Fernando Garcia Menendez

Bio

Dr. Fernando Garcia Menendez uses computational modeling and data analysis to explore interdisciplinary questions related to air pollution, climate change, and environmental policy. His research group’s work focuses on developing tools based on high-performance computing, uncertainty analysis, and integrated assessment modeling to simulate interactions between environmental and human systems. The primary goal of his research is to inform environmental decision-making and policy. He is a member of the Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering and Computing and Systems research cores within the department.

Dr. Garcia Menendez received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He completed his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey. Prior to joining NC State, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Center for Global Change Science and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Area(s) of Expertise

The goal of Dr. Garcia Menendez’s research at NC State University is to advance understanding of air pollution and its role in environmental and human systems through computational modeling and data analysis. To pursue this objective, his research and educational program investigates environmental issues at varying spatial and temporal scales. A common theme throughout his group's research is the development of computational frameworks to simulate interactions between air quality and socio-environmental systems. To enable this, they leverage high-performance computing and different modeling approaches, including first-principles and reduced-form air quality models. Current research includes efforts to investigate the connections between wildland fires and air quality; the interactions between climate change, atmospheric chemisrty, and policy; and the impacts of power systems on air pollution and health. The primary aim of his work is to inform environmental decision-making and policy.