Nicole Ngo
Sustainable Development Ph.D. student
International Affairs Building
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY, 10027
Research
I'm interested in urban air pollution in developing
countries. Research I'm currently involved in includes the
following:
- Observing concentrations of PM 2.5 and black carbon from
automobile emissions in Nairobi
- Using remote sensing to observe urban air pollution in
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Using a velocity flow field from a large eddy simulation
to observe how convective clouds influence vertical transport of
pollutants
- Understanding impacts of emissions from coal-powered
plants and the potential for alternative energy
If interested in more information, please refer to my
C.V.
or
email me.
I classify these projects as "works in progress," and I hope to expand
upon some of them, but have been unable to plan out how or just plain
start (e.g., examining the cost of possible strategies to mitigate
urban air pollution in Nairobi). Questions or ideas about
these projects are encouraged!
TA Courses
This will be a reference section for classes for which I am
a TA.
Fall Semester 2009: Intro to Development (taught by Jackie
Klopp)
Fall and Spring Semester 2009: Seminar for Sustainable Development (for
the Sustainable Development Ph.D. Program)
Working Papers
Ngo, N.S., Moeng, C.-H., and
J. Weil, 2009: "The effects of convective clouds on vertical scalar
transport using a numerically simulated flow field."
Flores, N. and Ngo, N.S., 2007: "The
Economics of Offsets in Household Voluntary Carbon Reductions."
Publications
Ngo N.S. and Pataki D.E. 2008: "The
energy and mass balance of Los Angeles County."Urban Ecosystems,
11, 2, 121-139.
About me
I was born and raised in Southern California, but my family
originally hails from Singapore. My interest in "sustainable
development" (however you choose to define it) started after taking
a required course on atmospheric science for my college.
Initially, I was an economics major but found myself drawn to
environmental science; it satisfied a curiousity about how earth and
life on it functioned together. After dabbling in marine
policy and ecology (including what I consider the major accomplishment
of building a ragged meteorological station) I always felt a pull
toward atmospheric science, particularly air pollution.
Perhaps it's because urban air pollution, in my opinion, is
one example of the difficulties in reconciling the wants of human
beings against the necessities for development against the health of
the physical environment. I hope that in the pursuit of my
Ph.D. to contribute a tiny part toward achieving "sustainable
development" (however you may choose to define it).
On a more personal note, I was also a competitve tennis
player in my youth.
After tearing my ACL in high school, I shifted into
teaching tennis and
focused more on my studies. In such unexpected turns of luck,
I refer to a quote I once saw on a sign in Charleston, South Carolina:
"If at first you don't succeed, redefine success."
I am admittedly fateful to this quote and though it seems
like an easy out, I find it useful after one of the many big failures
in life likely to occur. I feel lucky in the sense, I've
rarely had to appeal to this quote.
.
Links