Department of State and Environmental Protection Agency Virtual Air Quality Fellowship

Office of the Spokesperson

In honor of Air Quality Awareness Week (May 3-7), applications are now being accepted for the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Virtual Air Quality Fellowship program through May 21, 2021. This fellowship is a vital component of DOS and EPA’s collaborative efforts to improve access to, and application of, continuous air quality data worldwide. The fellowship is open to air quality experts from universities, government agencies, or non-profit institutions. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. For more information, see https://www.state.gov/global-air-quality-fellowship.

The F will volunteer 10-20 hours per month for one year providing technical and/or policy support for a U.S. embassy or consulate. While the fellowship is virtual, some posts have sponsored visits by their Fellows to their country to help advance management and diplomatic objectives.

In the first five years of the program, Fellows have performed a wide variety of activities, including: using models to estimate air levels of fine particles, or PM2.5; using satellite data in areas where monitoring data is unavailable to identify pollution trends; meeting with local government officials to discuss air quality reporting best practices; developing local air quality forecasting tools; helping U.S. diplomatic posts conduct maintenance on reference-grade air quality monitors; and assisting posts in understanding how to leverage data for decision-making.

Air quality data can help U.S. citizens and government personnel overseas make informed health decisions to mitigate health risks from air pollution, advance air quality policy-making, as well as enhance scientific capacity around the world. For further information, please contact DOSAir@state.gov and visit https://www.state.gov/environmental-innovation/#airquality.