Dingsheng Li: Quantifying environmental and human health impacts of computing e-waste through life cycle assessment
Title
Global variation in third molar agenesis
Mentor
Department
Biosketch
Dingsheng Li, Ph.D. completed his doctoral degree in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan in 2015 and is currently an associate professor in the School of Community Health Sciences at the Â鶹´«Ã½AV. His research expertise centers on environmental health risk assessment, chemical exposure modeling, and toxicokinetics. Li has published extensively in high-impact journals including Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental International, addressing critical questions about human exposure to chemicals from consumer products to emerging contaminants. He has secured significant external funding including current grants from the U.S. EPA and NSF totaling over $2 million, and has received multiple awards for his research contributions. His interdisciplinary approach bridges environmental science, public health, and computational modeling to advance understanding of chemical risks to human health and environmental justice issues.
Project overview
Every year, the world generates 62 billion kilograms of electronic waste from computers, phones, and other devices, with only 22% being properly recycled while the rest ends up in landfills where toxic metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium can harm both human health and the environment. Our research project aims to quantify the environmental and health impacts of computing e-waste by measuring which computer components contain the most dangerous materials and modeling how these toxins affect people and ecosystems when devices are disposed of. We're building the first comprehensive framework that will allow computer designers to understand the toxic footprint of their products and make design choices that reduce environmental harm, particularly focusing on how e-waste toxins move through soil, water, and air to reach vulnerable communities.
As an undergraduate researcher, you will conduct literature reviews to identify and summarize scientific studies about toxic metals in electronic components, compile data on the health and environmental effects of these materials, and help build databases linking specific computer parts to their toxicity profiles. Your work will involve searching scientific databases, reading research papers, organizing information about metal concentrations in different components like circuit boards and processors, and documenting how exposure to e-waste affects human health and environmental systems. You'll develop skills in scientific literature analysis, database management, and technical writing while contributing directly to research that could help reduce the environmental impact of the technology industry.
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