HOMEChem Open House

You are invited to an Open House Event for the HOMEChem study on Friday, June 22, 2018.

The Study

In the United States, as well as in most of the developed world, people spend about 90% of their time in indoor environments. Not only are we impacted by the air we breathe and the surfaces we touch, but we also constantly change and influence the indoor environment around us. Although many research efforts have focused on assessing the presence and quantity of chemical air pollutants that affect the indoor air quality, few comprehensive studies have attempted a deeper exploration into how indoor air chemical compounds may interact and transform throughout a normal day of activities.

The HOMEChem experiment (House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry) will take place in the month of June 2018, incorporating measurements from over 15 research groups from 9 universities to identify the most important aspects of the chemistry that controls the indoor environment. The HOMEChem field study is expected to kick-start and energize the Chemistry of Indoor Environments community of scientists, while also answering interesting preliminary science questions on the chemistry of indoor environments in a real-world experimental setting. This brings an excellent opportunity for outreach to the broader scientific community and other stakeholders, such as other funding agencies, the local and national media, and the public.

More information about this study can be seen here.

Location

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, 22 million people are estimated to live in manufactured homes in the US (about 7% of the population). HOMEChem will take place at the University of Texas at Austin’s test house (the UTest House), which is a 1,200 ft² manufactured home. This unique facility is one of only a few in the world dedicated solely to indoor environments research. 

Our open house event will start with an overview presentation followed by a tour of the UTest house and instrumentation. All activities will be at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus (PRC), at the University of Texas at Austin. First, an overview presentation will be given in the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources (CEER), Bldg. 133. Then, we will walk over to the UTest House for a tour.

Please click here to RSVP so we can plan accordingly.

Event Schedule

Getting There

The Open House events will take place at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus at the University of Texas at Austin.

The address for the Reserch Campus is 10100 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX.

By plane

The nearest airport to the University of Texas at Austin is the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which is a ~25 min car ride to the Pickle Research Center:

By car

You should enter the Pickle Research Capus through Read Granberry Rd (see the red arrow in the map below). You do not need to stop at the entrance booth (just stop if you want to ask for directions). The overview presentation will be held in Building 133 (boxed in blue). The main entrance is in the middle of the building, close to one of the Ps in the map below.

If you do not already have a UT parking permit, you will need to purchase a parking ticket. There are several stations including one close to the CEER building, marked with a $ on the map below. Parking is $4 per day. You will need to know your license plate number when you purchase your parking ticket. You can park in any spot labeled “any UT permit” – these include a handful of spots in front of the main entrance, all the parallel parking spots along Exploration Way, as well as the parking by the solar panels in front of TACC or by the Commons (all marked with a P in the map below). When you enter through the main doors you will be in the lobby, and somebody will be there to greet you.

On foot

If you stay in one of the hotels located in The Domain area (described below), you will be a ~10 minute walk away from the CEER building:

Lodging

We recommend the following hotels, which are located within 0.6 miles of walking distance:

Lone Star Court

11301 Domain Dr, Austin, TX 78758

The Westin Austin at The Domain

11301 Domain Drive Austin, TX 78758

Questions?

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email our team:

UT Austin Team: Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz (Open House organizer), Atila Novoselac (principal investigator of the UTest House), and Rich Corsi.

HOMEChem Principal Investigators: Marina Vance and Delphine Farmer.

If you need to reach out to someone by phone on the day of the event, please call Dori Eubank at (512) 471-7792.

RSVP

Please click here to RSVP so we can plan accordingly.

More details about the HOMEChem study can be seen here.