A recent paper by AirUCI faculty Mike Prather has prompted new discussion of the earth's recovery from the "ozone hole". The discovery of the ozone problem by Sherry Rowland, (honorary AirUCI team member) and Mario Molina in the 1970s won them the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and motivated an international effort to reduce ozone use in everyday products. There has been slow but steady recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer, but about 10% remains in the troposphere. Mike's findings indicate that "what happens in the troposphere doesn't stay in the troposphere." Some of these molecules travel up into the stratosphere when the two atmospheric layers exchange air. This upward migration of ozone may make it difficult to assess the recovery rate of the depleted stratospheric ozone layer accurately and may also affect how researchers interpret the results of a worldwide reduction in halocarbon use. Read the article
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2024
AirUCI Co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov is listed in the 2024-25 cohort of UCI Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence (FATE) fellows. FATE is a community of faculty from across campus with a shared desire to promote student success through teaching. Acceptance into FATE is a lifetime honor bestowed on faculty who have demonstrated the aptitude to develop learning environments that foster student growth. Congratulations, Sergey, for this well-deserved honor! Read more
In a June 11th article in Very Well Health, AirUCI facutly Jun Wu is quoted on cooling centers and other heat mitigation strategies. Policy and infrastructure changes are necessary for reducing heat-related health risks, Jun said, adding that “Local government, especially, can really do something. Planting trees is relatively simple. Also, painting a lighter color of roof and road—those things are relatively easy to do and may have multiple benefits. Green planning, in addition to reducing the heat, can also help with reduced air pollution.” Read the article
UCI's Chemistry Department has recognized 15 researchers for their work in promoting a strong safety culture in their labs. Of the 15, five are AirUCI team members! While they are not the safety representatives for their labs, these individuals show that anyone can be a positive role model for exemplary safety practices. The AirUCI team members are Madeline Cooke, Kristen Johnson, Lucia Liu, Marcus Marracci, and Steven Nguyen. Congratulations, all!
At the Chemistry Department's undergraduate ceremony held June 4th, Katelyn Pacaud and Patricia Morris (both in the Finlayson-Pitts group) received awards. Katelyn was a recipient of the Michael Gebel undergraduate student award and Patricia received the American Chemical Society's ENV award. Well done, ladies!
A new study published by AirUCI's Tires and Brakes (TAB) team is the subject of an article published June 3rd. The team showed that most of the particles emitted during light braking carry an electric charge, largely dependent on the material makeup of brake pads—something that could potentially be exploited to help reduce air pollution from vehicles. “If the particles are charged, they can be removed easily from the air before they have a chance to have an impact at all on health,” said AirUCI Prof. Jim Smith, one of the faculty involved in the study.
Read the article
At the UCI Chemistry Department's annual Lee Dinner on May 9th, two of our amazing AirUCI grad students were honored, both from the Nizkorodov group. Kasey Edwards received the 2024 Gebel Award along with chemistry students Patrick McShea and Madison Landi. Katie Hopstock received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Chemistry Department as well as the Joan Rowland Award. Congratulations to all!
AirUCI faculty Mike Kleinman is quoted in a House Beautiful article on the health and environmental effects of backyard or campground fire pits. Wood smoke is made up of fine particles, including soot and particulate matter 2.5, and also generate gases. "Wood fire smoke contributes to air pollution and the fine particles contribute to lung and heart disease," Mike says. "People who have respiratory problems are more likely to be at risk from health effects related to fire pit emissions, and those with pre-existing heart disease might also be at elevated risk when it comes to exposure to wood smoke." The most dangerous instances of outdoor fire pit use include any that burn treated or painted wood or wood products— or if accelerants are used to get the fire stared — because those are very often toxic, Mike says. Read the article
AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is the inaugural director of UC Irvine’s Clean Energy Institute, founded in 2022 as an umbrella organization to help coordinate and administer sustainability research for several campus interdisciplinary centers. In addition to Jack as the director, several AirUCI team members are on staff at CEI, including Profs. Scott Samuelsen and Vojislav Stamenkovic and research scientists Michael Mac Kinnon and Shupeng Zhu. Jack was interviewed on April 22nd about the institute and its work. Read the article View the special report
Research conducted in AirUCI's Randerson, Czimczik, and Guenther groups points to increased instability in forest ecosystems. In the Randerson group, AirUCI grad student Jinhyuk Kim led a study that found ecosystems at high latitudes are becoming increasingly unstable as a result of increased wildfires. “We’re seeing higher levels of photosynthesis that persist for decades after fire,” said Jinhyuk. “Instead of the evergreen conifer forest coming back right away, in some regions, we see a long-term replacement of these forests with faster-growing species.” In a study led by Allison Welch, AirUCI grad student in the Czimczik group, her team explored plant expansion across the Arctic ecosystem. “With increasing temperatures and wildfire activity, we’re seeing increased growth of bigger, deciduous shrubs,” said Allison.
Hui Wang, AirUCI grad student in the Guenther group, conducted a third study which was focused on an unexpected rise in emissions of isoprene – an important molecule that influences local climate through its effects on ozone, aerosols, and methane levels. “This change will indirectly change the climate,” said Hui, noting that rising temperatures have prompted plants to release more isoprene. Read the article
