AirUCI grad student Jinlai Wei (Shiraiwa group) has received the 2021 C. Ellen Gonter Environmental Chemistry Award. This competitive award from the American Chemical Society is presented to graduate students at U.S. and international universities who submit the highest quality research papers. Way to go, Jinlai!
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2021
Sunday, April 11, 2021
In an article on Forbes.com, AirUCI faculty Steve Davis is widely quoted on the increase in carbon dioxide emissions in the first two months of 2021 compared to the first two months of 2020. This indicates an economic and societal rebound from the period of COVID lockdown. New tools developed by Steve and his collaborators allow much more precise tracking of emissions based on source data. “The idea here was to move away from annual energy statistics toward something that could give us a clearer picture about how energy use was changing in what we would call near real time,” Steve said last week in a virtual lecture hosted by the Beckman Center. Read the article
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
An international team—led by AirUCI faculty Steve Davis and his postdoc Chaopeng Hong—has this week unveiled a new data resource focused on the United States. The U.S. Carbon Monitor web site complements the global monitoring site launched last year, and is designed to serve the academic community, policy makers, the news media, and the general public, measuring near real-time, state-level carbon emissions estimates. “The data provided in these resources will allow us to monitor the pandemic recovery and the impact of state-level efforts to reduce fossil fuel carbon emissions going forward,” said Chaopeng. Read the article
Monday, April 5, 2021
In an April 4th article about hydrogen fueled autos in Car and Driver Magazine, AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is quoted as an expert in this field. He is disappointed in the pace of adding hydrogen fueling stations in California, although in the meantime he advocates the use of plug-in hybrid vehicles as the current infrastructure supports their use far better. However, in December 2020 the state legislature approved funds to add many more hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state by 2027. Jack maintains that the future must include hydrogen as a fuel, especially for heavy-duty vehicles. Read the article
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
AirUCI undergrad Nuodi "Kimberly" Zhang (Nizkorodov group) has received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The NSF GRFP is highly competitive, and it is a great distinction to be honored by the program with a Fellowship or Honorable Mention. Way to go, Kimberly!
Sunday, March 21, 2021
On March 21st, AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer presented a Solutions That Scale seminar entitled "100% Renewable and Zero Emissions Energy with Hydrogen" that has been widely viewed on YouTube. Recent research on the dynamics and control of electrochemical energy conversion systems to enable an energy-sustainable future with hydrogen was discussed.
Monday, March 8, 2021
AirUCI founder and co-director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been named the 2021 Woman of the Year for California Assembly district 74 for her inspirational leadership of major research initiatives and outreach activities at UC Irvine. Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris led the nomination effort and along with Women In California Leadership will host a virtual reception on Monday, March 15th to present the award to Barbara. Congratulations, Barb! View the video
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
A February 23rd article on Voice of OC notes that AirUCI researchers have been a large part of the team measuring and evaluating emissions from an asphalt factory located in Irvine. Residents have complained for years about the odors and reported health effects from the plant, and the research team's data showed potentially unsafe levels of certain chemical compounds. SCAQMD has been investigating the situation and questions some of the methods and results of the UCI study. A community meeting has now been scheduled for March 3rd to discuss the issues.
Additional details Read the February 4th article
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
AirUCI's Natalie Smith, graduate student in the Nizkorodov group, has received the American Chemical Society's 2020 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry. The award is given on behalf of ACS's Division of Environmental Chemistry (ENVR) — way to go, Natalie!
Friday, February 19, 2021
On February 19th, AirUCI faculty Steve Davis presented a Solutions That Scale seminar entitled "The Urban Challenge" that has been widely viewed on YouTube. Steve interviewed Martin Powell, who leads the Urban Development Practice for Siemens Corporation, about the challenges our big cities face over the next decade during the transition in how we generate and consume energy.
