AirUCI founder and co-Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has received the prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award for 2025! These awards are presented annually to highlight scientific excellence and encourage talent. Each year an international jury selects five outstanding women scientists as laureates, one from each of the following regions—Africa and the Arab States; Asia and the Pacific; Latin America and the Caribbean; Europe; and North America. Awardees are women who have contributed to scientific progress through their research, the strength of their commitments, and their impact on society. We are thrilled to congratulate Barbara on this exceptional and well deserved honor. We look forward to the full report and details from the ceremony. Read the press release Read the campus article
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2025
At the annual Edward K. C. Lee dinner held on May 22nd, several members of the AirUCI team received awards. Grad student Connor Seto (Smith group) received the Contributions to the Chemistry Department Teaching Program by a 1st Year Student Teaching Assistant, while Ellie Smith (Carlton group) was awarded the Contributions to the Chemistry Department Teaching Program by an Upper Division Student Teaching Assistant. Sukriti Kapur (Shiraiwa group) received the 2025 Graduate Student Award from the American Institute of Chemists and grad student Adam Thomas (Smith group) was awarded the prestigious Smitrovich Prize. Undergraduate student Avisa Charmchi (Nizkorodov group) received the Don L. Bunker Award. This year's Gebel Award winners were AirUCI grad students Berenice Rojas (Smith group) and Lena Gerritz (Shiraiwa and Nizkorodov groups) along with Nathaniel Gomez (from the department's Ardo group). Congratulation, all!
AirUCI faculty Manabu Shiraiwa was among the key international collaborators in a new study profiled in Science Advances that shows how lotions and perfumes can suppress “human oxidation fields” that exist around our bodies. Manabu's team published their original study of this topic in 2022, but their new information demonstrates that personal care products act as a physical barrier between ozone in the air and squalene, a naturally occurring oil on skin, which has the potential to substantially impact indoor air quality and human exposure to indoor pollutants. “We expected that the personal care products would weaken the human oxidation field,” said Manabu, “but the extent of the impact was surprisingly huge.” Read the article Hear the radio interview
AirUCI Co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov was honored with the 2025 Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Fostering of Undergraduate Research for the School of Physical Sciences for his dedication to undergraduate education. This award is presented at the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium and selected from professors nominated by undergraduate students for their commitment and dedication as mentors. Congratulations, Sergey!
AirUCI undergrad Eleanor Miko has been named a 2025-26 UCI Beckman Scholar by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. She works in the Nizkorodov group studying photochemistry of atmospheric compounds at aqueous-organic interfaces. Each year, 1-3 outstanding students are selected as the Beckman Scholars based on their academic record, quality of previous research experience, and potential to become prominent research leaders in the chemical and life sciences. Way to go, Miko!
On May 13th, UCI introduced a new initiative called the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration, a campuswide effort to enhance interdisciplinary research, education, and engagement focused on climate-related challenges. A major goal is to encourage broad participation across campus as well as partnership with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and communities. AirUCI is proud to help kick off this effort as a partner institute.
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is quoted in a April 29th VoiceOfOC article about a disputed UCI campus project to use hydrogen to power the ARC building. The proposed project by the Southern California Gas Company to power parts of the student recreation center by mixing hydrogen gas into an existing natural gas pipeline has generated controversy and protests. Jack, an expert in hydrogen power generation, has long experience with such projects. “If we’re being honest about achieving zero carbon and zero greenhouse emissions in our society, then we need to start thinking about our pipes and wires,” he said. Read the article
Even though our Beyond the Tailpipe grant came to an end in March 2024, the work carries on through new grants and members of several AirUCI research teams continue the collaborations that were formed during that groundbreaking research. A new article — written by AirUCI's Sukriti Kapur, grad student in the Shiraiwa group who was a key contributor to Beyond the Tailpipe — provides an in-depth description of the work that is continuing with many of the original team members and new ones as well. Read the article
In an April 23rd Newsweek article, AirUCI faculty Mike Kleinman is asked to comment on a study by the American Lung Association showing that nearly half the U.S. population is living with dangerous levels of air pollution. "Air-quality regulations in the U.S. over the past 20 years are associated with reduced levels of most air pollutants, nationwide. Significant reductions in power plant and automobile emissions were the driving force. Recently, the trend for reduced PM levels has reversed in many areas because we are now subject to more and more intense wildfires, which produce immense numbers of PM particles, which contain toxic combustion products," said Mike. Read the article
AirUCI faculty Mike Dennin has been reappointed to an additional five-year term as Vice Provost and Dean, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, beginning May 1, 2025. This decision follows a thorough review, which included feedback from faculty, staff, campus administrators, and community colleagues. In his first term Mike demonstrated leadership across the broad services under his administration, and his collaborative leadership style was considered crucial in addressing future challenges and leveraging opportunities. Congratulations, Mike!
