AirAware Team Deploys Air Quality Sensor at CEJA Aurora Workforce Hub
On October 23, members of the Accelerate Climate Solutions’ AirAware team visited the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) Workforce Hub in Aurora.
What is AirAware?
AirAware is a student-led community air quality monitoring initiative that makes air-quality information more accessible to our community. We do this through community outreach, sensor deployment, and accessible data. Our team is currently working on expanding our sensor network, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods that are disproportionately affected by bad air quality. Our student team consists of Idhant Ranjan, Arun Muthukumar, Varun Kalidindi, Keshav Arun, Sanjith Balamurali, and Oscar Lee, and works under the mentorship of Dr. Joe Kozminski of Lewis University and Cathy Clarkin of Accelerate Climate Solutions.
The Setup
After AirAware was featured in Kane County Connects, the official digital news publication and e-newsletter of Kane County Government, Jennifer Taylor reached out to our team about potentially siting a sensor at the CEJA Aurora Hub. The CEJA Aurora Workforce Development Hub is a clean energy training center launched in early 2026 to provide free green job training and credentials. Located near the West side of Aurora, the CEJA Workforce Hub was a perfect location for the sensor. The sensor is in close proximity to the playground at Hessed House, has lots of truck/vehicle traffic, and is in a climate-vulnerable area.
After a couple of meetings with Ms. Taylor, our team met up at the Workforce Hub on Wednesday, October 14th. The sensor, provided by Dr. Kozminski, is a relatively small piece of technology. After dealing with a couple of technical difficulties, we were able to site the sensor using zip ties and get it up and running on the sensor network.
Although this is the 12th sensor in the team's network, the sensor is the first of its kind in West Aurora, which means it will go a long way in informing the West Aurora community of the local Air Quality.
Not only will the community benefit from the work, our students are too. Team member Keshav Arun reflects, “I had a great time visiting the CEJA warehouse and meeting with Ms Taylor, learning about what they do. It was also fun putting up the sensor, working with Dr. Kozminski, Oscar, and Idhant.”
This is nowhere near the last from the AirAware team, however. We’ve just applied for the $5000 Aurora Youth Climate Action Fund Grant, and with the money, we will hopefully set up even more sensors around the area.
How You Can Help
We’re still looking for locations to site future sensors, so please reach out if you have a potential sensor location! We are excited to continue to see where this project leads!
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