SEAS Grad Student Receives EPA Award

Al Gore would be proud.

As the University prepares to celebrate Sustainability Week, featuring an appearance by the former vice president, the Environmental Protection Agency has lauded a Harvard graduate student for his research on climate change.

Eric M. Leibensperger, a graduate student at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was recently awarded one of the EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) fellowships. The award will help fund his research, which focuses on two main areas: the effect of climate change on air quality in the United States and the effect of U.S. aerosols on the global climate.

“I have been continually impressed by his curiosity and integrity as a scientist,” said Loretta J. Mickley, Leibensperger’s mentor at SEAS and a research associate in atmospheric chemistry. “He really wants to understand the mechanisms occurring in the natural world that show up in the data.”

Leibensperger had previously found that as a side effect of global warming, increased greenhouse gases have led to fewer cold fronts that “sweep away pollution,” making the emissions reductions in the past 30 years less effective.

“What is most interesting is what it means in terms of our backyard,” said Daniel J. Jacob, a professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering and Leibensperger’s thesis adviser. “One thing that Eric’s work has established is that with climate change you have more stagnant air.”

Leibensperger said he is now looking to the future, studying sulfate particles released by power plants. These particles are reflective and thus cool the atmosphere, as opposed to greenhouse gases which warm the atmosphere.

Since these particles are also a source of acid rain, companies are being pushed to cut back on sulfur dioxide emissions, but as they do so, the atmosphere loses this “cooling shield,” Leibensperger said.

“My work is geared toward two things,” Leibensperger said. “I want to make sure that what we’re doing is the right thing and that what we’re doing is enough.”

He added that the effects of this Catch-22 situation are not limited to the United States. As aerosols are removed and the Atlantic Ocean warms, the dynamics of the whole atmosphere may change, according to Leibensperger.

“This is a very timely and important topic to EPA and the nation,” said Stephanie H. Willett, the team leader for the EPA graduate fellowship program.

The EPA’s STAR fellowships support masters and doctoral candidates by providing $3,700 a year to help the students complete their degrees. This year, 32 fellows were selected out of almost 900 applicants, and Leibensperger was one of only four selected from New England.

“We want to help young scientists develop the skills that will ultimately help them in their professional careers and which we hope will help organizations like the EPA and state decision-makers,” said David L. Deegan, a spokesperson for the EPA.

—Staff writer Alissa M. D’Gama can be reached at adgama@fas.harvard.edu.