The University of Surrey’s Professor Prashant Kumar has been recognised by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) who have awarded him this year’s Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award for his work in the Education, Community Service, & Environmental Justice sector.
Dr Arie J. Haagen-Smit, after who the award was named, is often described as the father of air pollution control, having been the first to draw a link between smog and automobile exhaust and industrial fuel combustion.
The awards have been an annual event since 2001 when Senator Byron Sher was recognised for his role in environmental policy, which included introducing the California Clean Air Act.
Professor Kumar was first mentioned on Air Quality News at the beginning of 2015, when he led a research team which monitored car drivers’ exposure to air pollutants at various points of a journey, finding that they were exposed to dangerously high levels of air pollution from when stationary at red lights.
His most recently appearance hereabouts was just five weeks ago, when we reported his appointment as an Advisory Expert to the main committee of the Global Open Indoor Air Quality Standard.
Professor Max Lu, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, said: ‘I have seen first-hand how passionate Prashant is about research that addresses indoor and outdoor air pollution. He has conducted many citizen science projects, helping people understand air quality standards in their neighbourhoods and has helped them develop ways to monitor and improve it.
‘Prashant lives by GCARE’s ethos – clean air for all. We are proud that his work at Surrey has been recognised with this prestigious Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award.’
Professor Kumar said: ‘I am truly honoured to have received the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award – an honour that would not have been possible without the support of my family and my colleagues at the University of Surrey, as well as my GCARE team members and collaborators all around the world.
‘It is also a reminder of how much there is yet to do. There are millions of people who lose their lives every year because of the quality of the air they breathe or because their town or city’s heat is too extreme for them to cope with. If our work gets us even a step closer to cleaner air, with cooler temperatures, then it would all have been worthwhile.’