Dr. Brian McDonald, PhD, SE, FASCE

Helping Utilities Withstand Extreme Ice Events

Nov 19, 2024 ----- ... Exponent's Harri Kyt maa, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI, FASME, Ezra Jampole, Ph.D., P.E., and Brian McDonald , Ph.D., S.E., F.ASCE, explore ways in ...

Themes in design/build disputes, from a technical expert ...

Apr 7, 2022 ----- Brian McDonald is a corporate vice-president and principal engineer in the buildings and structures practice at Exponent in Menlo Park ...

Chemical Product Emissions Emerging as Urban VOCS

Over multiple decades volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the transportation sector have decreased by over an order of magnitude. As transportation emissions decline, other sources of urban VOCs are likely growing in relative importance. This talk focuses on emissions from the everyday use of volatile chemical products (VCPs), including personal care products, cleaning agents, inks, coatings, adhesives, and pesticides. Most of the emissions occur indoors and then are transported to the outdoor atmosphere, which then undergo chemical processing in the atmosphere and degrade air quality through the formation of ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. In the Los Angeles basin, we estimate that VCPs now account for around half of the petrochemical VOCs emitted. Follow-on measurements in New York City with ground-based and mobile laboratory platforms also indicate that VCPs are important sources of anthropogenic VOCs, and also suggest the importance of indoor emission sources on outdoor air quality. We will discuss chemical tracers that can be used to detect with greater chemical specificity the types of chemical products emitted into the atmosphere, as well as modeling showing how different chemical products affect the formation of urban air pollution. Continuing Education Units (CEUS) 1 hour in • Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) • Building Performance Institute (BPI) NonWholeHouse • American Institute of Architects - AIA (HSW) • Certified Green Professional (NARI & CGP) • Certified GreenHome Professional (CGHP) • AIBD • State Architect / Builder License may be applicable Lessons Learned: 1. Present atmospheric field measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in US cities. 2. Identify chemical tracers that indicate the importance of indoor sources on outdoor air quality. 3. Discuss basic atmospheric chemistry and how VOCs lead to ozone and fine particulate matter formation. 4. Show modeling results on how VOCs impact urban air quality. Need CEUS? Take the Quiz here: https://greenhomeinstitute.thinkific.... Instructors: Dr. Brian McDonald and Dr. Matthew Coggon, NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory Dr. McDonald is a research scientist at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, CO. Prior to arriving in Colorado, he received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineer (PECASE) in 2019. His expertise is on developing emission inventories of energy and urban systems, assessments of air quality trends, and regional air quality modeling. Dr. Coggon is a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, CO. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2015. His expertise is in the detection and quantification of trace gases and particles in the atmosphere using mass spectrometry.

University of Wisconsin Madison

Bachelor of Science

University of Wisconsin Madison

Doctor of Philosophy

University of Wisconsin Madison

Master of Science

Corporate Vice President and Principal Engineer

Exponent, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA)