IGERT affiliates are students who are associated with the IGERT program but
who do not qualify to apply for a traineeship through the program. These
may include undergraduate and masters level students, as well as
international students who are pursuing a doctoral degree. In all cases,
IGERT affiliates have a primary educational and research focus in the area
of indoor environmental science and engineering. Although affiliates can
not receive a stipend or other financial benefit from the National Science
Foundation, affiliates do benefit in other ways. For example, affiliates
are able to attend and make presentations at the program's annual meeting,
meet and network with national and international leaders in the field, and
participate in program social and team building events. Affiliates are also
eligible for non-NSF funds to attend a professional conference to present
their work in indoor environmental science and engineering. Efforts are
also being made to allow IGERT affiliates to complete paid internships
through select host institutions. Three IGERT affiliates recently received
prestigious scholarships to assist them with their graduate studies.
CLEMENT CROS
Clément Cros is a first year graduate student in the EWRE program at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on reactivity of building materials with ozone, and the effects of such reactions on indoor air quality. In particular, Clément is focusing on the effectiveness of activated carbon at removing carbon over a long period of time.
Clément grew up in Paris, France, and studied at École Centrale de Lille, in the north of France, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in multi-disciplinary engineering in 2008. His undergraduate research focused on finding ways to use solar energy in a car as a secondary energy source in order to reduce its fuel consumption and its CO2 emissions. This first experience in environmental engineering combined with internships in construction companies led him to be interested in green buildings. He likes the fact that the IGERT program is not limited to narrowly-focused technical issues, and allows students to explore wide-ranging issues related to various fields relevant to indoor environmental quality.
While at École Centrale de Lille, Clément became president of the local branch of the student organization cHeer uP!, aiming to help youths hospitalized for cancer to carry out a project in order to get their mind out of the hospital. Clément remains an active remote member of cHeer uP!, while enjoying the sunny Austin weather to engage in sport and improve his English skills.
CHI HOANG
Graduating from the Hanoi University of Technology in Vietnam, Chi Hoang worked for the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology as a teaching and research assistant in 2002. She could have happily developed a career in this setting, but it is clear that she could not practice at the technical level that she felt was necessary without postgraduate training. After one and a half years of surviving the cold in Toronto for her Masters in Environmental Engineering at the University of Toronto, she headed for the warmth of the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. There, she is pursuing her Ph.D. as an IGERT affiliate with the funding by the Vietnam Education Foundation.
Chi has been working on the chemistry and microbiology of green building materials. The main objective of her research is finding "true" environmentally friendly materials for home use. After completion of her Ph.D. program and academic training in the U.S., she would love to go back to Vietnam to start a small business or to work in a professional position that allows her to promote public awareness and advanced technology to improve the quality of indoor and working environments.
CATHERINE MUKAI - Graduated 12/08
A lifelong Californian, Catherine was lured to Texas by BBQ, country music, and, last but not least, the master's program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at UT. Prior to attending UT, she earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, spent 15 months as a student co-op intern with the Dow Chemical Company, and worked as an environmental consultant for ENVIRON International Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area. While both her industrial and consulting work were in outdoor air quality, Catherine is a poster child for the American indoor lifestyle and realized that a switch to studying indoor air quality was perfect for her.
Catherine is currently embarking on a research project studying the fates of particles in HVAC systems. She is also exploring Austin's fabric stores to support her passion for sewing clothes, bags, and quilts. In addition, Catherine loves to watch movies, take step aerobics, and relax with a cup of coffee and a good book, (where else?) indoors.
FEDERICO NORIS
Federico was born and raised near Milan, Italy. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 2003 and 2006, respectively. He also studied for one year in Valencia, Spain, during his junior year. During the last semester of both degrees he came to the University of Texas at Austin and conducted research on biological treatment of contaminated air using vapor phase bioreactors and the potential bioaerosol emissions generated by such reactors. During his stay he fell in love with Austin and decided that he could not leave A-town. He decided to pursue a Ph.D. and focus his attention on the presence of metals and microorganisms indoor environments, and to use HVAC filters as passive samplers for indoor contamination.
In his spare time he loves to go kayaking on Town Lake, walking in Soco (AKA South Congress) or just chill at a coffee shop.
LEO RAMIREZ
Leo was born in Bucaramanga, and raised in Bogota. Soon after obtaining his B.S in Electronic Engineering from Universidad Javeriana in 2000, this proud Colombian traded his beloved mountains for more knowledge and heading to New York where he obtained an M.S in Electrical Engineering from Stony Brook University in 2003. Not very content with the cold winters of the north east, he moved to Austin and worked for two years for a stack testing company where he managed air monitoring and sampling projects for NOx, CO, THC and formaldehyde for different point sources like turbines, internal combustion engines and sulfur recovery units.
Leo returned to school in 2005, and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas. There, he enjoys teaching his introduction to computer methods lab to freshmen and sophomore students. He is working on computer models to predict volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from paints, and has a special interest in topics related to asthma and allergies. As an affiliate to the IGERT program he has networked with students and top researchers of the indoor environment field, while also attending national and international conferences and meetings.
While not at his computer, Leo enjoys the great weather that Austin offers year round, particularly hanging from the walls of the greenbelt while rock-climbing.
DONGHYUN RIM
Donghyun Rim received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering in 2003 from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea. He completed his M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2005 at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been doing research on indoor airflow and pollutant transport in building environments and is involved in several projects to investigate human exposure to airborne contaminants in residential and commercial buildings. As an affiliate member of the IGERT program on Indoor Environmental Science and Engineering, he enjoys the intellectual experience as well as public outreach activities. In August 2008, he participated in Indoor Air 2008 in Denmark, and received the best student paper award. He is a big fan of traveling to places he has never been before. He also loves to play and watch soccer.
