# Zara Hussain

> Zara Hussain deploys and studies the performance of a 45-node low-cost electrochemical sensor network across Lahore's dense urban fabric, creating the first fine-spatial-resolution (500 m grid) map of real-time PM2.5 and NO₂ exposure at Lahore University of Management Sciences' Department of Environmental Science. Supervised by Prof. Sadia Ilyas, she selected and calibrated a AmperEx EC4-SO2/NO₂ and a Sensirion SPS30 PM sensor stack for each node, correcting for the strong humidity and temperature cross-sensitivities that plague all low-cost sensors in Lahore's subtropical climate using a random forest correction model trained against a co-located regulatory-grade reference at the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency's Gulberg monitoring station. After correction, PM2.5 readings from the field network agree with the reference to within 12% RMSE across Lahore's full seasonal PM range of 30–450 µg/m³. Kriging interpolation of the 45-node dataset reveals an urban heat island–driven wind channelling effect that concentrates diesel vehicle exhaust in narrow canyon-street corridors where exposure exceeds WHO 24-hour guidelines by a factor of 9 during morning traffic peaks — invisible to the four-station regulatory network. Zara's role as the Punjab Environment Protection Department's pilot partner for smart-city air quality monitoring directly translates her research into policy-grade infrastructure.

*Source: [https://selltoscientists.com/phd/zara-hussain/](https://selltoscientists.com/phd/zara-hussain/)*

**Institution:** Lahore University of Management Sciences
**Field:** Air Quality Monitoring
**Advisor:** Prof. Sadia Ilyas
**Thesis:** Low-Cost Electrochemical Sensor Network for Real-Time PM2.5 and NO₂ Mapping in Lahore's Urban Heat Island
**Publications:** 2

## Skills

- electrochemical gas sensor calibration
- LoRa/GSM IoT data transmission
- kriging spatial interpolation ArcGIS
- Python data quality flagging pipeline

## Industry transition signals

- Punjab Environment Protection Department pilot partner
- presenting at ACE 2026 Houston
- applying to smart city environmental analytics roles

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