AirUCI Co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov has been elected as a fellow of the American Association of Aerosol Research (AAAR). He joins fellow AirUCI faculty Donald Dabdub (recently retired) and numerous AirUCI collaborators in receiving this honor. In 2008, the AAAR Board of Directors established a category of Fellow to honor significant contributions by individuals to the discipline of aerosol science and technology, and service to AAAR. AAAR Fellows are expected to actively promote the field of aerosol science and technology and the ideals of AAAR. The AAAR Fellow title is retained as long as the individual is living. Congratulations, Sergey!
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2022
Thursday, September 29, 2022
AirUCI grad student Cynthia Wong (Nizkorodov group) has been selected to receive UCI's Chemistry Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award for 2022, recognizing individuals who significantly contribute to creating a more inclusive, just, and welcoming community in UCI’s Department of Chemistry. Cynthia has demonstrated her commitment to these values through departmental and broader activities, including recruitment, outreach, mentoring, and teaching. Congratulations, Cynthia!
Saturday, September 24, 2022
On September 24th, Dr. Jason Low, who as an undergrad studied with AirUCI Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, was inducted into the UCI Physical Sciences Alumni Hall of Fame. AirUCI faculty Steve Davis was among the speakers at this event. Jason serves as Assistant Deputy Executive Officer of the Monitoring and Analysis Division for Science & Technology Advancement at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). He has returned to UCI several times to speak to classes that Barbara has taught, and was the last graduate student to receive his PhD under Ralph Cicerone. Read the article
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer was interviewed by KCAL TV on September 21st regarding a study on campus to measure how average homes adapt to smart technologies. A group of faculty homes in University Hills were outfitted with solar panels, electric cars, battery chargers, and storage units to test the performance of the electrical grid and reduce energy costs and emissions. Energy storage is the key, said Jack, and fuel cell and hydrogen technology can help reduce stress on the electricity grid. View the interview
Friday, September 9, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is quoted in a September 9th Daily Pilot article regarding a plan he has submitted to the Public Utilities Commission that would introduce hydrogen mixed in with natural gas at several buildings on the UCI campus. They plan to use an electrolyzer to convert water into hydrogen, which does not produce carbon dioxide when it burns. That will then be mixed into the fuel being piped through existing lines in parts of the campus. Read the article
Thursday, September 8, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jim Randerson and his grad student, Audrey Odwuor, took part in a controlled burn near Blodgett, CA by sampling material on the forest floor prior to the burn and collecting smoke samples. These will be analyzed back in the lab and compared with burn data to determine if the prescribed fire efficiently burns through the materials it's supposed to, truly reducing the risk of future wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service is analyzing their practices — thinning pre-emptively could allow more wind to whip through during a burn, producing hotter flames and making the blaze harder to control, but it might also help the burn consume more of the remaining fodder, creating a longer-lasting buffer against wildfire. These studies help form best practices for forest maintenance. Read the article
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
AirUCI grad student Katie Hopstock (Nizkorodov group) has been selected to receive a Campuswide Honors Collegium Graduate Fellowship for 2022-2023. Upon joining the CHC advising team this fall, Katie will counsel students who are embarking on undergraduate research about issues such as finding a faculty advisor, the research process, and how doing research can help students reach their goals. Congratulations, Katie!
Thursday, September 1, 2022
AirUCI faculty Manabu Shiraiwa is co-author on a new paper published in Science that shows how high levels of OH radicals can be generated indoors, simply due to the presence of people and ozone. “Our modeling team is the first and currently the only group that can integrate chemical processes between skin and indoor air, from molecular scales to room scales,” said Manabu. This article was also highlighted in a September 2022 edition of C&E News. Read the article
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer, professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been named a UC Irvine Chancellor's Fellow. These are faculty with tenure whose recent achievements in scholarship evidence extraordinary promise for world-class contributions to knowledge, and whose pattern of contributions shows a strong trajectory to distinction. The campus title carries an award of up to $25,000 per year for three years in support of research. Congratulations, Jack!
Thursday, August 25, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer was interviewed in a KCAL-9 news segment discussing the California Air Resources Board vote on August 25 to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035. Jack discussed our state grid's capability to handle so many new electric vehicles and the need to include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the plan. "The grid does not currently have the capability to add millions of battery electric or even fuel-cell electric vehicles today," Jack said, "So, we have some time to make reasonable investments in the grid to enable this to actually happen and to happen well." View the segment and read the article
