Albert Presto
Research Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Courtesy Appointment, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director, Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies
Bio
Albert Presto is a research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and a member of the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies (CAPS). Presto’s research focuses on pollutant emissions from energy extraction and consumption and the subsequent atmospheric transformations that these emissions undergo. Energy production and consumption is a major source of pollutants and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Gas and oil wells emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Cars and trucks operating on gasoline and diesel fuels emit carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. Particulate matter from mobile sources is largely the result of incomplete or inefficient combustion in the form of organic aerosol and carbon soot. In addition to the direct emissions of pollutants, dilute exhaust undergoes oxidation in the atmosphere. This oxidation chemistry can lead to the production of secondary pollutants, such as ozone and secondary particulate matter.
Presto investigates the contributions of primary and secondary pollution with ambient measurements, laboratory experiments, source testing of pollution sources, and atmospheric models. This multi-pronged and multi-disciplinary approach allows for a holistic view of pollutant emissions and transformations in the atmosphere.
In addition to having environmental impacts, these pollutants, particularly ozone and particulate matter, adversely impact human health. Presto collaborates with medical professionals to develop detailed studies of pollutant exposure on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, and to better understand the relationships between pollutant emissions and adverse health effects such as childhood asthma.
Education
- Ph.D. 2005, Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
- B.S. 2001, Chemical Engineering, Cornell University
Presto works with US embassies around the world to gather air quality data that they can use to make recommendations to improve the air in different cities.
Presto talks about his lab’s research to understand air pollution at a more granular level than just city-wide by pinpointing causes with lab data and mathematical models.
Presto talks about "Air Quality and Atmospheric Chemistry: The atmospheric impacts of the Marcellus Shale boom."