Title: “Leveraging R for air quality management and analysis”
Abstract
The use of low-cost sensors for air quality monitoring is producing huge amounts of data. This talk will introduce R, a free open source software
for statistical computing and graphics. This will help young researchers to get some fundamental understanding of the software and its applications in air quality management. The participants will be exposed to different packages available for air quality management and its use cases. The session will explore techniques for data preprocessing, visualization, and statistical analysis, specifically tailored to air quality datasets. Attendees will learn how to handle and analyze data from low-cost sensors, providing insights into pollutant trends and spatial distributions. Key R packages such as openair, ggplot2, and tidyverse will be discussed, demonstrating their application in real-world scenarios. The talk will also touch upon integrating machine learning techniques in R for predictive air quality modeling. By the end of the session, participants will have a clearer
understanding of how R can be effectively leveraged to address air quality challenges and contribute to data-driven environmental
decision-making.
About the Speaker
Aswin Giri is working as a Post-Doctoral Equivalent Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India, in the field of Air Quality Management with Prof. Shiva Nagendra. His PhD research at IIT Madras, titled “Air pollution hotspot management using image processing and machine learning techniques”, was in the nexus of air quality perception, computer vision and low-cost sensors, with an overarching theme of localised and efficient urban air quality management. His research interests include air quality monitoring, modelling, machine learning for air quality management, air quality perception and exposure assessment. In addition to academics, he co-founded SENSurAir Private Limited, with Prof. Shiva Nagendra, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, PhD scholars & engineers from civil & electrical departments of IIT Madras. The startup aims to help people manage air pollution by providing economical solutions for monitoring air quality in urban, rural and industrial areas, and disseminating data to the community.
