KSHI Seminar: Atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) Pollution
Join us for the next KAUST Smart-Health Initiative (KSHI) seminar:
Atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) Pollution
Prof. Chak K. Chan, Professor, Chemical Engineering; Dean, Physical Science and Engineering; KAUST
Abstract
Air pollution is responsible for millions of excess mortality annually. Atmospheric particulate matter (PM), or haze, impacts human health, visibility, the environment, and climate change. The atmosphere is a giant chemical reactor in which pollutants are generated, transported, and transformed under a primarily oxidative environment. To develop effective air quality management policies, a thorough understanding of the sources, atmospheric physical and chemical processes, and environmental and health impacts is needed, and it requires interdisciplinary collaborations. This talk promotes air pollution and atmospheric chemistry research across the KAUST community. I will start with an overview of PM characteristics and then show examples of field and laboratory studies to identify the abundance, sources, and chemical processes in producing secondary pollutants in the atmosphere. Finally, I will share some thoughts on research opportunities in air pollution in KAUST/KSA.
Bio
Chak Chan obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Ph.D. from Caltech. He is currently Dean of the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST. Before, he was at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the City University of Hong Kong. His research areas are in air pollution and aerosol chemistry. He studies gas-particle interactions, including hygroscopic uptake, phase transition, chemical transformation of aerosols, and their impacts. He led the HKUST Air Quality Research Supersite to comprehensively study the sources, formation, and chemical evolution of air pollutants in Hong Kong. He was the 8th Editor-in-Chief of Atmospheric Environment (2008-2019) and the first appointed outside the U.S. and Europe. He won the Haagen Smit Award in Atmospheric Environment (2015) and, more recently, the Best Paper Award in ACS Environmental Science and Technology Letter (2019) and the Best Review Award in RSC Environmental Chemistry: Atmosphere (2022). He has published over 250 papers with Google citations of over 22,000.
Host: Prof. Imed Gallouzi, Associate Director and COO, KSHI