Beyond the Tailpipe Events

 

Beyond the Tailpipe workshop 2023

To be held October 27, 2023 on campus in Natural Science 2 room 1201  Also attending will be delegations from AQMD and CARB. This meeting will review progress made so far by each team and the research group as a whole.  New funding options will be explored.  Specific tasks and timelines will be updated, the budget will be reviewed, and community meetings will be planned.

Lake Arrowhead workshop 2021

The group’s planning meeting was held at the Lake Arrowhead Lodge from October 29-31 2021 with 12 faculty in attendance and two others joining the sessions via Zoom.  Additional attendees included Project Scientists, students, and community organizers.  Specific research tasks and timelines were determined, along with those working on each.  Procedures and policies were discussed for budget parameters, supply requisitions, etc.  View the agenda

Tour of Santa Ana sites

On Monday, November 15th, the Tailpipers group boarded a bus and toured several sites in Santa Ana identified by MPNA as areas of concern regarding air pollution as well as potential sites for air quality sampling. 

  • Madison Park; 1101 E Edinger Ave, 92707
  • Cecilia Bautista’s House / BrassTech; 1234 E. Borchard Ave, 92701
  • Kiddie Academy of Santa Ana; 1345 N Grand Ave, 92701
  • Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center;   1000E E Santa Ana Blvd, 92701
  • Ingardia Brothers Produce Inc.; 700 S Hathaway St, 92705
  • Ministerio Cristo Es La Restauración; 1224 E Pomona St, 92707
  • Behr; 1995 S Standard Ave, 92707
  • Kingspan Light + Air; 302 Goetz Ave, 92707

Lab tours

Chemistry and ESS:  On Monday, November 29th, the group toured the labs of the Chemistry and Earth System Science faculty.  The speakers in each lab were Alex Guenther, Barbara Barletta, Jim Smith, Veronique Perraud with Lisa Wingen, and Manabu Shiraiwa. 

  • Guenther lab – collection and analysis of trace gases
  • Blake lab – generation, collection, analysis of trace gases
  • Smith lab – generation, collection, analysis of particles
  • Finlayson-Pitts lab – analysis of gases and particles
  • Shiraiwa lab – toxicology of particles

Toxicology:  On Monday, December 6th, the group toured the labs of two of our Health Sciences faculty, Michael Kleinman and Ulrike Luderer, who are working on the toxicology studies in the DOJ project.

Engineering:  On January 24, 2022 the group toured the labs of the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity2 (HIMaC2), of which the director is AirUCI faculty Voyaslav Stamenkovic. 

Blake lab (Chemistry): On February 14, 2022, as shown in this photo, the Blake lab hosted workers from Kingston, a company in Santa Ana where the indoor air quality has been in question.  The workers were shown how researchers collect, measure, and analyze the composition of air — from gases to microscopic particles.

Monthly lunch meetings

Beginning in February 2022, the group meets once per month to discuss progress, obstacles, collaborations, procedures, and to hear specific research results from each group.  Meetings are held from 12:30 - 2:00 in Rowland Hall room 390.

2022 Meetings

  • February 14
  • April 4 and 25
  • May 24
  • June 21
  • July 26
  • August 23
  • September 27
  • November 8
  • December 6

2023 Meetings

  • January 24
  • February 23
  • March 30
  • May 11
  • June 27
  • July 25
  • August 22
  • September 26

Student Lab Tours

June 22, 2022:  The Madison Park Neighborhood Association sponsors the ALMA Science Academy for young students who are interested in STEM topics.  AirUCI hosted a tour of our labs and presentation of our research on Wednesday, June 22nd for a group of about 45 4th through 6th graders and their teachers. Our material aligned well with the Academy's summer curriculum which included units on air pollution and climate change, and the students were thrilled to see science laboratories and learn more about these topics.  They asked many questions and clearly enjoyed interacting with our scientists.

Saturday, December 3, 2022: AirUCI hosted a group of more than 80 elementary school students as they toured our labs and hear presentations about our research.  The students were from Santa Ana schools associated with MPNA.

June 26 - July 31, 2023: AirUCI hosted student researchers from ALMA Academy as they participated in lab studies and analyzed research data for the DOJ project.

MPNA meetings

The Madison Park Neighborhood Association recruits and coordinates community volunteers to assist with air sampling and other data collection and will work in collaboration with the scientists in this project to plan and implement each stage of the effort.  The grant terms include provisions to hold neighborhood stakeholder meetings to share research results with the residents, city staff, and county staff. 

  • Fall 2022 Meeting: CUAL group on Tuesday, October 4 at 6 pm

  • Winter 2023 Meeting: Tuesday, January 31 at 6 pm

Other Events

  • We will convene a fourth Environmental Justice Stakeholder Meeting in Santa Ana on Thursday, May 9, 6:00-8:00pm, at Madison Elementary. 
     
    This meeting, hosted by GREEN-MPNA and UCI EcoGovLab, will bring community members into dialogue with representatives from the City of Santa Ana and multiple state agencies. The goal is to build understanding and capacity to address pollution in Santa Ana, ultimately reducing the very high number of disadvantaged communities (DACs) in the City. 
  • GREEN-MPNA and AirUCI will host an Environmental Justice Stakeholder Meeting on Thursday, October 26th, 2023 at Saddleback High School at 6pm. The school is located at 2802 S Flower St, Santa Ana, CA 92707.
  • GREEN-MPNA and AirUCI hosted an Environmental Justice Stakeholder Meeting at Davis School in Santa Ana on May 18, 2023. Read the report
  • GREEN's Science and Technology Subcommittee Meeting; March 20, 2023 at 5:30-6:30 PM.  AirUCI will give a presentation, and the audience for this informational meeting are high school youth and residents of the Madison Park community. 
  • GREEN-MPNA air monitoring event February 16, 2023: AirUCI volunteers will participate in this event led by Zaynab Mahmood, science facilitator and coordinator for GREEN-MPNA. They will use small, portable air sensors to gather data about particulate matter in southeast Santa Ana. 
  • EcoGovLab, GREEN-MPNA, and AirUCI hosted an Environmental Justice Stakeholder Meeting in Santa Ana on January 31, 2023 with over 100 attendees and 25 Zoom participants, including residents, AirUCI researchers, elected officials, and government agencies.    Read the article
  • MPNA Toxic Tour October 1, 2022: A group led by AirUCI's Katie Cox visited the Torrance and Wilmington oil refineries and adjacent community locations such as schools and city buildings.  These are the only two refineries in California that use hydrogen fluoride in their production processes.
  • Clean Air Day October 5, 2022: Santa Ana residents and other volunteers walked the streets with air monitors collecting samples for analysis.