Amanda Giang

Assistant Professor

Canada Research Chair in Environmental Modelling for Policy

Jointly appointed in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

B.A.Sc. (University of Toronto), M.S. (MIT), Ph.D. (MIT), Postdoctoral Appointment (MIT, Harvard)

Selected Awards

• UBC Killam Research Prize, 2023.

Research Interests

Her research addresses environmental policy analysis challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on developing better modeling tools and methods for assessing and addressing pollution and environmental injustice, and understanding the links between air quality, decarbonization, and equity to inform planning decisions. This research is often action-oriented and in partnership with community groups and government environment and health authorities.

Current Research Work

• Enhancing the air quality and equity benefits of decarbonizing freight transport
• Developing methods to assess and address cumulative environmental impacts for overburdened communities
• Holistic assessment of environmental impacts in technology design

Selected Publications

• Ren, S., and Giang, A. 2024. Inequitable spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution of multiple environmental risks and benefits in Metro Vancouver. Geohealth, 8(12):e2024GH001157. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GH001157
• Bhandari, S., *de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Xie, K., Ramkairsingh, A., Maher, R., Eykelbosh, A., Henderson, S., Zimmerman, N. and Giang A. 2024. Odor, air quality, and well-being: understanding the urban smellscape using crowd-sourced science. Environmental Research: Health, 2(3):p.035012. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ad5ded
• Giang, A., Edwards, M.R., Fletcher, S.M., Gardner-Frolick, R., Gryba, R., Mathias, J.-D., Venier-Cambron, C, Anderies, J.M., Berglund, E., Carley, S., Erickson, J.S.; Grubert, E. Hadjimichael, A., Hill, J., Mayfield, E., Nock, D., Pikok, K.K.; Saari, R.K., Samudio Lezcano, M., Siddiqi, A., Skerker, J.B., Tessum, C.W., 2024. Equity and modeling in sustainability science: Examples and opportunities throughout the process. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(13), p.e2215688121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215688121
• Laskar, I.I., Giang, A. 2023. Policy approaches to mitigate in-use methane emissions from natural gas use as a marine fuel. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 3:025005. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/accf33
• Elder, S., Wittman, H., Giang, A. 2023. Building sustainability research competencies through scaffolded pathways for undergraduate research experience. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 11:1. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00091
• Chakraborty, M., Giang, A. and Zimmerman, N. 2023. Performance evaluation of portable dual-spot micro-aethalometers for source identification of Black Carbon aerosols: Application to wildfire smoke and traffic emissions in the Pacific Northwest. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 16:2333-2352. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2333-2023
• Rodgers, T., Giang, A., Diamond, M., Gillies, E., Saini, A. 2023. Emissions and Fate of Organophosphate Esters in Outdoor Urban Environments. Nature Communications, 14:1175. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36455-7
• Li, M., Gillies, E.J., Briner, R., Hoover, C.A., Sora, K.J., Loseto, L.L., Walters, W.J., Cheung, W. and Giang, A. Investigating the dynamics of methylmercury bioaccumulation in the Beaufort Sea Shelf food web: a modeling perspective. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts. 24(7), pp.1010-1025, 2022. doi:10.1039/D2EM00108J
• Giang, A., Boyd, D.R., Ono, A.J. and McIlroy-Young, B. Exposure, access, and inequities: Central themes, emerging trends, and key gaps in Canadian environmental justice literature from 2006 to 2017. The Canadian Geographer/Le Géograpje canadien. 66(3), pp.434-449, 2022. doi:10.1111/cag.12754
• Gardner-Frolick, R., Boyd, D.R. and Giang, A. Selecting Data Analytic and Modeling Methods to Support Air Pollution and Environmental Justice Investigations: A Critical Review and Guidance Framework. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(5), pp. 2843-2860, 2022. doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c01739
• *Rossa-Roccor, V., Giang, A., Kershaw P. Framing climate change as a human health issue – enough to tip the scale in climate policy? The Lancet Planetary Health, Viewpoint, 5(8), e553-e559, 2021. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00113-3
• Giang, A. and Castellani, K.. Cumulative air pollution indicators highlight unique patterns of injustice in urban Canada. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), p.124063, 2020. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abcac5

For a full list of publications, visit my profile on: