CUPR staff and students meet with Senator Booker to discuss new EPA-funded air quality initiative

News
August 28, 2023

CUPR green building colleagues Jen Senick, Clint Andrews, and Gedi Mainelis are part of a new EPA-funded project in Elizabeth, NJ, to install air quality sensors near public housing. US Senator Cory Booker, US Representative Robert Menendez , Union County Commissioner Bette Jane Kowalski, Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bolwage, EPA Region 2 Director Lisa Garcia, and many others joined a community meeting to discuss how this project can improve local health and well-being.

Featured tools developed by Rutgers included mobile air quality sensors inside backpacks carried by youth and inexpensive DIY air purifiers that cost less than $50. The Rutgers team is collaborating on this project with Groundwork Elizabeth and the Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth. 

Young environmental leader from Elizabeth, NJ, wearing Rutgers air quality sensor backpack, explains how it works to Sen. Booker. Mayor Bollwage, Rep. Menendez, EPA Region Administrator Garcia, and County Commissioner Kowalski.
Young environmental leader from Elizabeth, NJ, wearing Rutgers air quality sensor backpack, explains how it works to Sen. Booker. Mayor Bollwage, Rep. Menendez, EPA Region Administrator Garcia, and County Commissioner Kowalski.
Rutgers team members Jen Senick, Clint Andrews, Gedi Mainelis (environmental science) and Fatima Haynes, EOSHI PhD student, enjoy a selfie with Senator Booker
Rutgers team members Jen Senick, Clint Andrews, Gedi Mainelis (environmental science) and Fatima Haynes, EOSHI PhD student, enjoy a selfie with Senator Booker

Recent Posts

Mi Shih Recognized with GPEIG Best Journal Article Award

October 21, 2025

Mi Shih, Ph.D., Associate Professor and director of the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, was recognized with the Global Planning Educators’ Interest Group’s (GPEIG) 2025 award for the best journal article. The award honors outstanding, peer-reviewed...

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals

October 20, 2025

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals: A Workforce Study and Multi-state Comparative Landscape of Policies and Practices Daniel Rosario, Josephine O’Grady, Lily McFarland, Peter Walter, Ryne Kremer, Sean Nguyen, and Wun-cian Lin for Autism New...

Dr. Rushing Talks About AI for Sickle Cell and Beyond

October 20, 2025

Dr. Melinda Rushing recently appeared on the podcast Zora Talks. In this podcast, Dr. Rushing breaks down what sickle cell really is, why it disproportionately affects people of color, and how her team is developing a new approach called Clinically Guided AI to...

NJSPL: Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave

October 15, 2025

The Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave for Parents in the U.S. Over the past 10 years, many U.S. states have implemented mandatory paid family leave policies to help address the lack of such policy on the national level. In this post, we examine how paid...