Professional Experience

Specific Work Experience

University of Colorado, Boulder June 2015 – Feb. 2021
Graduate Research Assistant 

• Performed as an Environmental Lab Chemist, leading and supporting air quality monitoring projects in Colorado and Ghana, planning sampling campaigns, managing research data, and applying advanced chemical analysis techniques (EPA methods, GC/LC-MS, ICP-MS) to quantify environmental pollutants. 

• Processed and analyzed complex environmental datasets, including calibrations and trends analysis for real-time low-cost sensor networks; performed source apportionment and used modeling software to estimate air pollutant transport and transformation.

• Developed data management systems and custom scripts (Excel, Python, R) for large environmental datasets; produced research literature reviews, integrated manuscripts into the scientific record, and presented findings at numerous conferences and webinars.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Feb. 2021 – Nov. 2022
Senior Chemist – Air Management Division Madison, WI

• Planned and executed air monitoring for criteria and hazardous air pollutants under the U.S. Clean Air Act; managed sampling teams and schedules, collected and reviewed data for emerging contaminants (PFAS, Ethylene Oxide), and performed trend analyses using instruments such as low-cost sensors, Teledyne monitors (PM, NOx, CO), BAMs, ultrafine particle monitors, and canister/cartridge samplers (Urban Air Toxics, NESHAPs, National Trends Network).

• Conducted literature reviews on new technologies, government policies, and emerging pollutant chemistry; authored and published data analyses, research findings, and project results through reports, presentations, and scientific articles.

• Conducted specialized monitoring for emerging contaminants and designed targeted monitoring programs for specific sources such as road traffic, integrating appropriate instrumentation and sampling strategies. 

U.S. State Department – Air Quality Fellowship Sept. 2020 – Aug. 2022
Air Quality Fellow

• Served as an Air Quality Fellow with the U.S. State Department, partnering with Embassy Monrovia to deploy Liberia’s first PM2.5 air quality sensor and consulting for Embassy Kampala on air quality research equipment acquisition and deployment. 

Industrial Economics Incorporated Aug. 2018 – Present
Sub-Contractor (2018-2022)

• Supported international air quality network development for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and USEPA by drafting proposals, quality assurance plans, and data management strategies, and by creating and delivering educational presentations for scientists in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Central Asia. 

Associate (2022-Present)

• Consults with a diverse range of clients, including state, federal, and local government agencies, NGOs, attorneys, and international regulatory bodies such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, U.S. EPA, South Coast AQMD, FERC, C40 Cities, and the Clean Air Fund.

• Provides services in literature and policy review, data analysis and management, program evaluation, project coordination, and the development of clear reports and technical summaries.

• Highly proficient in data analysis and management tools including RStudio, Python, Excel, Julia, BenMAP, InMAP, and related environmental modeling software.

• Subject matter expertise spans air pollution, public health impacts, fate and transport of contaminants, air quality management planning, natural resource damage assessment, and economic evaluation of environmental disasters.

Publications

Pfotenhauer, David, et al. "PFAS concentrations and deposition in precipitation: An intensive 5-month study at National Atmospheric Deposition Program–National trends sites (NADP-NTN) across Wisconsin, USA." Atmospheric Environment 291 (2022): 119368. 

Pfotenhauer, David J., et al. "Updated emission factors from diffuse combustion sources in sub-Saharan Africa and their effect on regional emission estimates." Environmental Science & Technology 53.11 (2019): 6392-6401. 

Pfotenhauer, David J. Progress in Understanding Dispersed Emission Sources in Ghana and Their Contributions to Atmospheric Pollution in Rural and Urban Settings. Diss. University of Colorado at Boulder, 2021. 

Leresche, F., Salazar, J. R., Pfotenhauer, D. J., Hannigan, M. P., Majestic, B. J., & Rosario-Ortiz, F. L. (2021). Photochemical aging of atmospheric particulate matter in the aqueous phase. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(19), 13152-13163. 

Coffey, E. R., Pfotenhauer, D. J., Mukherjee, A., Agao, D., Moro, A., Dalaba, M., ... & Hannigan, M. P. (2019). Kitchen area air quality measurements in northern Ghana: evaluating the performance of a low-cost particulate sensor within a household energy study. Atmosphere, 10(7), 400. 

Salazar, J. R., Pfotenhauer, D. J., Leresche, F., Rosario‐Ortiz, F. L., Hannigan, M. P., Fakra, S. C., & Majestic, B. J. (2020). Iron speciation in PM2. 5 from urban, agriculture, and mixed environments in Colorado, USA. Earth and Space Science, 7(10), e2020EA001262.