Kristen E Brown, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design at the University of Texas San Antonio. Her research focuses on policy relevant solutions to atmospheric hazards, particularly those related to energy systems. Her previous experience in national level environmental policy working at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides insight into evaluating actionable solutions. Her current research portfolio centers around evaluating variations in environmental risk around San Antonio, TX. Her research projects involve data driven assessments of variation across space and time looking at ambient concentrations, sources, and human impacts of air pollution. She received a PhD and masters in engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of California Berkeley. As a native, eighth-generation Texan, she is glad to be teaching and finding solutions in the lone star state.

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Energy and the urban environment are significant factors contributing to the well being of humanity, and I research that intersection. I consider energy broadly, investigating the effect of changes in electricity generation as well as end uses such as transportation choices,  household efficiency measures, and consumer demand. I model the emissions to air of criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases as well as the atmospheric chemistry and transport of pollution. This air quality information informs the evaluation of human health benefits of energy choices.