Naomi Zimmerman

Associate Professor

Canada Research Chair in Real-World Air Quality Sensing

B.A.Sc. (University of Waterloo), Ph.D. (University of Toronto), Postdoctoral Fellowship (Carnegie Mellon University),

Research Interests

A core objective of atmospheric science is to improve air quality. This is motivated by recent estimates that air pollution exposure is the fourth leading cause of premature mortality globally. Furthermore, many sources of air pollutants are co-emitters of climate-forcing agents, such as greenhouse gases and black carbon, and thus air quality and climate science are intricately related fields. Emissions of air and climate pollutants may be effectively co-managed using well-crafted environmental policy or through technology shifts. However, the effectiveness of any given policy or technology decision on air quality and climate outcomes is often difficult to quantify due to the rapid pace of technology change and research methods that poorly represent real-world pollutant behaviour.

My research program revolves around the development and application of real-world-based tools to quickly and quantitatively assess the impact of our policy and technology decisions on air pollution and climate outcomes, and to use the knowledge gained to support better environmental policy planning.

As part of this work, students are part of interdisciplinary teams and engage with a range of relevant stakeholders, including colleagues in other departments at UBC (e.g., Liu Institute, IRES), non-profits, and regulatory agencies.

Current Research Work

• Assessment of spatial heterogeneity of air pollutants using high spatiotemporal resolution monitoring networks to reduce exposure and promote environmental justice
• Quantification of the role new transportation technology (e.g., LNG, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles) and policy scenarios on air and climate
• Understanding the combined air pollution and health effects of emissions from the goods movement sector (marine-road-rail) and from wildfire episodes

Selected Publications

• de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Bhandari, S., Brar, J., Giang, A., Zimmerman, N.. The influence of cannabis cultivation on outdoor air quality: Meteorological drivers in urban VOC-limited regimes. ACS ES&T Air, submitted.
• Zimmerman, N.. Toward Socially Responsive Ambient Air Quality Monitoring in the Era of Distributed Sensing. Environmental Science & Technology (2026). https://doi.org/10.1021/ACS.EST.6C01858
• de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Pham, C., Bhandari, S., Giang, A., Borduas-Dedekind, N., Zimmerman, N.. Following the smell: terpene emission profiles through the cannabis life-cycle. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts 27:1823 – 1838 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1039/d5em00253b
• Gardner-Frolick, R., Jain, S., Martinussen, N., Chambliss, S., Jackson, D., Zimmerman, N., Giang, A.. Incorporating Community Knowledge Into Analysis of Air Quality Monitoring Network Data. GeoHealth 9 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GH001378
• Chakraborty, M., Jain, S., Thornton, S., Aklin, M., Giang, A., Zimmerman, N.. Impact of residential cooking and heating on temporal changes of black carbon in rural India. Scientific Reports 15 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-18384-1
• Jain, S., Gardner-Frolick, R., Martinussen, N., Jackson, D., Giang, A., Zimmerman, N.. Identification of Neighborhood Hotspots via the Cumulative Hazard Index: Results From a Community-Partnered Low-Cost Sensor Deployment. GeoHealth 8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000935
• Jain, S., Zimmerman, N.. Exploration of intra-city and inter-city PM2.5 regional calibration models to improve low-cost sensor performance. Journal of Aerosol Science 177 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2024.106335
• Bhandari, S., de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Xie, K., Ramkairsingh, A., Maher, R., Eykelbosh, A., Henderson, S.B., Zimmerman, N., Giang, A.. Odor, air quality, and well-being: understanding the urban smellscape using crowd-sourced science. Environmental Research: Health 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ad5ded
• Malings, C., Amegah, K., Basart, S., Diez, S., Rosales, C.M.F., Zimmerman, N., Archer, J., Barreto, Á., Bi, J., Biggs, R., Castell, N.B., deSouza, P., Dye, T., Fujita, R., Giordano, M.R., Gonzalez, M.E., Hasenkopf, C., Hassani, A., Hodoli, C.G., Hofman, J., Huneeus, N.J., Jayaratne, R., Kroll, J.H., Labrador, L., Leghrib, R., Levy, R.C., Marques, T., Martins, L.D., McMahon, E., Mead, M.I., Molina, L.T., Montgomery, A., Morawska, L., Ning, Z., Peltier, R., Popoola, O., Rojas, N., Retama, A., Schneider, P., Shairsing, K., Strużewska, J., Tang, B., Van Poppel, M., Westervelt, D.M., Zhang, Y., Zheng, M.. Integrating Low-Cost Sensor Systems and Networks to Enhance Air Quality Applications. World Meteorological Organization, Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Programme Report No. 293 (2024). Report link
• Barkjohn, K.K., Clements, A., Mocka, C., Barrette, C., Bittner, A., Champion, W., Gantt, B., Good, E., Holder, A., Hillis, B., Landis, M.S., Kumar, M., MacDonald, M., Thoma, E., Dye, T., Archer, J., Bergin, M., Mui, W., Feenstra, B., Ogletree, M., Chester-Schroeder, C., Zimmerman, N.. Air Quality Sensor Experts Convene: Current Quality Assurance Considerations for Credible Data. ACS ES&T Air 1:1203-1214 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/ACSESTAIR.4C00125
• Jain, S., Presto, A.A., Zimmerman, N.. Using spatiotemporal prediction models to quantify PM2.5 exposure due to daily movement. Environmental Science: Atmospheres 3:1665 – 1677 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ea00051f
• Chakraborty, M., Giang, A., Zimmerman, N.. 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 (2023). https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2333-2023
• Kelly, C., Fawkes, J., Habermehl, R., de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Zimmerman, N.. PLUME Dashboard: A free and open-source mobile air quality monitoring dashboard. Environmental Modelling and Software 160 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105600
• Rogak, S.N., Rysanek, A., Lee, J.M., Dhulipala, S.V., Zimmerman, N., Wright, M., Weimer, M.. The effect of air purifiers and curtains on aerosol dispersion and removal in multi-patient hospital rooms. Indoor Air 32 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.13110
• de Ferreyro Monticelli, D., Bhandari, S., Eykelbosh, A., Henderson, S.B., Giang, A., Zimmerman, N.. Cannabis Cultivation Facilities: A Review of Their Air Quality Impacts from the Occupational to Community Scale. Environmental Science and Technology 56:2880 – 2896 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06372
• Zimmerman, N.. Tutorial: Guidelines for implementing low-cost sensor networks for aerosol monitoring. Journal of Aerosol Science 159 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105872

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