Phoebe Mankiewicz

Phoebe Mankiewicz works to address disparities and evolve connections between “wild” and “human” ecologies. These disparities exist from the microbial, to the global scale, friction between which can lead to significant health impacts for humans and ecosystems alike. Her PhD thesis work at Yale CEA focuses on ecologically influenced strategies for indoor ecologies (e.g. air quality bioremediation, microbiome biodiversity), and solutions to urban ecological problems (e.g. carbon sequestration, urban agriculture). This work draws extensively from her academic background in biological sciences spanning neurobiology and invasive ecology from McGill University and masters research in architectural science out of RPI. Her long-term goals include applying her technical, field and laboratory skills, outdoor experience, and familiarity working on interdisciplinary teams to facilitate effective long-term environmental conservation and urban sustainability initiatives for built ecologies; Developing sustainable human- ecological cycling through directed environmental pressure and invasion in the context of indoor environmental quality could be a way to use the intersection of plant and human systems towards healthier people and lower carbon budgets at the building scale.

Project Summary

Active Modular Phytoremediation Systems (AMPS) represents a long standing investigation into the potential of scalable and modular building-integrated plant systems and their associated microbiomes to improve indoor air quality, thereby reducing the energy intensive demands of mechanical air handling systems.

Research Area Keywords

Urban Green Infrastructure, Active Green Infrastructure, Indoor Air Quality, Microbiome