Analyzing climate change’s impact on flooding in East Portland, measuring the air quality of Harriet Tubman Middle School and making Rose City transportation systems more equitable are some of the many Portland State University research projects that impact Oregon’s largest city.
PSU faculty and student researchers who have conducted these projects and many other studies with impact beyond Oregon will be celebrated when the university kicks off its inaugural Research Week on May 3.
“This week-long series of events is intended to honor and call attention to the exceptional research of Portland State University faculty members and students,” said Mark McLellan, PSU’s vice president of Research & Graduate Studies. “As researchers, we are explorers, problem solvers and changemakers. PSU research brings new discoveries and possibilities into focus, and addresses critical challenges facing Portland and global communities.”
Did you know external research grants contributed $28 million in faculty and staff salaries over the last fiscal year? Read more.
Through a series of events, Research Week will celebrate faculty and student research and inspire the next generation of changemakers and problem solvers. It will do so by communicating the value and impact of PSU research; honoring exceptional faculty and student researchers; demonstrating the value of experiential learning; and strengthening professional networks within the PSU research community.
Here are some examples of PSU’s research that impacts Portland:
PSU researchers Elliott Gall, Linda George and Raul Cal have partnered with Portland Public Schools (PPS) to monitor air quality at Harriet Tubman Middle School. The school’s location near a busy section of Interstate 5 makes it prone to air quality issues. The research team, which includes several students, measured air pollution levels inside the building and on the school grounds. The data the team collected can be used by PPS to make informed decisions mitigating the health risks associated with air pollution.
“Hands-on research in the field has been one of the most useful and fulfilling ways to learn the science,” said Megan Dunas, a graduate student in Professor Linda George’s lab responsible for measuring levels of nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants on campus grounds and the surrounding neighborhood.
PSU graduate students Benjamin Fahy and Emma Brenneman, along with geography professor Heejun Chang and urban studies and planning professor Vivek Shandas, are examining the potential for extreme flooding and heat events in neighborhoods throughout Portland. The research team mapped winter flooding and summer heat hazard potential and combined that data with sociodemographic and physical variables at the neighborhood scale. They found that poorer neighborhoods in East Portland are at a higher risk of experiencing the impacts of flooding and extreme heat.
Working with the Portland Bureau of Fire and Rescue, students in PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs are identifying ways to reduce the fire bureau’s emergency call volume by analyzing emergency call data to better understand the types of calls emergency responders receive.
With the support of a five-year, $15.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, PSU’s Transportation Research and Education Center is studying the transportation issues facing Portland and other cities, including how to make transportation systems more equitable for all Portlanders.
“The city has always been a living laboratory for our faculty members and students,” said McLellan. “The research we do with our partners in the community drives changes that improve the quality of life for all Portland residents. We’re launching Research Week to call attention to all this great work.”
Research Week’s events include a reading by Leni Zumas, director of PSU’s Creative Writing program and author of the critically acclaimed novel Red Clocks. Student research will be on display at the Student Research Symposium and Three Minute Thesis Competition. Local innovators and entrepreneurs will meet at PSU’s award-winning Business Accelerator to celebrate research impact enabled by intellectual property. PSU is working with area high school students who will come to campus to meet National Medal of Science award winner Geri Richmond to discuss pathways into STEM.