Professor Hertel is an expert on the physical and chemical processes that determine the fate of air pollution in the atmosphere. He has more than twenty-five years of experience in developing and using mathematical models to describe air pollution, as well as to interpret measuring and calculation data. His focus has been on describing two conditions: 1) the contribution of air pollution to the overfertilisation of nature both on land and at sea via ammonia and nitrogen oxides and 2) human exposure to air pollution that can be hazardous to health.

Professor Hertel played a key role in developing the OSPM model, which describes the spread of air pollution at street level, and is currently used in almost twenty countries all over the world. OSPM is used in a number of model systems to routinely map air pollution in urban streets. This includes Aarhus University’s own model systems – the THOR air pollution forecasting system for predicting air pollution right down to street level, and the AirGIS modelling system for determining human exposure to air pollution.

Ole Hertel was born in Copenhagen in 1961, and he graduated from Aalborg University as an environmental engineer in 1987. He completed a PhD in Geophysics at the University of Bergen (Norway) in 1995 and a DSc in Natural Science at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) in 2009. He was appointed researcher at the former Danish Air Pollution Laboratory in 1987. This became part of the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) in 1989 and was amalgamated with Aarhus University in 2007. He was appointed senior researcher in 1997, head of section in 2003, and senior researcher with special qualifications in 2009.

The new professor has published more than ninety international scientific articles and book contributions. In addition, he has published a considerable number of advisory reports, as well publishing numerous popular science articles and taking part in media interviews.

Professor Hertel has an extensive international network and he has coordinated a considerable number of successful applications to Danish and international research councils, including the European Commission. He has also assessed research applications for research councils in a number of countries. He sits on the Scientific Committee for the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Division of Chemistry and the Environment (DCE) for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) – the world authority on chemical nomenclature. He is also honorary professor at ENSPAC, Roskilde University. Professor Hertel has considerable teaching experience both in Denmark and abroad.

The professorship is for a five-year period with the option of a further three-year extension.

The new professor is married to Pernille Hertel and they live in Ballerup with their two children – Samuel (13) and Johanna (9).

For more information, please contact

Professor Ole Hertel
Department of Environmental Science
Aarhus University
+45 8715 8514/3018 3114
oh@dmu.dk

Read more about Ole Hertel:

• Aarhus University
• European Environment Agency (EEA)
• LinkedIn
• ResearchGate