Expanding the Network: PhD Student Tyson Murray Expands Air Quality Monitoring

A healthy community needs clean air. That’s why the City of Austin continues to prioritize air monitoring through its Air Quality Program and interns. 

One of the most concerning elements of poor air quality is particulate matter, or PM2.5. Particulate matter is fine, microscopic, dust-like particles emitted from sources like cars, construction, power plants, wildfires, and more. Daily weather conditions and sources change air particulate levels. Levels that are too high can affect breathing and exacerbate asthma, especially in children and older adults. Inhaling these particles can also cause long-term health impacts. 

This summer, the Air Quality team expanded air monitoring coverage in undersampled areas of Austin. Previous interns developed and trialed steps for deploying air quality sensors. This summer, Tyson Murray put those steps to work as our most recent Air Quality intern. Tyson, a PhD student in Epidemiology, is passionate about understanding the environmental barriers that impact healthy living and the associated health impacts. 

Over the summer, Tyson worked with the Austin Independent School District’s Sustainability, Energy, & Environment team to deploy particulate matter sensors across AISD campuses. In July, he installed 11 sensors and maintained four more. There are now sensors at 21 AISD campuses, and Tyson’s analysis found that the City of Austin’s sensors account for over 60% of the working PurpleAir sensors in Austin. 

Tyson’s work was essential in expanding the monitoring program to the east side of Austin. The Air Quality team plans to continue expanding its network to AISD schools while partnering with the Capital Area Council of Governments and UT Austin to better understand our air quality and the impact particulate matter levels have on Austinites.  

“The environment plays such a huge role in how we live,” said Tyson. “It was so great to work with AISD and the City of Austin to improve the health of my local community. That is really the place I want my research to focus — local work for local impact.” 

For more information about air quality in our region, visit our web page or head over to Air Central Texas. Remember to check the local air quality before heading outdoors. Explore PurpleAir’s real-time air monitoring map of Austin.