How does smog form, and where does it go? Are toxic contaminants working their way deep into our hearts and lungs?
With some of the most powerful research tools, Professor Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and her team at AirUCI tackle these and many other questions concerning our well-being and that of our planet. The AirUCI group gathers and analyzes samples of atmospheric gases from around the world, unravels the molecular secrets of smog, and pushes forward new technologies to cut pollution levels and reduce society’s carbon footprint.
Finlayson-Pitts joined the faculty at the UCI Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Cal State Fullerton in 1974, and in 1994 moved to UC Irvine. Her research focuses on experimental studies of reactions that occur in the atmosphere, particularly those that form and grow particles and those that occur on surfaces. Professor Finlayson-Pitts is author or coauthor of more than 180 scientific publications and two books on atmospheric chemistry. She has mentored many students from undergraduates to graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to pursue a wide variety of careers. Professor Finlayson-Pitts' research and teaching has been recognized by a number of awards, including the 2004 American Chemistry Society Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology, election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union and the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. She received the Coalition for Clean Air Carl Moyer Award for Scientific Leadership and Technical Excellence and the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award from the California Air Resources Board.
PH.D., University of California, Riverside, 1973
M.S., University of California, Riverside, 1971, Chemistry
B.S., Trent University, 1970