News Archive

2008 News

Pavel Jungwirth receives prestigious award!

Pavel Jungwirth, one of AirUCI's leading international collaborators, has been awarded the 2008 Spiers Memorial Lecture Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the U.K.  Congratulations, Pavel!

AirUCI is an ORU!

Effective July 1, 2008, AirUCI was accepted as an Organized Research Unit on the campus of the University of California, Irvine.  This designation ensures a stable level of campus support for our research institute and provides other institutional benefits while greatly expanding our faculty.  Details

Jonathan Raff receives NSF fellowship!

AirUCI  researcher Jonathan Raff applied for one of the NSF American Competitiveness Postdoctoral Fellowships and was informed that his is one of only four recommended for funding in 2008.  Way to go, Jonathan!

AirUCI team members honored!

At the 2008 Edward K.C. Lee dinner held at the University Club on May 29, two AirUCI  team members were presented with awards.  Matt Brown received the prestigious Lee Award for scientific achievements and personal characteristics of integrity, cooperation, and friendship.  Olivia Ryder received the Don L. Bunker Award, the Chemistry Department's most prestigious (and only) undergraduate honored at the Lee Dinner.  This award emphasizes research for a senior planning to pursue graduate work in chemistry outside of medicine.  Congratulations, Matt and Olivia!

In addition, two UCI Chemistry students — Jonathan Bass and Freddy Toledo — were presented with the second annual Michael E. Gebel award for second year graduate students working in environmental chemistry and who have had a period of work before continuing on to graduate school.  Best of luck, Jonathan and Freddy!  Emily A. Bruns and Michael B. Shaghafi

Barbara Finlayson-Pitts wins ACS Tolman medal!

AirUCI Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts is the 2008 recipient of the Richard C. Tolman Medal awarded by the Southern California American Chemical Society.  The Tolman Medal is presented each year in recognition of outstanding contributions to chemistry in Southern California.  Congratulations, Barbara!

Olivia Ryder wins ACS poster award!

AirUCI undergraduate researcher Olivia Ryder presented a poster on SAM ozonolysis at April 7th, 2008 evening session of the American Chemical Society meeting in New Orleans and won one of four poster awards for the whole session!  Good going, Olivia!

AirUCI presents at UCLA symposium!

On February 20, 2008, several AirUCI team members gave presentations and poster talks at UCLA's informal symposium on atmospheric chemistry.  Jim Pitts delivered the opening remarks, entitled "The Past is Prologue".

2007 News

Community Day Has Been Cancelled

We have cancelled our 2008 Community Day and hope this causes no inconvenience to those who planned to attend.  Look for details about possible future Community Day presentations on this News page.

AirUCI boldly goes where no EMSI has gone before!

Dr. Tracy Caldwell, NASA astronaut, took a bit of AirUCI with her on the August, 2007 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.  She was a Dreyfus Environmental postdoc with AirUCI PIs Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and John Hemminger at UCI in 1997-1998 and an undergrad with Prof. Finlayson-Pitts at Cal State Fullerton.  Dr. Caldwell brought a token of AirUCI with her into space — UCI mascot Peter the Anteater holding a flag with the AirUCI logo labeled "First EMSI in Space".  See photos

Professors Finlayson-Pitts and Hemminger were invited to attend the shuttle launch and conveyed to Dr. Caldwell the deep pride felt by the entire AirUCI team at her great success in her lifelong quest to become an astronaut.

Tracy visited UCI on October 17, 2007 to describe her research and discuss science in space.  Details

AirUCI's Jim Pitts interviewed in The Spectrum!

The Spring 2007 edition of The Spectrum, a prestigious publication of the Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, is entirely devoted to an interview with our own Jim Pitts!  Jim is one of the giants of photochemistry, and his experiences in the early days of the field are compelling to read.  We're very proud of you, Jim!

UCI Chemistry Department honors AirUCI team!

At the 2006-2007 Lee Dinner, held at UCI on May 23, 2007, several members of our AirUCI team were recognized for their outstanding contributions to UCI's Department of Chemistry.  Olivia Ryder received the Undergraduate ACS Award, Chris Harmon received an Outstanding Upper Division Teaching Assistant award, Samar Moussa received the Gebel Award, Maggie Walser received the Lee Award, Steve Mang and Eric Knudsen each received Hypercube Scholar Program awards, Tanza Lewis received the ACS Analytical Chemistry Division award, and Jennie Thomas received the Joan Rowland award.  Congratulations, one and all!

Prof. Nizkorodov wins prestigious award!

Sergey Nizkorodov, AirUCI researcher and PI, has been awarded a 2007 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Dreyfus Foundation to support the teaching and research careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences.  We're very proud, Sergey!

Olivia Ryder wins ACS award!

AirUCI undergraduate researcher Olivia Ryder has been awarded the Orange County chapter of the American Chemical Society Award this year for a junior with a high GPA and significant accomplishments in research. Congratulations, Olivia!

Maria Krisch wins L'Oréal USA Fellowship!

Maria Krisch of AirUCI has been selected as a recipient of the 2007 L'Oréal USA Fellowships for Women in Science award!  This prestigious award recognizes outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress.  Big congratulations, Maria!

Samar Moussa wins scholarship and award!

AirUCI's Samar Moussa has won a scholarship for academic excellence from the Air & Waste Management Association.  In addition, she was given the Milton Feldstein Award for her work in air quality. Way to go, Samar!

AirUCI's Tobias and Jungwirth publish "hot paper"!

AirUCI researchers Doug Tobias and Pavel Jungwirth have been recognized for their recent article published in Chemical Reviews, entitled “Specific Ion Effects at the Air/Water Interface.”  The paper is being featured on the ACS Publications website  as a “Hot Paper” as defined by Thomson ISI ® Essential Science Indicators.
 
Hot Papers are articles published within the last two years receiving the most citations over the most recent two-month period.  In a typical two-month period, ISI ® Essential Science Indicators recognizes more than 200 total Hot Papers in chemistry alone; amongst those Hot Papers in chemistry, articles published in ACS journals, like this paper, are typically responsible for nearly half of the top 100 ‘hottest’ papers!  Congratulations, Doug and Pavel!

Jim Pitts receives prestigious award!

AirUCI advisor Jim Pitts has been awarded the prestigious 2007 Carl Moyer Award given by the Coalition for Clean Air for his "Scientific Leadership and Technical Excellence,"  recognizing his lifetime of work on air pollution and atmospheric chemistry!  Way to go, Jim!

2006 News

Doug Tobias elected to AAAS!

AirUCI PI Doug Tobias was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in November 2006!  This is a great honor for Doug, and we offer him big congratulations!
 

Matthew Brown awarded ALS fellowship!

August 2006
AirUCI graduate student researcher Matthew Brown has been awarded the Advanced Light Source doctoral fellowship.  The ALS Doctoral Fellowship program allows beginning researchers to work at the frontier of synchrotron radiation research and to help advance state-of-the-art applications in many areas of physical and biological science.  Way to go, Matt!

Dr. Jean Futrell joins AirUCI Advisory Panel!

August 2006
Dr. Steve Colson has retired from PNNL and has stepped down as an original member of the AirUCI Advisory Committee.   We thank him for his service to AirUCI and wish him a fabulous time in retirement!

Joining us on the Advisory Committee is Dr. Jean Futrell of PNNL. He is Battelle Fellow, Chief Science Officer, and Chair of the Council of Fellows at PNNL.  He served as Director of PNNL's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) between 1998 and 2002 and is now Director Emeritus of the EMSL.  Dr. Futrell has authored over 600 publications, including 381 refereed journal articles.

Dr. Futrell has made significant research contributions, with particular interest in the development or modification of instrumentation for specialized research purposes including high-pressure and chemical-ionization mass spectrometers and tandem and triple-quadruple instruments.  His recent research has emphasized the use of molecular beam methods with state-to-state reaction dynamics.  Collision-induced dissociation of polyatomic ions and electron-transfer reaction dynamics (including dissociative charge-transfer reactions) are topics of special current interest.  We welcome him and look forward to his contributions to AirUCI!

Barbara Finlayson-Pitts a distinguished professor!

August 2006
AirUCI director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been awarded the title of UCI Distinguished Professor for her international renown in atmospheric chemistry and commendable teaching and service at UCI. Special congratulations to you, Barbara!

John Hemminger the new Dean of Physical Sciences!

July 2006
Michael R. Gottfredson, UCI Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost, announced on July 17, 2006 the appointment of PI John Hemminger as the new Dean of Physical Sciences at UCI.  All of us at AirUCI are so proud, John!

Nizkorodov group on the cover of PCCP!

In a recent paper featured on the cover of the June, 2006 issue of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, AirUCI PI Sergey Nizkorodov and his group describe photochemistry of oxidized organic monolayers on quartz nanoparticles. This study is part of the group’s ambitious efforts to understand the role of solar radiation in atmospheric chemistry of organic aerosol particles.
Read the article

AirUCI team edits special edition of Chemical Reviews!

AirUCI Professors Doug Tobias and Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, along with AirUCI international collaborator, Pavel Jungwirth, edited a special issue of Chemical Reviews on the "Structure and Chemistry of Aqueous Interfaces."  In this issue, Jungwirth and Tobias review their theoretical development and experimental validation of a new view of ion solvation at the air-water interface and its implications for the chemistry of aqueous particles in the atmosphere.
Read the article

John Hemminger receives AVS award!

May 2006
AirUCI PI John Hemminger has been awarded the American Vacuum Society's Medard W. Welch Award for outstanding theoretical and/or experimental research within the ten years preceding the year in which the award is made.  Congratulations, John!

Carlos Gutierrez named Teacher of the Year!

May 2006
AirUCI advisory committee member Carlos Gutierrez of CSULA has been named 2005 Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).  Said CSULA President Mames M. Rosser, "His graduates overwhelmingly become super-achievers, whose successes make the entire University proud."  Congratulations, Carlos!

Arthur Winer receives Haagen-Smit Award!

April 2006
Professor Arthur Winer, a member of our AirUCI advisory committee, has been awarded the 2006 Haagen-Smit Award by the California Air Resources Board.  This prestigious award is given for contributions to science and policy of air pollution and is most well deserved for Professor Winer.  
Many congratulations!

Barbara Finlayson-Pitts elected to NAS and AAAS!

April 2006
AirUCI Director Barbara Finlayson-Pitts has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences on April 24, 2006 as one of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 16 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.  Details

Professor Finlayson-Pitts was also named as a 2006 fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among 175 new fellows and 20 new foreign honorary members elected this year to AAAS.  This year’s new fellows also include former Presidents George H.W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and Rockefeller University President Sir Paul Nurse, and actor and director Martin Scorsese.  Way to go, Barbara!  Details

Dr. Jim Pitts among most cited researchers!

March 2006
According to Thomson Scientific, an independent firm that catalogs and distributes worldwide scientific literature, AirUCI's Jim Pitts is among the most cited scholars in any field over the past 20 years.  Thomson's ISI Highly Cited Index lists the top 250 people whose research papers were cited most often in papers published by other scholars in many different disciplines.  Among the top 250 most-cited scholars worldwide, 18 are from UCI, including Jim.  Big congratulations to you, Jim!

Finlayson-Pitts group on the cover of PCCP!

In a recent paper featured on the cover of the January 28, 2008 issue of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, AirUCI PI Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and her group describe a new mechanism for ozonolysis of unsaturated organics on solids: phosphocholines on NaCl as a model for sea salt particles.  Special recognition goes to Federico Karagulian and Christopher Dillbeck!  Read the article

Professor Nizkorodov addresses Symposium!

February 2006
On Wednesday, February 15, 2006, Professor Sergey Nizkorodov of AirUCI spoke at the 23rd Informal Symposium on Kinetics and Photochemical Processes in the Atmosphere, held in the Beckman Institute (BI) at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

This one-day conference has become a traditional annual gathering of
researchers from the Southern California region who work in fields related to Atmospheric Chemistry.  Invited speakers included:

• Dr. Anne-Marie Eldering, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Prof. Anna Krylov, USC
• Prof. Sergey Nizkorodov, UC Irvine

The symposium was organized by Stan Sander, Paul Wennberg, and Mitchio Okumura.   For more information, visit the symposium web site at http://www.ese.caltech.edu/kinetics

Alan Lloyd addresses overflow crowd!

January 2006
On January 18, 2006 AirUCI co-hosted an evening to honor Dr. Alan Lloyd, Secretary of California State EPA and member of the AirUCI advisory committee.  As part of the Chancellor's Distinguished Fellows series, Dr. Lloyd spoke on "Air Quality, the Environment, and Energy from Smog to Global Climate Change" at the Beckman Center on the UCI campus.  The response was overwhelming, with standing room only!  More info

2005 News

October 2005
AirUCI grad student researcher Jennie Thomas has been awarded an Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Fellowship.  The description reads:

"This particular fellowship program is one of UCI's most distinguished. Fellows for this program are selected on the basis of their academic accomplishments and promise as well as their leadership qualities consistent with the mission of the ARCS Foundation; i.e., representing the future leaders of tomorrow's American scientific community."

Congratulations, Jennie!

Tobias & AirUCI researchers publish three key articles!

June 2005
In the April 28 and May 12 issues of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Professor Doug Tobias and collaborators published three articles reporting combined theoretical and spectroscopic studies of the structure of the surfaces of aqueous electrolyte solutions (acid, base, and salts of atomic and molecular ions).

Among the collaborators are AirUCI researcher Professor Pavel Jungwirth of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and former UCI graduate students Professor Heather Allen of Ohio State University and Dr. Liem Dang of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

June 2005
AirUCI grad student researcher Nicholas Potter has been appointed a SURP Fellow at UCI for Summer 2005 by the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)/Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).  This appointment is in support of his research project, "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Uptake of Ozone in Oleic Acid at the Air-Water Interface" under the supervision of Professor Douglas Tobias.   Congratulations, Nick!

May 2005
Professor Donald Dabdub was awarded the 'Honorary Professor Award in appreciation for the hard work and dedication to excellence' for Pi Tau Sigma, an international mechanical engineering honor society.   This award is especially meaningful as it comes directly from these honor society students. Congratulations, Donald!

January 2005
In the January 28, 2005 issue of Science, the Hemminger group with the Salmeron group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab reported their findings on how surfaces of ionic solutions differ from the bulk.  The article, entitled Electron Spectroscopy of Aqueous Solution Interfaces Reveals Surface Enhancement of Halides, reports ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements that confirm theoretical predictions of enhanced halogen ion concentrations at the air-water interface of alkali halide solutions.
Read the article and click your browser's Back button to return to this page.  View the graphic

2004 News

December 16, 2004
Dr. Alan Lloyd, a member of our AirUCI Advisory Committee, was appointed Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  “Alan’s track record of success and balanced approach as chairman of the Air Resources Board and expertise in environmental policy and management makes him a tremendous asset to the people of California,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.  Congratulations, Alan!
Read the article and click your browser's Back button to return to this page. 

October 28, 2004
It was announced today that Dr. Sergey Nizkorodov will be the recipient of the 2005 Coblentz Award to be presented in June 2005.  This is one of the more prestigious awards in the field of vibrational spectroscopy, given to the Outstanding Young Spectroscopist under the age of 36, and a well deserved honor to Sergey — congratulations!  The list of prior awardees can be found at http://casnov1.cas.muohio.edu/coblentz/COBLIST.HTM

March 30th, 2004 – Anaheim California
While attending the American Chemical Society annual meeting at the Disneyland Hotel, Barbara Finlayson-Pitts was presented with the 2004 ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology.

At the same meeting, John Hemminger was presented with the 2004 ACS Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry.

Congratulations, Barbara and John!

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