Haagen-Smit Clean Air Awards

This page last reviewed December 10, 2012

Congratulations to the 2012 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award recipients!

ARB Boardmembers with 2012 Winners Tom Cackette and Ron Loveridge, December 6, 2012, Diamond Bar, CA. Andrea Hricko not pictured.

“This year’s recipients reflect the ideals and dedication that have helped make California a pioneer in cleaning up air pollution,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “They’ve driven public policy with their innovative ideas, and educated our communities on the importance of air quality. All three have achieved sustained results through excellence in engaging with the general public, stakeholders and experts to make significant contributions to cleaner air and a healthier California.”

Learn more about the 2012 winners and all past winners.

Background

Beginning in 2001, the Air Resources Board (ARB) annually recognizes and honors outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions toward improving air quality throug 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 2001-2012.

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:

• Dr. Arie J. Haagen-Smit on Wikipedia
• The National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs of Dr. Haagen-Smit
• A Lesson from the Smog Capital of the World by A.J. Haagen-Smit (October 1970)
• Arie Jan Haagen-Smit by James N. Pitts, Jr. and Edgar R. Stephens (published in the Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, Volume 28 1978)

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