University of Colorado at Boulder Home A to Z Map  

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Michael Hannigan

Assistant Professor
(303) 735-5045
Hannigan@Colorado.EDU
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • Ph.D. Environmental Engineering Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 1997
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1997-98
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 1998

Professional Recognition

  • Member of University of Colorado President’s Teaching and Learning Collaborative (2006-07)

Research Interests

  • Characterization of air pollution
  • Impact of air quality on health
  • Energy links to air quality

After receiving his doctorate degree in Environmental Engineering Science from Caltech in 1997, Mike and his wife moved to Colorado.  In the time since, he has been at the Atmospheric Sciences Department at Colorado State University, the Chemistry Department at the University of Denver, and now the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado.  Mike’s professional interests involve environmental problem solving with specific focus on studying the impacts of particle air pollution, with the goal of reducing these impacts.  His current research projects include an NIEHS funded study that will determine if a specific source of particulate air pollution is responsible for the adverse human health, a EPA funded study that is attempting to determine the origin of toxic airborne pollutants in Boulder County, a Philip Morris funded project that is improving our ability to measure specific individual’s exposure to particulate pollution, and a California Air Resources Board project that is investing the origin of particles of the smallest size.  Mike comes at each of these projects with the eye of an environmental chemist; collecting environmental samples, determining the chemical make-up and thinking critically about the origin of the contaminants.  He loves interactions with students and hopes to continue teaching and mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students late into his life.   Mike’s other interests include spending time with friends and family while enjoying the natural beauty of the region, reading and discussing philosophical issues, coaching and playing soccer, maintaining his wife’s mini-ranch, and hanging out with his son Galileo.  Mike hopes to be a vital participant in the ‘revolt of the engineers’, which means he hopes to lead a dialogue with current and future engineers that focuses their attention on the impacts of their designs and creations.

Selected Publications

  • Use of synthetic data to evaluate positive matrix factorization as a source apportionment tool for PM2.5 exposure data. Environmental Science & Technology, 2006, 40: 1892-1901 (with G. Brinkman, G. Vance, and J. Milford)
  • Coupling Between Land Ecosystems and the Atmospheric Hydrologic Cycle through Biogenic Aerosol Pathways. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2005, 86: 1738-1742 (with M. Barth, J. McFadden,  J. Sun, C Wiedinmyer, et al.)
  • Source Contributions to the Human Cell Mutagenicity of Urban Particulate Air Pollution, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2005, 55:399-410 (with G. Cass, A. W. Busby Jr.)
  • Drop size-dependent chemical composition of clouds and fogs: II. Relevance to interpreting the aerosol/trace gas/fog system, Atmospheric Environment, 2004, 38: 1403-1415 (with K. Moore, D. Sherman, J. Reilly, T. Lee, J. Collett)
  • Characterization of organic aerosol present in Big Bend National Park, Texas during the Big Bend Regional Aerosol and Visibility Observational (BRAVO) study, Atmospheric Environment, 2002, 36: 5807-5818 (with S. Brown, P. Herckes, L. Ashbaugh, S. Kreidenweis, J. Collett)
  • The organic composition of radiation fogs in Davis (California), Atmospheric Research, 2002, 64: 99-108 (with P. Herckes, L. Trenary, T. Lee, J.L. Collett)
  • Aerosol particle processing and removal by fogs: observations in chemically heterogeneous central California radiation fogs, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2001, 1: 303-312 (with J.L. Collett, D.E. Sherman, K.F. Moore, T. Lee)
  • Indoor pollutant levels from the use of unvented natural gas fireplaces in Boulder, CO, Indoor Air, 2001, 51: 1654-1661 (with S. Dutton, S. Miller)
  • Trends in fine particle concentration and chemical speciation in Southern California, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 2000, 50: 43-53 (with C. Cristoforou, L. Salmon, P. Solomon, G. Cass)
  • Bioassay-directed chemical analysis of Los Angeles airborne particulate matter using a human cell mutagenicity Assay, Environmental Science and Technology, 1998, 32: 3502-3514 (with G. Cass, B. Penman, C. Crespi, A. Lafleur, W. Busby Jr., W. Thilly)