A professor of geography at CSU Monterey Bay is studying transportation-related air pollution and the health risks it poses to children.

With a $50,000 grant from the Leonard Transportation Center at CSU San Bernardino, Dr. Yong Lao and a colleague at the University of Cincinnati are analyzing traffic volume in Bakersfield, and mapping vehicle emissions. Then, taking into account factors such as temperature and wind, they will see how the emissions are dispersed.

The next step in the project involves linking that data with geographic information systems (GIS) and overlaying it with school district maps to pinpoint areas where children's health may be at risk. If the research points up inequalities in the risks, further GIS analysis can be conducted to look at variables such as race, ethnicity and income.

Bakersfield was selected for the study based on its 2009 ranking by the American Lung Association as the worst area in the country for year-round pollution.

Dr. Lao earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and has been on the faculty at CSUMB since 1996. He teaches classes in geography, GIS and research methods.

He used an internal Faculty Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity grant to do preliminary work on the project.