Jeremy M. Gernand, PhD, CRE, CSP
Assistant Professor | Environmental Health and Safety
Engineering
John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering
The
Pennsylvania State University
121 Hosler Building | University Park, PA 16802 | jmgernand
[at] psu [dot] edu | 814.865.5861
© 2013-
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduates have several opportunities to get involved with research projects in my group such as examining the toxicity of nanoparticles, quantifying worker or public exposure to ultrafine particles, machine learning applications in risk modeling, mining safety, and risks associated with natural gas exploration and production.
Participation could take the form of an independent study course, honors thesis research, or a more informal arrangement. Contributions are desired and welcome from any Engineering major, Physics or Chemistry major, Toxicology major, and Information Systems, Computer Science, or Statistics majors. Other majors will also be considered if certain prerequisite conditions are met. Please contact me for further information about how you might get involved.
Some current and former undergraduate research assistants have participated in projects such as these:
- Characterizing the types and quantities of particles likely to be inhaled from new mineral based consumer aerosol sunscreens
- Comparing theoretical and measured properties for nanomaterials to evaluate the effectiveness of certain nanoparticle lab instruments
- Facilitating data mining research on nanomaterial toxicity through the development of a searchable database of accumulated research on animal exposure experiments
- Developing a low cost particulate measurement and recording device for monitoring of personal or environmental exposure to dust particles
Other potential projecting currently sitting idle for lack of volunteers include:
- Simulating the three dimensional aggregation of particles with a computer program and investigating how to measure them and replicate collected real world particles
- Investigating how similar or different environmental particle toxicity mechanisms (e.g., in published worm experiments) are from inhalation exposures
- Examine the history of OSHA and MSHA dust sampling and infer changes to worker health risks over time
- Conducting computer-
based decision making games with engineering students to see how their decisions about risk- related subjects changes under varying scenarios
My lab doesn’t need bottle washers or tagalongs. If you are curious, can work independently, and are interested in completing your own project (some undergraduate research projects from my group have resulted in papers that are in the process of being published in scientific journals–this is a great resume item whether seeking a professional career or graduate school), then please come and talk to me about getting involved. Some current and former undergraduate research assistants are listed here.
Graduate Research
Current graduate research assistants in my group are…
- Using machine learning data mining methods to investigate the impact of changes in nanoparticle properties on their inhaled toxicity and identify which in vitro screening methods most closely match the effects seen in rodents (in vivo)
- Sampling ambient ultrafine particles from workplaces and producing detailed distributions of particle size and chemical composition for the purpose of risk assessment
- Quantifying the implications of permitting policy on particulate emissions from natural gas exploration and production activity in Pennsylvania
- Formalizing fracturing proppant selection processes that account for the assumed worker health risks and the costs of increased emissions control technologies
Other projects currently pending involve the environmental risks of engineered nanoparticles and manmade ultrafine particles, regulatory policy related to engineered nanoparticles, and the development of machine learning applications for the assessment of failure risks from complex engineered systems.
The Penn State University EME Department houses one of the few U.S. graduate programs in Environmental Health and Safety Engineering (EHS) focused on the needs of the energy and mining industries. However, the skills developed in this program could be applied to a variety of applications from nanotechnology and aerospace to regulatory analysis and insurance.
Research funding opportunities may be available depending on student qualifications
and department resources. Funding availability for non-
My current and former graduate students are listed here.