Georgia Tech student Diya Godavarti and classmates developed a computational model to predict chemical exposure risks from everyday workplace incidents like spills and open containers. The tool emerged from a chemical equity course designed to protect vulnerable workers from hazardous exposures.
Godavarti, a second-year chemical and biomolecular engineering student, participated in Georgia Tech's Vertically Integrated Projects program, which assigns undergraduates to multidisciplinary research teams operating across multiple semesters. The course framework allowed students to engage with real workplace safety challenges while advancing their technical training.
The model addresses a practical gap in occupational safety. Workers in warehousing, manufacturing, and custodial roles face routine exposure to chemicals without adequate prediction tools for risk assessment. By creating software that models exposure pathways and concentrations, the students provided a resource that safety managers can deploy during emergencies or routine operations.
The work focuses on chemical equity, a field examining how low-income and marginalized workers disproportionately encounter hazardous substances. These populations often lack access to engineering controls, protective equipment, or timely safety information. A predictive tool puts exposure assessment directly in workers' hands, enabling faster, more informed decisions about containment and evacuation.
The VIP structure proved essential to the project's success. By embedding students in semester-spanning teams, Georgia Tech allows undergraduates to move beyond isolated problem sets into sustained research with real stakes. Godavarti's contribution demonstrates how undergraduate engineering education can yield practical safety innovations.
The model's limitations require acknowledgment. Laboratory-validated exposure predictions may not account for all real-world variables like ventilation variations, worker proximity patterns, or individual susceptibility differences. The tool functions as a decision-support resource, not a replacement for professional industrial hygiene assessments or regulatory compliance.
This work contributes to a growing movement linking engineering education with environmental justice. Georgia