1/12 For those looking for an exciting and important field of study. My motivation for moving from outdoor to indoor air research 25+ years ago was a recognition that Americans are indoor creatures. On avg, we live to be 79 yo & spend 69 yrs domiciled inside buildings. (more)

2/12 Of these 69 yrs we spend 54 yrs in our own home, nearly 1/2 of those yrs in our bedroom, largely with face pressed up against pillow or mattress, & only 6 years outdoors + 4 years inside motor vehicles. Think of that, 4 to 5 x more time in bed than outdoors! (More)

3/12 These numbers alone have led me to question for many years why indoor environmental science & engineering has largely been excluded from environmental science & engineering programs (w/ very few exceptions). (more)

4/12 But it has also been a strong motivator for me. We spend the majority of our lives in an environment, our own homes, in which we have tremendous control. (More)

5/12 The majority of air pollution mass that we inhale during our lifetimes, EVEN POLLUTION OF OUTDOOR ORIGIN, we breathe indoors and mostly in our own homes. We could dramatically reduce population exposure to outdoor air pollution by better design and op of buildings! (more)

6/12 The fact that there has been so little research on residential indoor environmental science/engineering relative to other environmental fields is baffling and disappointing. Lack of regulations? Privacy concerns? Lack of knowledge? (more)

7/12 Doing research that provides educational materials for the general public is so important to help people make decisions on how to keep their homes healthy, school districts to keep schools healthy, & not be duped into bad decisions based on pseudo-science & snake oil. (more)

8/12 The image in 1 shows the avg American day based on thousands of respondents. The vast area denoted by A is the home. Much of the "other" 15 yrs indoors is at work and school. Bonus points. How do you think these activity patterns have changed during this pandemic? (more)

9/12 I've spent much of my career researching indoor air quality relevant to homes & K-12 schools, including studies of sources and fate of various pollutants, occupant exposure to pollutants, & innovative control strategies - even for outdoor pollution that moves indoors (more)

10/12 To those of you who are still young and have a long career ahead of you, indoor environmental science and engineering fields still has so much to explore, so much to be known, and so many improvements to be made to homes, schools, etc., to make them healthier.

11/12 Despite tremendous gains in knowledge by indoor environmental science and engineering researchers over the past decades - there is still so very much that needs to be done. And this pandemic is a HUGE, but far, far, far from unique, example, of such research. (more)

12/12 My pitch to you ... think about becoming an Indoor Airhead. You will be able to make important differences in the lives of many and be part of a relatively small but highly interdisciplinary and exciting global community. That's my pitch, and I am sticking to it!