Sheryl Ehrman

The top source of airborne lead in particulate matter in the United States is emissions from piston engine aircraft (PEA). Lead in gasoline has been banned in the US since 1996 for health reasons, but most PEA in the US are still fueled with leaded aviation gasoline (avgas). This presents health risks to people living near general aviation (GA) airports. In 2021, results of a study of blood lead levels in infants living near Reid Hillview Airport (RHV) in San José, CA, were released to the community, and the study showed a correlation between proximity to RHV and increased blood lead levels. There is an unleaded aviation fuel available, and in 2022, Santa Clara County became the first county in the US to sell only unleaded aviation fuel at its two airports, Reid-Hillview and San Martin. In this presentation, the policy/community/industry landscape and the engineering concerns associated with leaded and unleaded avgas will be reviewed. An analysis of the effects of fuel changes on airborne lead at RHV and on airport traffic at nearby GA airports will be shared and discussed. A key objective of this presentation is to demonstrate how a chemical engineering perspective (along with many other perspectives) can be applied towards developing solutions to complex environmental public health challenges.

Sheryl Ehrman is the Don Beall Dean of the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering at San José State University, a position she has held since 2017. Prior to joining San José State, she was a member of the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, for 19 years, serving as Keystone Professor and Department Chair from 2010 to 2017. Dean Ehrman’s research interests are in materials processing, aerosol science and technology, and air pollution. Her educational interests include interdisciplinary project-based learning for first year engineering students, engineering ethics and engineering in a societal context, aerosol and particle technology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and increasing participation and retention of students and faculty from historically underserved groups in engineering. Dean Ehrman received her PhD degree from UCLA and her BS degree from UC Santa Barbara, both in chemical engineering. She has received numerous awards including recent recognition as one of 2024’s Silicon Valley Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. She is a past Fulbright Research Scholar (India), a past president and fellow of the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE).  

• Time: 11:00 AM
• Location: 206 Furnas Hall