AirUCI grad student Cindy Yanez (Czimczik group) is the subject of an article in UCI News that details her air sampling project measuring air pollution changes during the pandemic. Cindy and her team drove a mobile lab around Southern California freeways during pandemic months to measure how CO2 concentrations were changing. They also collected plant samples with assistance from a network of community scientist helpers across the state. Related article Such region-specific emissions data can help cities design policies to address their specific emissions situations. Read the article
News
Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.
2022
Friday, December 9, 2022
From December 9-16, AirUCI faculty Celia Faiola is hosting a visit from two atmospheric chemistry researchers from Switzerland: Dr. Ugo Molteni and Dr. Simone Pieber.. Both are postdoctoral fellows with the Swiss National Science Foundation and they have been collaborating with the Faiola research group on a project related to chemistry of plant stress emissions. The will be meeting with additional AirUCI faculty and researchers to discuss their research and explore potential collaborative projects, and will be giving a presentation, time and title TBD.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
AirUCI is pleased to welcome Prof. Jane W. Baldwin of ESS as the latest addition to our faculty. Jane studies large-scale atmospheric dynamics and how they influence regional climate and climatic extremes, applying her findings to climate change and policy applications. To learn more, visit her AirUCI faculty page. Welcome aboard, Jane!
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
AirUCI faculty James Randerson and his graduate student Shane Coffield (who just graduated this summer!) have written an opinion piece in the November 29, 2022 Los Angeles Times describing their studies of carbon uptake by trees planted to offset the carbon footprint of corporations. These offset forests aren't having nearly the impact claimed by the companies that plant them. For example, logging companies aren’t logging less than they did before they invested in protecting that land so no real offsets are achieved. There are, however, better approaches to reaching the desired outcomes of offset forest practices. Read the article
Monday, November 28, 2022
AirUCI faculty Jun Wu is the subject of the November 28, 2022 Academic Minute item as they examine the effects of the environment on pre-term births. Read the article
Thursday, November 17, 2022
AirUCI grad student Cynthia Wong is among the recipients of UCI's School of Physical Sciences Advancing Inclusive Excellence Award for 2022. Along with four other grad students in the Department of Chemistry, Cynthia received the award for Fostering Community in the Department of Chemistry: Student-Led Organizations Mixer. Congratulations, Cynthia!
Thursday, November 17, 2022
UC Irvine boasts 16 faculty among the 2022 list of Most Highly Cited Researchers, and three of these 16 are AirUCI faculty — Steve Davis, James Randerson, and Voya Stamenkovic. The list of nearly 7,000 scientists is drawn from papers that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index over the past decade, and determines "who's who" among influential researchers. Read the article
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Scott Samuelsen, AirUCI faculty and Director of AirUCI partner APEP, is the Primary Investigator on a groundbreaking new project to build the first community microgrid projects in California. This new housing development will feature two neighborhoods with self-supporting energy systems that can be connected if needed. Working with several partners — the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), SunPower, KB Home, Southern California Edison (SCE), and Schneider Electric (SE) — this testing and demonstration project equips each home with smart energy systems which will be monitored and evaluated by APEP to enhance these technologies. Read the article
Friday, October 21, 2022
Along with researchers at UC Davis, AirUCI faculty Jun Wu and Shahir Masri, an AirUCI research specialist in her group, have published an article in Climate that shows how the correlation between high temperatures and airborne particle concentrations disproportionately affect lower income residents. Periods of high summer heat combined with inhalable particles such as those generated by wildfires affect residents in remote, lower income communities more than people with better access to information. “Among low-income households, many lack computers and even internet, rendering them less able to become informed about, and therefore prepare for an approaching wildfire or smoke plume. In some cases, such platforms publish news before traditional media channels,” said Shahir. Read the article
Thursday, October 20, 2022
AirUCI faculty Andrea de Vizcaya Ruiz is quoted in an article on NBC News about a recent study showing the dangers of gas stoves and the chemicals they release into homes. Benzene is of particular concern. "It’s one of the most direct chemicals that induces cancer, because it transforms the cells in the bone marrow," Andrea said. Read the article
