{"690604":{"#nid":"690604","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Students Create Chemical Safety Model for Everyday Exposures","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn just one course, Georgia Tech student Diya Godavarti helped develop a tool that could improve workers\u0027 responses to chemical spills or open containers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGodavarti, then a second-year chemical and biomolecular engineering (ChBE) student, joined a course on chemical equity focused on reducing chemical exposure in vulnerable communities. The class, part of Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EVertically Integrated Projects\u003C\/a\u003E (VIP) program, embeds students in long-term research teams that span disciplines and semesters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe and her classmates developed a computational model that estimates how dangerous chemical vapors build up in enclosed spaces, such as tanker trucks. Their work culminated in a paper, \u003Cem\u003E\u201c\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acs.chas.6c00021\u0022\u003EModeling Time-Dependent Chemical Concentrations in Confined Spaces for General Safety Applications\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E published recently in \u003Cem\u003EACS Chemical Health \u0026amp; Safety.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Godavarti, the experience helped clarify her future career endeavors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was always motivated to keep going on this project because chemical equity is something I genuinely care about,\u201d she said. \u201cI realized I really enjoyed working on open-ended projects after this class, and this confirmed my desire to pursue a Ph.D.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe will begin her ChBE doctoral studies at Northwestern University this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBridging Disciplines\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe VIP class grew out of a gap between research labs and reality.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/pamela-pollet\u0022\u003EPamela Pollet\u003C\/a\u003E, a faculty member in Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;is used to working in controlled lab settings with safety measures like vent hoods. But after she consulted on a project where commercial workers were accidentally exposed to harmful chemicals, she started to think about safety differently.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere was a disconnect between what we do with chemicals in our controlled environments, which we understand very well, and how people interact with chemicals every day,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo bridge that gap, Pollet partnered with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/staff\/jenny-houlroyd-cih-mpsh\/\u0022\u003EJenny Houlroyd\u003C\/a\u003E, the occupational group health manager of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u2019s\u003C\/a\u003E (EI2) \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESafety, Health, and Environmental Services Program\u003C\/a\u003E. Houlroyd works with Georgia businesses to reduce workplace hazards and protect employee health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe realized how siloed this work can be,\u201d Houlroyd said. \u201cChemical safety researchers and chemists often operate separately, but their skills are complementary. That\u2019s how we came up with the idea for the class.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe VIP format made that collaboration possible. The 20-student team included majors from chemistry, biochemistry, biology, computer science, neuroscience, and ChBE. In addition to research, students heard from guest speakers \u2014 including journalists, lawyers, and policymakers \u2014 whose work intersects with chemical safety.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EModeling a Real-World Risk\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe students focused on a practical problem in industrial hygiene: quickly estimating a person\u2019s exposure to hazardous chemicals after a spill or open container in a confined space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you hire an industrial hygienist like me, it\u2019s going to take time to schedule, and it\u2019s going to be expensive,\u201d Houlroyd said. \u201cBut if there\u2019s a chemical spill event happening, you need that safety data right away.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address this, the students built a computational model that simulates how chemicals evaporate and spread through air in enclosed environments. Using benzene, a common solvent, as a test case, the model predicts how benzene concentrations change over time, from minutes to hours after a spill or residual pool in an enclosed space. It can also estimate exposure at different heights, accounting for whether someone is standing upright or crouching in a chemical-heavy area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re addressing important gaps in modeling chemical exposures,\u201d said John Pederson, a chemistry Ph.D. student who mentored the student team. \u201cThere\u2019s been strong work in industrial settings, but less attention to environments found in transportation, agriculture, and sanitation, for example.\u0026nbsp;It\u0027s an easily overlooked fact that working with paints, coatings, cleaning solutions, and other solvents presents a risk of acute or chronic exposure.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Classroom to Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team ultimately hopes to make the model widely accessible and create a user-friendly app. While that work is ongoing, Pollet and Houlroyd say the project already demonstrates the power of interdisciplinary learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis project was a very nice overlap of our fields,\u201d Pollet said. \u201cIt helps students understand real-world scenarios in a way you can\u2019t replicate in a traditional classroom.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Houlroyd, the collaboration also extended her impact beyond the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI work for EI2, and we\u2019re primarily external-facing and helping businesses out across the state of Georgia, but this has been a great opportunity to take what I\u0027m learning in the field and then share it with the students,\u201d she said. \u201cI am so proud of the students. To see them take this big issue and make it into something the industry can use is so exciting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EModeling Time-Dependent Chemical Concentrations in Confined Spaces for General Safety Applications\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDiya Godavarti, Waynell Simbafo, John Pederson, Jenny Houlroyd, and Pamela Pollet\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EACS Chemical Health \u0026amp; Safety\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EArticle ASAP\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDOI: 10.1021\/acs.chas.6c00021\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe tool, a class project, estimates how hazardous vapors build up in enclosed spaces after a spill.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The tool, a class project, estimates how hazardous vapors build up in enclosed spaces after a spill."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2026-06-02 17:44:45","changed_gmt":"2026-06-03 14:11:38","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680404":{"id":"680404","type":"image","title":"VIPClass.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe most recent VIP class.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1780422323","gmt_created":"2026-06-02 17:45:23","changed":"1780422323","gmt_changed":"2026-06-02 17:45:23","alt":"Current VIP class","file":{"fid":"264660","name":"VIPClass.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/02\/VIPClass.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/02\/VIPClass.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":9239012,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/02\/VIPClass.jpg?itok=q0KEQ3d4"}}},"media_ids":["680404"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193654","name":"Enterprise Innovation Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}