AirUCI Community Day

Our fourth annual Community Day was to be held March 27, 2008 at UCI but was postponed until March, 2009.  This event is free and open to the public but registration is required.  Parking, morning coffee, and lunch are included in the registration.  Please contact Melissa Sweet at 949-824-2628 for details or to register.

On March 31, 2005 we held our first annual AirUCI Community Day and have presented two others in 2006 and 2007.  This event is geared toward the general public and includes lectures about – and demonstrations of – our research projects along with tours of our labs.  Participants mingle with our AirUCI team and learn about our research projects and equipment.

All three Community Days were very well received by those who attended, including representatives from federal, state, and local elected officials.  Many positive comments and enthusiastic remarks have been sent to us, which you can see below!

As an Environmental Molecular Sciences Institute, a big part of our mission is outreach to the scientific community, the 7-12 school system, and the lay public.  Community Day is designed to present our research to those who may not have a background in science, but nevertheless have an interest in air quality, climate change, and similar issues touched on by our research.   For an idea of the topics presented at Community Day, view the 2005 program.

Here are some comments from participants:

"A marvelous chance for the public to see a great use
of their tax dollars!"

"I enjoyed being given a chance to understand what you're
doing, and the interdisciplinary aspect is great!"

"Wonderfully interesting and well run.  With no technical knowledge, I found it easy to assimilate!"

"What a delightful way for a non-science person to understand
a portion of your research – thank you!"

"The session combined an appropriate mix of technical detail and broad description for an educated lay audience.  I found the personalities of speakers came through in their presentations and the entire day was informative and educational.  Well done!"

"The lab personnel were very helpful and knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about their work.  I will recommend this
program to everyone I know."

"I was so impressed.  Weeks later, I am still impressed and thinking about it."

"Wonderfully presented (especially student talks)!  The material was introduced with enough detail to make it fascinating, but without (unexplained) technical language.  Great job!" 

"I think the presentations were simple enough for a lay person
to get the general picture but stimulating enough for those
who were more informed technically."

"Coming into this event, I had never heard of this aspect of air quality.  It was presented in an interesting and informative way."

"The presentations were intriguing, knowledgeable, and very thought-provoking.  Thank you for a stimulating day – an  A+"

View photos from Community Day