pollution Control and plans to continue research on Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) at the postgraduate level. "Lindsay has been a top researcher in our Atmospheric Processes Lab for four years and is quite deserving of this national honor," said Cocker.

CE-CERT's solar car was showcased on campus April 22 as part of the Earth Day festivities. Edi Rocha and Benjamin Catarino took the car and were on hand to answer any questions. The purpose of this day is to provide awareness of environmental issues. The exhaust emissions of Internal Combustion Engine(ICE) vehicles is contributing to global warming, therefore hybrid vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and solar vehicles are seen as an alternative mode of transportation. CE-CERT designed a solar vehicle by taking a General Electric Motorcars (GEM) vehicle and installed eight solar panels across the top of the car in order to charge the vehicle.

CE-CERT research has turned into a $200 million program to reduce pollution children are exposed to while riding school buses. The California Air Resources Board in March allocated the money to replace the 74 oldest school buses still in use in the state and to replace or retrofit an additional 4,500 vehicles. Dennis Fitz, manager of CE-CERT Atmospheric Processes Group, led a team including UCLA scientists to measure concentrations of pollutants in bus cabins and used tracer gases to determine the degree of self-pollution due to the bus' engine exhaust emissions. "I can't even begin to describe the significant health benefits that this program will bring into California and particularly for our most precious sector of the population, our children," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols.

Anh Vu won a National Science Foundation scholarship to spend the summer studying intelligent transportation systems at Osaka University in Japan. Vu, who is studying under CE-CERT Director Matthew Barth, will be in Japan for three months. The scholarship comes from the NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering and is part of the East Asian and Pacific Summer Institutes program for graduate students.

Elizabeth Deakin, William Johnson and Ronald Loveridge won CE-CERT's Distinguished Service Awards for 2008. The awards are given to individuals who have helped CE-CERT further its agenda of research, teaching and service. Deakin, Professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and Director of the University of California Transportation Center, won in the Academic Category. She has given CE-CERT strong support in scholarship aid and research opportunities. Previous winners include William Pierson, Robert Sawyer and Susan Hackwood. Johnson, President of Johnson Machinery Co., was the winner in the Industry Category. He has been a long-time supporter of CE-CERT, especially in providing help for students and providing facilities for research work. Previous winners include Samuel Leonard, Kelly Brown and Ben Knight. Loveridge, mayor of Riverside and a board member at both the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, won in the Government Category. Loveridge has a long-standing concern with air quality issues and has supported CE-CERT's efforts to do effective research. Previous winners include Alan Lloyd, Congressman Ken Calvert and Tom Mullen.

A record year for contracts and the confirmation of Matthew Barth as Director highlighted CE-CERT's 2007 performance. For a full review of the projects and progress of the Center through the year, click here. If you desire a hard copy , please send an email to info@cert.ucr.edu.

Dr. Charles Wyman was a featured speaker at a Climate Change Solutions Summit organized by former Vice President Al Gore in New York City.

Wyman, Ford Motor Co. Chair in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the Bourns College of Engineering, University of California, Riverside, spoke on "Challenges to Realizing the Benefits of Cellulosic Fuels Technologies." Wyman's laboratory, located at the College of Engineering's Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), is working on development of new enzymes and pretreatment routines for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

The talk focused on the potential of cellulosic ethanol as a source of renewable fuel without adding to carbon dioxide emissions. Wyman pointed out the financial and political barriers to the commercialization of the fuel. He also discussed the research topics that still need work in the laboratory. [Full Text]

Right now, drivers can ask Google maps to direct them to their destination, and highlight pizza places along the way. UC Riverside has recently partnered with Audi on a $650,000 project (along with UC Berkeley) that will allow drivers to determine the greenest route possible.

The idea is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by giving drivers more specific information about the most environmentally responsible route for their particular car in current traffic conditions.

"Our goal is to be part of a real solution to the constant dilemma commuters face: What is the best way to get there?" said Matt Barth, professor of electrical engineering and Director of the College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT). "Sometimes the best way to get there is the one that causes the least damage to the planet." [Full Text]

Clementine (Teeny) Ellis was named CE-CERT's Employee of the Year at the Bourns College of Engineering Staff Appreciation Luncheon November 16, 2007. Teeny is our Contracts & Grants Analyst. She works closely and well with new staff members at the Office of Research and keeps our PIs informed of the status of their projects and identifies problems early. She works positively to keep the administrative staff informed and working together on a range of issues. Naming her our Staff Member of the Year is but a small part of the acknowledgement she has earned.

With funding from the University of California Transportation Center, the University of California, Riverside is soliciting applications for Graduate Fellowships in Transportation. This Graduate Fellowship opportunity is being offered as part of the system-wide University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) program. These graduate fellowships are being offered to encourage and aid graduate students focusing on Transportation Research at UCR. Four fellowships will be awarded this year to full-time graduate student(s) in the amount of $20,000 to offset University of California, Riverside, academic and/or research expenses. For more information as well as the application please go to UCTC Fellowship Application under Quick Links on this page to the left.

CE-CERT is joining the Edward J. Blakely Center for Sustainable Suburban Development in a $154,452 grant for a two-year study on the link between urban design and sustainability. The study, called The Hope of New Urbanism: Energy Conservation and Sustainability through Urban Design, will be funded through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation. [Full Text]

CE-CERT formalized its growing presence in China by signing an agreement with Tsinghua University in Beijing. The agreement sets the parameters for a broadened, cooperative research program that will explore the potential for joint facilities, both physical and virtual, and handle intellectual property issues. Dean Reza Abbaschian of the Bourns College of Engineering, of which CE-CERT is a part, led the UCR delegation. Matthew Barth, the Center's director, and Founding Director Joseph Norbeck, accompanied the Dean as well as CE-CERT researchers and engineering professors Charles Wyman and David Cocker. Signing on behalf of Tsinghua University was Dean of the University's Institute of Environmental Science and Technology Hao Jiming. Professors He Kebin and Wu Ye also participated in the ceremony, as did Dr. Weijian Han, research director for Ford Motor Company in China. Barth said he was struck by the similarity of Tsinghua's and CE-CERT's research programs. Said Cocker, I felt like I was visiting CE-CERT in another country. [Full Text]

A CE-CERT group is part of a team just awarded $125 million over 5 years by the Department of Energy to start one of three new research centers. CE-CERT's Charles Wyman and Bin Yang will be working with post-doctoral scholars and graduate students at UCR on pretreatment of advanced cellulosic plants to understand how to best modify their characteristics for optimal integration with advanced microbial systems for conversion into fuel ethanol. The CE-CERT researchers will provide a vital link for the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Other partners include the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Georgia Tech University, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Dartmouth College, ArborGen, Mascoma Corporation, Verenium Corporation, Cornell University, Washington State University, the University of Minnesota, North Caroline State University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Virginia Tech University.

CE-CERT hosted the 3rd annual CE-CERT - Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) Student Symposium on August 20 & 21. The event, led by Dr. Matt Barth (CE-CERT) and Dr. Xinqi Qiao (SJTU) welcomed 5 graduate students and 2 professors from the Research Center of Environmental Technology at SJTU. CE-CERT's participating students were Harshit Agrawal, Lili Huang, Quentin Malloy, Qing Qing, Surinder Singh, and Weihua Zhu.

The first day of the symposium was filled with interesting presentations from both sides, including, "Characteristics of Ultrafine Particles Emitted from Engines with Conventional and Alternative Fuels" and "Traffic Congestion-based Roadway Ambient Air Quality Measurement Program." The second day was taken up with informal discussions, a tour of CE-CERT, and a campus tour. "We will be collaborating with the SJTU students on further research to bridge the gap between China and the USA," said Center Director, Matt Barth.

Matt Barth's appearance on The Green Power Report on KTIE 590 AM, a station that broadcasts in the Riverside, San Bernardino area is available on The Green Power Report's website titled, "Transportation". Matt talks about the history of CE-CERT, its research, and accomplishments. The Green Power Report is sponsored by Riverside Public Utilities (RPU), the power and water utility for the City of Riverside, CA.

Matt Barth has been selected as CE-CERT's permanent Director. Reza Abbaschian, Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering, confirmed the appointment of Barth, who has been the Center's Interim Director for the past three years.

Barth, a Professor of Electrical Engineering at UC, Riverside, has been manager of CE-CERT's Transportation Systems and Vehicle Technology Research Laboratory since 1991. He took over as Interim Director after CE-CERT Founding Director Joseph Norbeck moved to the campus' Environmental Research Institute in 2004.

"I'm grateful for the confidence the Dean has shown in me and in the direction and goals of CE-CERT. The research record the Center's people have built over the past 15 years in transportation systems, emissions, renewable fuels and understanding atmospheric processes speaks for itself. The Dean's and the University's commitment recognizes that level of excellence and demonstrates a commitment to the Center's future," said Barth.

Barth's research focuses on applying engineering systems concepts and automation technologies to transportation systems. With transportation growth and its negative environmental impacts rising in international importance, his research aims to make transportation more efficient, intelligent and environmentally friendly. His recent projects include an intelligent shared electric vehicle system for the UCR campus; characterizing the impacts of traffic congestion on energy and emissions; the design of sophisticated shared-use vehicle computer model; a comprehensive model for estimating transportation air quality effects; and a state-of-the-art emissions modeling suite.

Professor Barth received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from the University of Colorado, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo and Osaka University, and has served on several National Research Council (NRC) committees. He is married with two children and lives in Riverside. His hobbies include hiking, camping, biking and other outdoor activities.

CE-CERT (College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology) does $6 million annually in research contracts and grants. With a staff of approximately 80 scientists, technicians and staff, it houses five research groups: Atmospheric Processes; Emissions and Fuels; Environmental Modeling; Sustainable Energy Systems; and Transportation Systems. The Center is dedicated to being an honest broker between industry and regulators by providing scientifically exacting research data.

More than half of the $3.3 million in recent fuel research awards from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was won by CE-CERT. The CE-CERT research will expand ongoing biodiesel studies with the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).

In May, CARB announced there would be 40 winners of alternative fuel awards, to split a total of $25 million. The final division was announced July 12.

In June, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a pilot biodiesel program with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The project tests the feasibility of converting the 14,000-strong Caltrans fleet to a biodiesel fuel blend. If the first 20 vehicles pass the pilot test, as determined by CalTrans and CE-CERT, fueling the fleet could save the state up to 600,000 gallons of petroleum annually.

The researchers behind these and similar projects are Thomas Durbin and J. Wayne Miller, members of CE-CERT's Emissions & Fuels Group. Miller is manager of the Group and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering. Durbin manages CE-CERT's Mobile Emissions Laboratory, Vehicle Emissions Research Laboratory and Heavy Duty Dynamometer facility. They are joint Principal Investigators for the Caltrans and CARB projects.

The Emissions & Fuels Group conducts research on engine emissions in the lab and field, under both controlled and real-world operating conditions. Engines of all sorts have been studied, including those in trucks, trains, oceangoing ships, and aircraft. The group's leadership in emissions measurement research, as well as unique technologies and novel methods to do so have attracted partnerships with not only California agencies, but also the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), engine manufacturers and commercial engine users. The Emissions & Fuels Group has garnered the most external funding of all five CE-CERT groups over the past three years.

Durbin has been Associate Research Engineer at the center since 1994. With B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from UCR's Bourns College of Engineering, he has published and presented extensively on the emissions effects of biodiesel and other alternative fuels. Durbin is a leading expert in diesel fuel formulation, equipment operability and emissions.

Miller has been with the center since 2000. Prior to joining UCR, he was Vice President for Technology and Product Development for Sunoco. He is widely published on fuels-related research and technology acquisition. He received his B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. from Caltech, both in Chemical Engineering. He was a member of the Joint Strike Fighter Emissions Test Development Team that was awarded a 2007 Climate Protection Award from the EPA.

A team of French and American students reacted like new parents as their driverless car went through its paces with cameras rolling.

Student researchers at CE-CERT have spent the last three years designing the car to compete in the Urban Challenge competition sponsored by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). CE-CERT and the French company Dotmobil collaborated on an entry they hope will be selected for the next qualification step and eventually make the final competition on November 3.

The modified Renault contains numerous sensors and a computer system. DARPA provided an electronic program to insert into the car's computer and placed obstacles on the course. Results from the five-hour test will be revealed around August 10. If the vehicle is successful, it will qualify for advancement to the next level.

Two previous DARPA Grand Challenge competitions set the stage for the Urban Challenge program. These competitions were conducted over 100-plus miles of rough desert terrain. The 2007 Urban Challenge finals will move to a mock city environment where the vehicles will carry out simulated military supply missions as they merge into moving traffic, negotiate intersections and traffic circles, and avoid obstacles.

Besides advancing technology on unmanned vehicles that could save the lives of soldiers, the effort could result in a monetary prize. The team with the fastest qualifying vehicle will receive $2 million, the second prizewinner will get $1 million, and the third $500,000. Entries are submitted from around the world, resulting in a diverse group of teams from academia and the robotics, automotive and defense industries.

The event drew reporters and camera crews from around Southern California. Here's what they saw.

Report from KNBC, Los Angeles

Report from KCBS, Los Angeles

Report from Press-Enterprise of Riverside website (contains commercial)

News story from Press-Enterprise print edition

Led by a $1.5 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, CE-CERT rang up over $6.4 million in contracts and grants funding during fiscal 2006-07.

The amount was roughly twice the $3.2 million raised in fiscal 2005-06. Totals fluctuate a great deal because commitments of staff and laboratory time from previous years' projects may inhibit accepting new projects.

The Keck grant paid for a new generation of instrumentation for CE-CERT's Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, which gave the lab unparalleled capacity to study the formation of ozone and particulate matter at real-world concentration levels. Earlier generations of laboratories have to use artificially high concentrations and extrapolate their results back to real-world levels.

The second largest funding came to CE-CERT's Sustainable Energy Systems group, with funding from Viresco, Inc. for the group's process to convert carbonaceous feedstocks into sulphur-free diesel fuel. Viresco's funding totaled over $1.4 million.

Other major funding came from the California Air Resources Board, the National Paint & Coatings Association and the federal and California Environmental Protection Agencies.

CE-CERT is pleased to announce the recipients of our scholarship awards for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Evan Davis has been named winner of the 2007 Jim Guthrie Research Award in recognition of his work on "Real-World Hybrid Electric Vehicle Energy Efficiency Analysis," and for his outstanding participation at CE-CERT while under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Barth. He will receive $500 toward his education.

CE-CERT also awarded the 2007-2008 Ford Motor Company Undergraduate Scholarship to Lindsay Yee. Yee is a second-year engineering student who is assisting Bethany Warren on Warren's project on the effect of humidity on secondary organic aerosol formation. As the winner of this award, Yee will receive $5,000 toward student expenses.

The Esther Hays Graduate Fellowship - with an award of $5,000 - was given to an outstanding second-year graduate student, Harshit Agrawal. Agrawal works at the Atmospheric Processes Laboratory under the guidance of Dr. David Cocker.

Additional graduate students recognized for their outstanding performances were Qing Qing and Henry Vu. Qing, a second-year graduate student in chemical engineering, won the Pierson Graduate Fellowship with an award of $5,000 to offset academic and/or research expenses. Qing is under the supervision of Dr. Charles Wyman. Vu, a third-year Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, won the Roberta Nichols Graduate Fellowship for $1,000. Vu, who is studying the atomization mechanics of flashing sprays, was under the supervision of Drs. Guillermo Aguilar and Hee-Jung Jung.

CE-CERT received multiple applications for these awards from students representing diverse talents and backgrounds. We congratulate this year's winners for the outstanding quality of their research, and wish them the best in the future.

Evan Davis, CE-CERT's recently named winner of the Jim Guthrie Research Award, celebrated his success in grand fashion at the Victoria Club. In addition to receiving $500 toward his research project, he accepted an invitation to dinner with Jim Guthrie and his family.

Evan had the opportunity to describe his project to Guthrie, a Riverside construction magnate and investor. Evan's project, Real-World Hybrid Electric Vehicle Energy Efficiency Analysis, seeks to develop a method to estimate the real-world fuel economy of vehicles, and to use a similar procedure to investigate Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and optimize their control strategy for real-world driving.

CE-CERT advisor Matt Barth, and Bourns College of Engineering Dean Reza Abbaschian, also attended the dinner to celebrate Evan's accomplishment.

Evan Davis, a freshman working in CE-CERT's Research Advancement Program (RAP), won first place in his section at UCR's First Annual Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity.

Davis, who plans to major in environmental engineering, is a student of CE-CERT Director Matt Barth in the RAP program. His presentation was entitled Real-World Hybrid Electric Vehicle Energy Efficiency Analysis.

In his presentation, Davis noted that the environmental and energy-efficiency benefits of hybrid vehicles are highly dependent on driving behavior. Using CE-CERT's extensive vehicle activity database, Davis ran a simulation of real-world driving behavior applied to a Toyota Prius. The database base contains over 3 million seconds worth of speed and position data from around Southern California.

Davis' research found that real-world driving patterns produced lower than expected vehicle fuel economy ratings compared to those from the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Test Procedure and Highway Fuel Economy Test. The main reason is that drivers in Southern California drive faster and more aggressively that the parameters of the federal test methods.

Billy Phan, another student affiliated with CE-CERT, made a presentation on High Temperature Sulfur Removal from Diesel Fuel Production, an outgrowth of his work with CE-CERT researchers Chan Seung Park and Ki Seok Kim on turning carbonaceous materials into diesel fuel. There were a total of 20 presentations at the symposium.

The University of California, College of Engineering — Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT) is soliciting applications for the William R. Pierson/Ford Graduate Student Fellowship 2007—2008, the Esther F. Hays Graduate Fellowship 2007—2008, the Ford Motor Company Scholarship 2007—2008, the Roberta Nichols Yakel Scholarship 2007—2008, and the Jim Guthrie Research Award 2007. [Full Text]

The 4^th Annual Jim Guthrie Undergraduate Research Symposium provided Undergraduates active in research at UCR with the opportunity to share their work with fellow students, professors, and researchers.

This year's event, held at the Bourns College of Engineering on Saturday, January 27^th, highlighted research on a variety of topics including, synthetic diesel production, jet aircraft emissions, and microbial contamination in beach sediment. A mixed panel of judges, which included professors, researchers and graduate students, selected winners on the basis of aesthetic and verbal presentation, as well as the quality of research presented.

CE-CERT Undergrad Lindsay Yee won first place and a $200 prize for her presentation entitled, Ozone and Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) Formation from Agricultural Pesticides. Karel Jansen, also active in the Fuels and Emissions Research group at CE-CERT, took second place honors and received a $100 prize for his presentation, Chemical Characterization and Analysis of Jet Aircraft Emissions.

Fellow CE-CERT Undergrads Billy Phan and Piotr Gawecki, and UCR Senior Chris Salam, tied for 3^rd place. Each received a $50 prize for their efforts.

Director Matthew Barth proudly represented fellow CE-CERT researchers, and co-winners of this year's Pyke Johnson Award, at the 86^th Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting held January 22^nd in Washington, D.C.

Matthew Barth, John Collins, Nicole Davis, Joseph Norbeck, and George Scora won the Pyke Johnson Award for their paper entitled, Measuring and Modeling Emissions from Extremely Low-Emitting Vehicles. The award, named after the 23^rd Chairman of the Board, may recognize annually one outstanding paper published in the field of transportations systems planning and administration.

The award-winning paper discusses the development of a comprehensive study of measurement intended to better understand the emission characteristics of extremely-low emitting vehicles as well as determine their potential impact on air quality.

CE-CERT researchers were honored alongside other outstanding researchers at this year's conference. Awards were also given to top papers in the field of design and construction of transportation facilities, and the field of operation, safety, and maintenance of transportation facilities.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science named CE-CERT researcher Dr. Charles Wyman a 2006 AAAS Fellow. The AAAS awarded this distinction to 449 of its members this year.

The 158-year-old AAAS annually recognizes individual faculty members for their socially and scientifically distinguished contributions to the advancement of science. Dr. Wyman, one of 21 UC Riverside Faculty to receive the 2006 AAAS Fellowship, was cited for his continued work on the biological conversion of cellulose biomass to ethanol.

AAAS members are nominated by three existing Fellows, reviewed by a steering committee and presented to the AAAS Council for election. The new Fellows will receive a certificate and blue engineering rosette pin on February 17 during the 2007 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

CE-CERT's Transportation Systems Research group, represented by Group Manager and CE-CERT Director Matthew Barth, presented five papers at this year's IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

The research shared at this year's IEEE event reflects the collaborative efforts of TSR staff and student researchers, and covers a variety of topics including inter-vehicle communication, intelligent speed adaptation, and automatic vehicle location efficiency.

Dr. Barth presented papers entitled, An Adaptive Dissemination Method for Inter-Vehicle Communication-Based Decentralized Traffic Information Systems, An Energy and Emissions Impact Evaluation of Intelligent Speed Adaptation, Improving Automatic Vehicle Location Efficiency through Aperiodic Filtering, Policy and Behavior Research for the California Partners for Advanced Highways and Transit (PATH), and Vehicle Trajectory-Based Road Type and Congestion Recognition using Wavelet Analysis.

This year's IEEE conference, held in Toronto, Canada, brought together government, industry, and academic participants from around the world to discuss improvements in transportation technology and applications.

Dr. Heejung Jung, recently appointed Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UCR, has joined the Emissions and Fuels Research group at CE-CERT. Dr. Jung received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and joins CE-CERT most recently from the University of California, Davis where he held a Postdoctoral position.

While Dr. Jung has varied research interests, including PM emissions, nanoparticle synthesis, and air quality, he has expressed a desire to continue and further develop his investigation into the kinetics of soot oxidation which he first began at the University of Minnesota.

Using the facilities available at CE-CERT, Dr. Jung hopes to produce more data on soot oxidation that will be crucial to better design diesel particulate filters. Soot particles emitted from diesel engines have deleterious consequences for both the environment and the human respiratory system. Dr. Jung's research will contribute to the effectiveness of filters to be used on many new diesel vehicles.

Additionally, Dr. Jung hopes to be involved on a project with fellow CE-CERT researchers Tom Durbin and Wayne Miller to develop an additive that will help suppress NO_x emissions in biodiesel blends.

Diesel emissions reduction is of great importance globally, said Jung, who anticipates that this will be the first of many such collaborative efforts at CE-CERT in which he will be involved.

Wei Li, a graduate student with the Emissions and Fuels Research group at CE-CERT, earned second place for his poster entitled, Evaluation of Particulate Matter Emissions of Light—Duty Gasoline Vehicles Operating in California, at the Asian American Environmental Symposium (AAES).

The symposium, held at the University of California, Los Angeles, was organized by the Southern California Chinese American Environmental Protection Association and the Asian American Environmental Partnership. The AAES brought together students, government officials, and industry representatives to discuss problems and solutions related to a variety of environmental topics including water quality and land use.

Li, recognized along with other students from USC and Caltech, was awarded $200 for his research. The judging committee selected winners on the basis of originality, relevance of the project to the themes of the conference, and student's role and contribution to the project.

Li's research project entitled, Characterization of Particulate Emissions of Extremely-Low-Emitting Vehicles, won the $4,000 first place prize at the SCAQMD Ultrafine Particles Conference earlier this year.

The Research Advancement Program has brought a gifted group of UCR freshmen and sophomores to CE-CERT for the start of what promises to be a productive 2006-2007 academic year.

RAP will give Evan Davis, Jason Elliott, Madison Holsinger, and Dylan Switzer the opportunity to conduct research at CE-CERT under the guidance of experienced CE-CERT researchers.

Freshman Evan Davis will team up with CE-CERT Director Matthew Barth and other members of the Transportation Systems Research group to study hybrid electric vehicles and parameters which will optimize vehicle performance. Dylan Switzer, also a freshman, began working this summer with Dr. David Cocker and the Atmospheric Processes Group in CE-CERT's Environmental Chamber.

Jason Elliott and Madison Holsinger, both sophomores at UCR, hope to utilize the knowledge and lab experience acquired as freshmen to contribute to their research at CE-CERT. A Mechanical Engineering major, Jason has begun work with Dr. Heejung Jung as a member of the Emissions and Fuels Research group. Madison, a Bioengineering student, works with Dr. Bin Yang in the Sustainable Energy Systems Research group on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.

The Research Advancement Program will not only fund the students' research efforts, but also integrate them into the fold of CE-CERT research and scholarship. Early involvement during their undergraduate careers will provide future avenues for advanced research, eligibility for various CE-CERT scholarships, graduate study, and jobs in industry.

Dr. David R. Cocker and CE-CERT graduate students attended the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) International Aerosol Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, held September 10-15^th, to present and observe recent research findings.

Graduate student Bethany Warren gave a well-attended 20 minute presentation entitled, Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation and Chemical Speciation for the Cyclohexene-Ozone System in the Presence of Water Vapor and Inorganic Salts.

Graduate students Quentin G.J. Malloy and Ajay Chaudary each presented posters, Secondary organic Aerosol Formation from the Photo-oxidation of m, o, p-xylene and Effects of Real-World Driving Conditions on Gaseous and Particulate Emissions In-Use Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks, respectively.

Additionally, graduate student Abhilash Nigam presented two well-received posters titled, PM Emission Measurements from Back-up Generators: Method V vs. ISO 8178 and Effect of Fuel Sulfur Content and Control Technology on PM Emissions from Ship's Auxiliary Engines.

A recent CE-CERT collaborator, PhD student Mikko Lemmetty from Finland, also gave a 20 minute presentation titled, The Effect of Different Dilution-Cooling Conditions on Nucleation on Diesel Exhaust.

The Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE) at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) is seeking an outstanding individual to serve as Director of the Bourns College of Engineering — Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT). CE-CERT is the largest research center at UCR and pursues a broad-based, integrated, basic and applied research agenda in advanced vehicle technologies and systems; vehicle emissions measurement, analysis, and control; atmospheric measurements and modeling; environmental analysis and policy; sustainable energy with emphasis on air quality and transportation systems research. CE-CERT's research program is international in scope and is a member of UCR's Environmental Research Institute that provides collaborative research and educational linkages to conservation biology, environmental sciences and economics, and the social sciences… [Full Text]

Diesel for $1 a gallon.

And not from oil. Instead, it would come from sewer sludge, wood, agricultural waste, plain old trash or even plastics.

That's the promise of a new process unveiled Thursday at UC Riverside by researchers and a small company that will pay $15 million for a pilot plant to be built in the next two years… [Full Text]

The W.M. Keck Foundation awarded the Center for Environmental Research & Technology at UC Riverside $1.5 million for instrumentation that will improve the capability of the Center's atmospheric research chamber.

The Keck award greatly enhances the chemical and physical characterization capabilities of the chamber, said David Cocker, the CE-CERT researcher who wrote the grant request to the Los Angeles-based foundation. The award is the largest Keck has ever made to UCR.

CE-CERT's Environmental Chamber Facility, the most technically advanced facility of its kind, will benefit greatly from the funding. The grant supports a suite of online and offline instrumentation dedicated to advancing knowledge of atmospheric chemical processes leading to ozone and particulate formation, Cocker said. [Full Text]

Anh Vu and Karel Jansen, CE-CERT's recently named winners of the Jim Guthrie Research Award, celebrated their success in grand fashion at the Victoria Club. In addition to receiving $500 towards their research projects, both accepted an invitation to dinner with Jim Guthrie.

Both students had the opportunity to describe their projects to Guthrie, a Riverside construction magnate and investor. Jansen's project, entitled APEX II, seeks to characterize the emissions of commercial aircraft and their residual health effects. Jansen hopes that the data gathered from this research will be the catalyst for future regulations.

Vu's project, DiMI, also places an emphasis on future applications. He hopes to develop an omni-directional camera for identifying and tracking vehicles, aiding emissions modeling, and developing autonomous navigation projects.

CE-CERT advisors David Cocker and Matt Barth, and Bourns College of Engineering Dean Reza Abbaschian, also attended the dinner to celebrate the students' accomplishments.

CE-CERT is pleased to announce the recipients of this year's scholarship awards.

Anh Vu and Karel Jansen have been named co-winners of the 2006 Jim Guthrie Research Award. In recognition of the outstanding quality of their research projects, both will receive $500.

CE-CERT also awarded Karel the 2006-2007 Ford Motor Company Undergraduate Scholarship. Karel, a senior under the supervision of David Cocker, will receive $5,000 towards educational expenses.

In addition to the Ford Undergraduate Scholarship, CE-CERT recognized two outstanding graduate students. Christopher Lew received the Esther Hays Graduate Fellowship, and Zhongwei Chen won the William R. Pierson Graduate Fellowship. Both students, supervised by Yushan Yan in Chemical Engineering, will be given $5,000 in support of their studies.

CE-CERT received numerous applications for these awards from students representing diverse talents and backgrounds. We commend this year's winners for the outstanding quality of their research, and wish them the best in future endeavors.

In May 2006, five CE-CERT graduate students (Wei Li, Arun Raju, George Scora, Corinne Valkenburg, and Bethany Warren) along with three CE-CERT faculty (Matt Barth, David Cocker, and Joseph Norbeck) made a trip to China as part of an on-going U.S./China research exchange. The CE-CERT group visited two top universities in China: Xi'an Jiao Tong and Shanghai Jiao Tong Universities.

At each location, the CE-CERT team participated in a 2 1/2-day workshop focusing on transportation, energy, and air quality. Each of the graduate students gave talks on their research. The workshop in Xi'an will likely serve as the precursor to joint research on particulate measurements and vehicle traffic congestion.

The meeting in Shanghai was the second joint symposium between the two universities.

The trip to China was sponsored through a generous gift by Bill Johnson, the Ford Endowment, and Xi'an and Shanghai Jiao Tong Universities.

CE-CERT held its 2006 Board of Advisors Meeting May 24-25^th, welcoming both new and old members from around the country. The two-day event provided members with an overview of current research being conducted at CE-CERT, significant accomplishments over the past year, and an opportunity to provide feedback for future endeavors.

The meeting opened on the 24^th with a survey of current research at CE-CERT including cellulosic ethanol, secondary organic aerosol formation, and spectroscopic research. The day concluded with a roundtable discussion where members discussed the direction of CE-CERT as well as provided recommendations for continued growth.

The meeting was highlighted by a dinner which gave CE-CERT students an opportunity to meet the board members who represent an impressive cross-section of key industry officials. This year's dinner was held at the newly founded Riverside International Automotive Museum, and provided a wonderful venue to dine and converse amid a striking array of automobiles.

The second day brought this year's meeting to a positive conclusion with the board members having an opportunity to discuss CE-CERT's future with College of Engineering dean Reza Abbaschian.

The Department of Transportation has awarded Meng Cao, a graduate student researcher with CE-CERT, an internship through its Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups. Meng is currently participating in this 10-week program with other undergraduate, graduate, and law students throughout the United States.

The DOT's Summer Transportation Internship Program is designed to attract well-qualified students from diverse groups to careers in the field of transportation. During his Internship, Meng will have the opportunity to work with the U.S. DOT field office in New York., discuss important transportation issues with key political and industry officials, and participate in numerous workshops, seminars, and field trips. The internship will culminate with a written report and oral presentation given by each of the participants at the end of the program.

Meng has begun his internship under the supervision of Arthur T. O'Conner, a Senior Transportation Engineer with the U.S. DOT. While at the NYC Metropolitan Office, Meng will monitor the traffic information gathered from more than 180 cameras that have been mounted at intersections throughout New York. Working in the area of traffic surveillance using computer vision techniques matches well with Meng's research at CE-CERT, who is a graduate student in CE-CERT's Transportation Systems Research group.

Wei Li, a graduate student researcher with CE-CERT, won First Place in the Ultrafine Particle Graduate Research Competition sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Li's project summary entitled, Characterization of Particulate Emissions of Extremely-Low-Emitting Vehicles, assesses particulate emission rates from gasoline-fueled low emitting vehicles. This research highlights the need to gather particulate emissions data for Ultra Low and Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV/SULEV), which Li says are almost non-existent.

Li conducted all of his tests at the Vehicle Emissions Research Laboratory at CE-CERT. [Full Text]