Utah State University’s (USU) Bingham Research Center has teamed up with local oil and gas industry partners to address emissions of pollution that can lead to high wintertime ozone. The ‘Understanding Ozone in Uintah Basin’ article on usu.edu shares that recently, the group has received two corporate donations, each providing $25,000. USU’s research is aimed towards mitigating ozone impacts while minimizing costs to industry. “By working with companies such as Chevron and Dominion Energy, we can further the science that helps industry make the important decisions that impact both the economic and environmental future of our state,” said Seth Lyman, director of USU’s Bingham Entrepreneurship & Energy Research Center. The $25,000 donation from Chevron helped with the purchase of a liquid chromatograph that measures aldehydes. The environmental stewardship grant from Dominion Energy, totaling $25,000, helped Lyman and his research team upgrade laboratory instrumentation, purchase computing resources and pay for undergraduate student researcher wages as they continue the long-term Uintah Basin inversion project. “These kinds of partnerships are crucial to the livelihood of the Basin,” Lyman said. “Ozone is one of the largest air quality issues facing the state. We are grateful to both corporations who see the value of our scientific expertise and importance of developing data-driven air quality solutions.”
Uintah Basin biology student Makenzie Holmes, who works with Seth Lyman, prepares air samples to be analyzed for atmospheric pollutants that contribute to wintertime ozone.
