The California Air Resources Board announced the winners of the 2010 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Awards, the premier award from state government recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions toward improving air quality. “Each of these three individuals has made a distinguished and lasting mark on California’s environment,” says CARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “Whether in the fields of policy, research or the development of breakthrough technologies, they have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to protecting the environment and public health.”
The 2010 recipients are:
• Dr. Joan Denton, former director of the State Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Denton served at the California Environmental Protection Agency for 13 years and was recognized for her work in the area of environmental policy;
• Dr. Bradley Edgar, president of Cleaire Advanced Emissions Controls. 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; and
• Dr. John Froines, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health. Froines holds a variety of positions in health sciences and toxicology programs. He was recognized for his work in the area of environmental health research.
The Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award was named after Dr. Arie Haagen-Smit, CARB’s first chairman, known to many as the “father” of air pollution control. His research concluded that most of California’s smog resulted from photochemistry, the reaction of sunlight with industrial and motor vehicle exhaust to create ozone. This breakthrough became the foundation upon which today’s air pollution standards are based.
