News

In the 2018 elections held by the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR), AirUCI co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov was voted in as the organization's vice president elect.  His term will begin at the conclusion of the 10th International Aerosol Conference to be held in St. Louis, Missouri September 2-7, 2018.  Congratulations, Sergey!

AirUCI Co-Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been awarded the prestigious Polanyi Medal from the 25^th International Symposium on Gas Kinetics and Related Phenomena which will take place July 22- 26 in Lille, France. Barb will be giving the keynote address in addition to the medal ceremony. Congratulations, Barb!

Dr. Christa Fittschen (Université de Lille, France), our Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, and Andrew Rickard (University of York, UK)

In an article on CNBC's web site, AirUCI faculty Rufus Edwards is quoted in an article about problems associated with cooking stoves used by 3 billion impoverished people worldwide.  The dangerous smoke — from wood, dung, or charcoal — shortens the lives of these populations, especially the women and children nearest the hearths.  In addition, the smoke is a significant source of air pollution, while cutting down trees diminishes forests, one of nature’s carbon-absorbing bulwarks against greenhouse gases.   Projects backed by governments, corporations, and philanthropic groups and individuals have been launched to replace these stoves, with limited success and with exaggerated reporting, but actual adoption and usage of the stoves was far lower than predicted while emissions standards were compromised.  “Health-based discussions have to be based on peer-reviewed science,” said Rufus, who has extensively assessed the health and climate impacts of stoves, including in studies for the EPA. “If it’s a political standard, so be it, but don’t call it healthy.”   Read the article

AirUCI faculty Steven Davis is quoted in an article in Inside Climate News which was prompted by his recent paper published in Science on June 27, 2018.  In addition to energy production and transportation as sources of CO2 emissions, other sources of climate pollution will prove particularly difficult.  The paper focused on three sectors—long-haul shipping and transportation, cement and steel production, and power generation facilities that are turned on only when needed—that won't be addressed by most current efforts to cut emissions.  "If we want to get to a net zero energy system this century, we really need to be scaling up alternatives now," said Steve.  Read the article