Einladung zum Vortrag "Making Invisible Air Pollutants Actionable"

Making Invisible Air Pollutants Actionable

Abstract:
Indoor air pollution is a significant public health concern, responsible for approximately 3.2 million deaths worldwide each year. Despite this, most people are unaware of the risks within their own homes, where they spend about 90% of their time. Our work focuses on understanding and improving indoor air quality, particularly in low and middle-income communities in India. We designed and deployed DALTON, an affordable, portable air-monitoring system that measures key pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and harmful volatile organic compounds. By installing these monitors at more than 30 diverse sites across India, our research revealed complex pollution dynamics linked to floor plans, daily activities, and ventilation habits. For example, while pollution levels spike during cooking, they clear quickly if windows or exhaust fans are used. However, bedrooms remain polluted for much longer, especially when air conditioning requires windows to stay closed. Everyday actions, such as burning incense sticks or using mosquito repellent, also contribute substantially to poor indoor air quality, often without residents realizing its impact. Home design and airflow, including the placement of fans and vents, can help spread or trap pollutants. A key finding is that simple changes in daily habits, combined with data-driven ventilation, can significantly reduce exposure to pollution. Building on this, we are developing wearable sensors and interactive, augmented-reality-based visual tools to help people see and respond to air pollutants around them, empowering healthier indoor living.

Speaker:
Prasenjit Karmakar earned his B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, India, in 2020 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kharagpur under the supervision of Prof. Sandip Chakraborty. His doctoral research is supported by the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF). His research interests include Ubiquitous Computing, Environmental Sensing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Machine Learning, with a focus on air quality sensing in indoor environments. Prasenjit has published in leading venues such as ACM CHI, NeurIPS (Datasets and Benchmarks), ACM MobileHCI, and ACM JCSS, and his work has been recognized through the Google Award for Inclusion Research (2023) and the Google Award for Society-Centered AI (2025). His work has been supported by travel grants from ACM IARCS, ACM COMPASS, and COMSNETS. He also spent six months at Singapore Management University as a Visiting Postgraduate Research Student under the supervision of Prof. Archan Misra. Learn more about him at https://prasenjit52282.github.io/.