AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Dr. Kelsey Bilsback: Seeking a Faculty or National Lab Position in Air Pollution Research in the US or Europe
KELSEY BILSBACK, Colorado State University
Abstract Number: 478 Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers
Abstract I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in atmospheric science at Colorado State University (Advisor: Jeff Pierce). I am interested in using my measurement and modeling experience to conduct research focused on solving challenges related to air pollution and its effects on health and climate. Currently, questions that interest me are: How do the toxicity and optical properties of fresh smoke change depending on the source, combustion conditions, and evolution in the atmosphere? Do these changes have meaningful health or climate effects? What types of individual choices and governmental policies have the greatest health or climate benefits? What contextual factors could affect how these choices change between communities? For my postdoc (October 2018-Present), I have been using a global atmospheric chemistry model (GEOS-Chem) to quantify the health and climate effects of an energy policy that is currently being implemented in Beijing, which requires residents to transition from coal to electric heating (Bilsback et al, in prep). I plan to extend these methods to estimate the climate and health effects of other air pollution sources (e.g., anthropogenic dust). In September 2018, I defended my PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University (Advisor: John Volckens). My PhD focused on air pollution measurements from cookstoves. I developed a novel laboratory testing protocol that became the basis for a standardized laboratory test (Bilsback et al, 2018); conducted two large-scale laboratory measurement campaigns (Bilsback et al, 2018; Bilsback et al, in review); led field campaigns in India, Uganda, Honduras, and China (Eilenberg et al, 2018); and developed a statistical methodology to estimate emissions during in-home cookstove based on laboratory data (Bilsback et al, in draft). I am currently seeking a tenure-track faculty position at a research university or a research scientist position at a national laboratory.