Courses
Enhance your learning by taking a course at ACE!
All courses will be conducted on Monday, June 9. Continuing Education credit opportunities are available. Register for courses on the ACE 2025 Registration page.
Course Descriptions
AIR-262: Puff Dispersion Modeling Course with CALPUFF and SCICHEM
Monday, June 9, 2025 • 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Instructor: Jesse Van Griensven Thé, Ph.D., P.Eng., President/CEO, Lakes Environmental Software
Level: Intermediate
The recent changes to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Guideline on Air Quality Models (40 CFR Part 51 Appendix W) did not list a specific model as preferred for long-range pollutant transport applications. This opens an avenue for modelers to choose from a variety of models. Two models which perform well in both near and far-field applications are CALPUFF and SCIPUFF, puff models which simulate full three-dimensional gridded fields. This course will provide an overview of these modeling systems and their capabilities, including many recent developments.
Attendees will be required to bring their own laptop.
AIR-299: AERMOD Air Dispersion Modeling
Monday, June 9, 2025 • 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Instructor: Michael Hammer, CCM, Senior Meteorologist, Lakes Environmental Software
Level: Beginner
The course provides attendees with a full understanding of the AERMOD modeling system by balancing theory with hands-on-real world case studies. At the end of this course, participants should be able to understand the basics of regulatory air dispersion modeling for permit applications and risk assessments.
No prerequisites are required. Attendees will be required to bring their own laptop.
EMGM- 224: Introduction to Environmental Risk Communication
Monday, June 9, 2025 • 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Instructors: Anthony J. Sadar, CCM, Founder, Environmental Science Communication, LLC.; Susan Zummo Forney, EHS Communication Partners, Inc.
Level: Beginner and Intermediate
If you manage environmental issues, it's not a matter of if, but when you will be faced with risk communication challenges. "Introduction to Environmental Risk Communication" lays the groundwork for building good relationships and engaging in constructive dialog with stakeholders and the public. Participants will learn the key strategies for preparing a principled plan of action, how to avoid common missteps, and how to deal with outrage. Overall, "Introduction to Environmental Risk Communication" delivers principled guidance on techniques to communicate technical information in a variety of settings, including crisis situations and challenging public meetings. The course helps participants identify stakeholders and understand their issues, develop effective tools for successful communication, meet the needs of mass media and social media, and understand critical concerns with respect to Environmental Justice issues.
Course Instructors
Jesse Van Griensven Thé, Ph.D., P.Eng., President/CEO, Lakes Environmental Software
Professor Jesse Van Griensven Thé, PhD., P.Eng., is the President of Lakes Environmental Software. He has over 29 years of experience in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and environmental simulations. Dr. Van Griensven Thé is the main author of AERMOD View, CALPUFF View, SCIPUFF View, IRAP View, and Emissions View, among others. He consults for regulatory agencies in Canada, the USA, and abroad on topics related to complex air modeling projects. He is a Professor at the University of Waterloo, and has authored commercial software, co-authored technical environmental books, is an Executive Editor of the Elsevier Journal of ENERGY, and the Editor-in-Chief of ENN.Com (the largest environmental news network site on the internet). Dr. Van Griensven Thé is a great public speaker, who has received outstanding reviews from those attending his courses.
Michael Hammer, CCM, Senior Meteorologist, Lakes Environmental Software
Mr. Michael Hammer, CCM serves as Senior Meteorologist for Lakes Environmental Software’s global operations. He has over 19 years of experience in the field of air quality modeling and manages all aspects of software technical support for Lakes Environmental’s wide range of commercial air quality modeling software products. He plays a key role in advancing commercial software products and meteorological data solutions using automation and design of innovative functionality. Mr. Hammer provides consulting expertise on many meteorological topics including data validation, review of modeling studies, and meteorological data processing using advanced models such as MM5 and WRF. He is experienced in preparing meteorological and geophysical data for use with numerous air quality models including AERMOD, ADMS, CALPUFF, and SCIPUFF/SCICHEM.
Anthony J. Sadar, CCM, Founder, Environmental Science Communication, LLC.
Anthony J. Sadar is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist with more than 40 years of professional practice in the environmental, science education, and communication fields. During his career, Mr. Sadar has presented air monitoring and modeling results before public audiences, some quite hostile. He learned from theory and practice some of the best techniques to address highly charged issues and has trained industry and government staff to successfully deliver complicated technical information and to manage challenging public meetings. Mr. Sadar is also co-author with primary author Susan Zummo Forney of "Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry," 2nd Edition, CRC Press, 2021.
Susan Zummo Forney, EHS Communication Partners, Inc.
Ms. Forney has more than 30 years of experience in communications and compliance in the environmental arena. Her consulting practice offers expert communications counsel, quality training, and multimedia communication products to clients dealing with environmental, health and safety concerns. Ms. Forney has provided risk communication and community relations support for programs under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Defense and for a broad range of industries that include electric utilities, chemical manufacturers, and waste management companies.
