Haagen-Smit Clean Air Awards

This page last reviewed February 3, 2012

Nominations for the 2011 Clean Air Awards is Now Closed

We expect to present the winners of the 2011 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award with their awards at the March 22, 2012 ARB Board Meeting. We will announce the winners just prior to the event.

Background

Dr. Haagen-Smit in a labBeginning in 2001, the Air Resources Board (ARB) annually recognizes and honors outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions toward improving air quality through their lifetime commitment, perseverance, leadership, and innovation in the areas of research, environmental policy, science technology, public education, or community service. Scientists, professors, legislators, activists, business leaders, and other esteemed persons in the air quality community have been previous winners.

Read about all of the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award recipients from 2001-2010 (PDF).

Congratulations to the 2010 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award recipients!

Check out the Press Release with a photo of Dr. Froines, Dr. Denton, and Dr. Edgar accepting their award!

Dr. John Froines - for his work in Environmental Health Research

Dr. Froines holds a variety of positions in health sciences and toxicology programs including chairman of California’s Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants, and director of the Southern California Particle Center and Supersite. Dr. Froines served as director of UCLA’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences for 25 years and was deputy director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health before coming to UCLA. He was recognized for his work in the area of environmental health research. Dr. Froines’ research includes the biochemical mechanisms of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects from particulate matter in air pollution. His findings have enhanced the understanding of toxic air contaminants as well as their impacts on public health. In addition, his dedication to translating scientific and technical information into a format that is accessible to decision makers has contributed to informed public policy and significant achievements in improving public health at both the national and international level.

Dr. Joan Denton - for her work in Environmental Policy

Dr. Denton served at the California Environmental Protection Agency for 13 years and was recognized for her work in the area of environmental policy. She performed scientific risk assessments for chemical regulations and informed government agencies, as well as the public, on the health and environmental risks of chemicals. She was also instrumental in identifying diesel particulate matter, environmental tobacco smoke, and lead as toxic air contaminants. Dr. Denton oversaw the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 also known as Proposition 65.

Dr. Bradley Edgar - for his work in Science and Technology

Dr. Edgar is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Cleaire, a San Francisco based company that develops advanced retrofitting technologies to reduce particulates and nitrogen oxides from the exhaust of diesel engines. He was recognized for his work in the area of science and technology. Currently more than 11,000 Cleaire diesel retrofits are in commercial use, dramatically reducing fine particles and smog-causing chemicals from polluting California’s air.

Who is Dr. Haagen-Smit?

The prestigious award program was named after Dr. Arie J. Haagen-Smit, a native of Utrecht in the Netherlands, who was a leader in developing air quality standards based on his research efforts. Dr. Haagen-Smit, known by many as the "father" of air pollution control, was a graduate of the University of Utrecht and a biochemistry professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena for 16 years before beginning his air pollution research in 1948. Through a series of experiments, he found that most of California's smog resulted from photochemistry (when exhaust from motor vehicles and industrial facilities react with sunlight to create ozone). This breakthrough is the foundation upon which today's nationwide air pollution standards are based. After serving for eight years as an original board member of ARB's predecessor, the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, Dr. Haagen-Smit became ARB's first chairman in 1968. In 1977, he died of lung cancer two months after the ARB laboratory in El Monte was dedicated in his name.

Dr. Haagen-Smit has been honored with another award program administered by Atmospheric Environment, a publication of original air pollution research and its applications. See more information on the Atmospheric Environment Haagen-Smit Prize and recent winners.

Resources

Review information about the 2008 Annual Haagen-Smit Symposium which focused on the role of land use and transportation in meeting AB 32 requirements and achieving California’s vision of a low-carbon future.

For more information on Dr. Haagen-Smit visit these links:


For more information on ARB's Clean Air Awards, contact Heather Choi at (916) 322-3893.

Photos Courtesy of the Archives, California Institute of Technology

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