Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Paul K. Wojtal ’16 is a Chemistry concentrator from Oberlin, Ohio. He is interested in the intersection of atmospheric and oceanic chemistry and public health. In particular, he is interested in how humans affect the environment, both living organisms and the nonliving portions of ecosystems and how the changing environment affects human health. He is working with Meredith Hastings (Brown University) in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, looking at isotopic differentiation of NOx emissions sources. He will analyze air samples collected across Rhode Island to measure the relative amounts of different isotopes of nitrogen, with the aim to determine the contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources of nitrous oxides. He hopes that this will influence future policies about nitrogen emissions. At Brown University, he is a member of emPOWER, Brown RISD Hillel, a band named North of Home, and is training for a triathlon and a half-marathon.