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Dr. Susanne Hering
Founder, Aerosol Dynamics, Inc

Abstract Title: The Challenge of Monitoring Ultrafine Airborne Particles 
Measuring ultrafine airborne particles is a challenge – these particles are too small to be detected optically, yet they are important to health, and they are omnipresent in urban and indoor environments. Loosely defined as those particles with diameters below 100 nm, these particles have multiple sources, ranging from motor vehicles to office equipment, from industrial operations to domestic kitchens. Concentrations vary spatially and temporally, making it difficult to capture the levels to which people are exposed. While low-cost sensors continue to evolve for monitoring of gaseous pollutants and estimating suspended particle mass, an affordable method suitable for community monitoring of ultrafine particles remains elusive. We present here a brief story of the evolution of ultrafine particle measurement, from early concepts of cloud chambers to continuous flow laboratory condensation particle counters.  We present our developments in nano-particle detection, our development of a micro-gravity condensation counter used aboard the International Space Station, and most recently an affordable condensation particle counter for wide-spread community monitoring. 

Bio: Susanne Hering is the founder of Aerosol Dynamics Inc., a small business devoted to the characterization of airborne particles. She has contributed to the development of several aerosol instruments including water-based condensation particle counters and collectors, and tools for on-line characterization of chemical constituents in atmospheric aerosols. Currently she is working on lower-cost instruments for ultrafine airborne particle monitoring. Dr. Hering is a past President and a founding Fellow of the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) and has been honored as a recipient of the AAAR Benjamin Y.H. Liu Award for advances in aerosol instrumentation, and of the International Aerosol Fellow Award recognizing international contributions in the field. AAAR has further honored her through the establishment of an award in her name. In 2020 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.