Inside the Lab

(From left) Principal Investigator Joseph G. Allen, DSc, MPH, Assistant Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Co-investigator Suresh Santanam, ScD, PE and Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University; Co-investigator Usha Satish, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Project Manager Piers MacNaughton, MS, doctoral candidate, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Twenty-four professionals participated in the six-day COGfx Study, conducting their normal work activities within a laboratory setting that simulated conditions found in conventional and green buildings, as well as green buildings with enhanced ventilation.

The study was designed to determine the combined and independent effect of total volatile organic compounds, ventilation and CO2, which was controlled in the machine room located directly below the workspace.

Project Manager Piers MacNaughton, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, monitored conditions from the machine room as part of the double-blind study.

Diffuser vents in the floor delivered common sources of volatile organic compounds to each workstation.

The Total Indoor Environmental Quality lab at the Syracuse Center of Excellence is a low-volatile organic compound building. To simulate the “conventional building” condition, Piers MacNaughton, project manager, added typical sources of volatile organic compounds through the introduction of commonly found products, such as office supplies, cleaners and adhesives.

A monitoring device measured the levels of volatile organic compounds and CO2.

Piers MacNaughton, doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Pubilc Health and project manager for The COGfx Study, calibrates equipment used to monitor CO2 and other indoor environmental quality parameters during the study.

At the end of each day, participants completed a 1.5-hour cognitive assessment. The Strategic Management Simulation tool was used to evaluate decision-making, giving participants the freedom to make decisions based on their own cognitive styles and reflecting their performance in the real-world. “The gains in performance output could be seen in areas such as the handling of day-to-day workplace challenges, which is due to the fact that in improved indoor environments, participants were better able to understand and use their resources with optimal task prioritization,” said Dr. Usha Satish, SUNY-Upstate Medical University.