Dr. Satya Patra
Assistant Professor (August 2025)
Contact
- 3043 H.M. Comer
- Faculty Website
Education
- Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s, Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, 2020
- Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2025
Satya Patra is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, set to join in August 2025.
His research interests lie broadly within aerosol science and engineering, with a particular focus on improving indoor air quality. Indoor air quality presents a unique challenge due to numerous indoor pollution sources, the dynamic nature of indoor environments, high surface area-to-volume ratios, frequent disturbances from human activities, ventilation systems, building controls, and the rapid transformation of pollutants occurring within seconds to minutes. Satya is passionate about addressing these challenges and is deeply motivated to develop practical solutions that improve the air we breathe indoors. His previous work on indoor air quality has received widespread media coverage, reaching an estimated global audience of over a billion viewers. Prior to joining the University of Alabama, he was a Ross Fellow and Bilsland Fellow at Purdue University.
Affiliated Areas
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Selected Publications
- Patra, S.S., Jiang, J., Liu, J., Steiner, G., Jung, N., and Boor, B.E. (2025). Flame-Free Candles Are Not Pollution-Free: Scented Wax Melts as a Significant Source of Atmospheric Nanoparticles. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 12(2).
- Patra, S.S., Liu, J., Jiang, J., Ding, X., Huang, C., Keech, C., Steiner, G., Stevens, P.S., Jung, N., and Boor, B.E. (2024). Rapid Nucleation and Growth of Indoor Atmospheric Nanocluster Aerosol during the Use of Scented Volatile Chemical Products in Residential Buildings. ACS ES&T Air, 1(10).
- Patra, S.S., Jiang, J., Ding, X., Huang, C., Reidy, E.K., Kumar, V., Price, P., Keech, C., Steiner, G., Stevens, P.S., Jung, N., and Boor, B.E. (2024). Dynamics of Nanocluster Aerosol in the Indoor Atmosphere During Gas Cooking. PNAS Nexus, 3(2).
- Patra, S.S., Wu, T., Wagner, D.N., Jiang, J., and Boor, B.E. (2021). Real-time Measurements of Fluorescent Aerosol Particles in a Living Laboratory Office Under Variable Human Occupancy and Ventilation Conditions. Building and Environment, 205:108249.
- Patra, S.S., Ramsisaria, R., Du, R., Wu, T., and Boor, B.E. (2021). A Machine Learning Field Calibration Method for Improving the Performance of Low-cost Particle Sensors. Building and Environment, 190:107457.
Awards and Honors
- ASHRAE GIA Award (2023)
- Dr. James Etzel Endowment, Purdue University (2023)
- John R. Blandford Graduate Student Award, Purdue University (2023)
- Best Student Oral Presenter Award, Healthy Buildings Europe (2023)