What’s your “AQI” IQ? What to know, what to do, to improve air quality and your health

In this webinar, co-sponsored by Purdue's Institute for a Sustainable Future, the Hoosier Environmental Council and Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute, we bring together Indiana-based specialists in the latest research on indoor and outdoor air quality (and learn about AQI, the Air Quality Index) in order to provide important new understandings of how air quality impacts the health of Hoosiers and how you can improve air quality in your home, at work, and in Indiana day cares and schools. 

Topics include: Indoor and outdoor air quality and why it matters; the latest science on what impacts indoor air quality; healthy housing and public spaces, and solutions that can make us all breathe a little easier.

Register here!

Speakers (in alphabetical order):

Heidi Beidinger. Heidi Beidinger's research is focused on public health and policy, most recently focusing on lead poisoning prevention including the development of new technologies to screen home environments for lead as well as the development and implementation of new local and statewide policies. Beidinger co-founded the Notre Dame Lead Innovation Team and the St. Joseph County Lead Affinity Group, a community coalition. 

Brandon Boor (Purdue University) Brandon E. Boor is the Dr. Margery E. Hoffman Associate Professor in Civil Engineering in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University. His research focuses on the physics and chemistry of indoor air, applying state-of-the-art measurement techniques to investigate the dynamics of indoor air pollutants in diverse environments. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Dr. Boor presently serves as an Editor for the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Gabe Filippelli (Indiana University, ERI) Gabriel Filippelli is a Chancellor’s Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director of the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute. Filippelli is a biogeochemist with broad training in climate change, exposure science, and environmental health. Filippelli is a Fellow of the International Association of Geochemistry, a 2022 Fulbright Distinguished Chair, and former National Academy of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow, where he served as a Senior Science Advisor for the U.S. Department of State.

Nusrat Jung (Purdue University) Nusrat Jung is an Assistant Professor in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, where she leads an interdisciplinary research team dedicated to identifying, characterizing, and mitigating indoor air pollutants, including fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds. She directs the Purdue zEDGE Test House, a reconfigurable smart building that she designed with her students to study indoor air pollutant dynamics under realistic conditions. She also developed Purdue’s ASHRAE 52.2 HVAC filter test rig, which is used to evaluate the performance of HVAC filtration systems. 

Jocelyn Keranen (HEC) Jocelyn Keranen is the Director of Environmental Health at Hoosier Environmental Council and oversees the initiative Improving Kid's Environment. Her work focuses on educating community members, daycares, and families on air quality, asthma triggers, and lead poisoning through various programming, including Healthy Spaces Happy Children.

Janet McCabe (IU Mckinney School of Law, ERI): Janet McCabe is an environmental policy expert with a long career in public service, law, and academia. She currently holds affiliations with the IU McKinney School of Law, the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute.  She has served at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in several capacities, including as Deputy Administrator from 2021 – 2024.  Janet has also held positions in environmental agencies in Indiana and Massachusetts and directed Improving Kids’ Environment, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit focused on environmental threats to children’s health.

Phil Stevens (Indiana University). Phil Stevens is Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, and Rudy Professor at IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. His research is focused on the characterization of the chemical mechanisms in the atmosphere that influence indoor air quality, regional air quality, and global climate change. As a leading scholar in the field of atmospheric chemistry, Stevens's research helps guide policymakers and government regulators working to improve air quality and mitigate climate change.

Want to learn more about how your hair routine may be damaging your air? Check out Nusrat Jung on Science Friday!

See how Nusrat Jung and Brandon Boor use their 'tiny house' to research indoor air quality on a recent "This is Purdue" podcast.

Check out Gabe Filippelli talking about air quality in this hot take!

Check out more on the future of environmental protection in a conversation with Janet McCabe sponsored by the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University in March, 2025.