Women Leading the Way in Air Quality and Air Pollution Science
The fight for cleaner air is one of the most significant environmental challenges of our time, and at its forefront are exceptional women working tirelessly to uncover solutions to air pollution. From groundbreaking research on health impacts to shaping international policies, their efforts have been nothing short of revolutionary. This blog celebrates eight pioneering women who have advanced the science of air quality and air pollution. Whether you're a STEM enthusiast, an environmental advocate, or simply curious, you’ll discover how their work is transforming the state of our air—and our planet.
Dr. Mary Amdur
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Dr. Mary Amdur was away studying at Cornell in 1948 when a thick yellow fog rolled through her hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania leaving 70 people dead and many more sick. Experts at the time could not figure out what had caused this plague. A year later when Amdur graduated from Cornell and started at the Harvard School of Public Health, she decided to dedicate her studies to investigating this hometown tragedy. The American Smelting and Refining Company worked in the area with zinc and was being blamed for the deaths. They hired the lab that Amdur worked at to try and clear their reputation - but Amdur was an honest scientist that found a different result.
In 1953, she proved that pollution from zinc can cause severe injury and even death. Her ground-breaking work on respiratory toxicology later informed the Clean Air Act. She passed away in 1998 and is now remembered as a founding figure in air pollution science.
Monica Madronich
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Monica Madronich is known for her extraordinary contributions to computer modeling of atmospheric chemistry and air quality. Her work focuses on understanding how pollutants interact with sunlight, influencing phenomena like smog formation and ozone depletion.
Madronich’s research has established frameworks for regulatory bodies to forecast air quality and assess policy impacts in urban areas. Her ability to translate complex chemical processes into actionable insights has been crucial in bridging the gap between science and policy.
Professor Lidia Morawska
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Lidia Morawska grew up in southeast Poland where she completed most of her education. She conducted a variety of research at various renowned institutions focusing particularly on aerosols. She has been a key contributor to the World Health Organization, and helped to develop all air quality-related guidelines since 1990.
Recently, her expertise helped to guide the WHO’s guidelines on mitigating the spread of COVID-19. In 2022, she received the American Association for Aerosol Research Susanne V. Herring Award in recognition of her research and its significant impact on public health.
Nebila Lichiheb
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Nebila Lichiheb is an up and coming atmospheric scientist. Her research focuses on air quality issues and pollution as a result of transportation as well as the fate of pollutants already in our atmosphere. She uses computer models to measure the exchange of gases and particles between the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere in different ecosystems. She is working to better understand how we estimate pollution levels and assess the risks of pollution for human health and the environment.
While her career is still blossoming, Lichiheb’s contributions highlight the need for localized, context-appropriate solutions to global challenges. Her work is especially important in promoting air quality equity across nations.
Eva Pfannerstill
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Eva Pfannerstill is a German based atmospheric chemist. She works to better understand the air we breathe to fight air pollution and climate change. Her research is particularly focused on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While the concentration of VOCs is only in the parts per billion, they still have a powerful impact on the formation of ozone and particles which impact the climate and our health.
She has found that the composition of pollution in our air is constantly changing as a result of changes in vehicle manufacturing and environmental factors. For example, stressed vegetation may emit more VOCs.
Dr. Hazel M. Johnson
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Dr. Hazel M. Johnson grew up near New Orleans, Louisiana in a region now known as “Cancer Alley” due to the chemical industry’s impact on local health in the area. She was the only one of her four siblings to survive infanthood. She moved to Chicago in 1955 and then moved to the specific Altgeld Gardens neighborhood in 1962. A few years after moving to the neighborhood, her husband was diagnosed with lung cancer and died just weeks later. When connecting with others in the neighborhood, she learned that many others also experienced cancer as well as other lung ailments, children with birth defects, and high rates of miscarriage.
In 1970, Johnson founded People for Community Recovery to address these issues. She discovered that her neighborhood was located in the center of a 14 square mile area of pollution as a result of being so close to landfills, a chemical incinerator, a sewage treatment facility, steel mills, paint factories, scrap yards, and abandoned industrial dump sites. Over the next several decades, she worked for environmental justice for those in her neighborhood and other neighborhoods in similar situations. She is now known as the mother of the environmental justice movement and is remembered today for her years dedicated to protecting her neighbors from the negative health effects of pollutants.
Dr. Gina McCarthy
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Dr. Gina McCarthy is the former President and CEO of the Natural Resource Defence Council (NDRC). She was influential in shifting the paradigm in national environmental policy, linking it directly to public health. McCarthy played a key role in establishing the Clean Power Plan, which set the nation’s standards to reduce air pollutants from power plants.
Today, McCarthy leads climate policy efforts as the first-ever National Climate Advisor in the U.S. Her work demonstrates the critical link between robust air-quality science and effective policymaking for large-scale change.
Dr. Devra Davis
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Dr. Devra Davis is the founder and president of the Environmental Health Trust, a scientific think tank that researches and educates policymakers and the public on environmental health hazards. Previously, she was a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. She was also part of the team of scientists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for her research on climate mitigation policies. In 2009, she testified in the senate hearings on cell phone radiation and the health effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation.
Leading the Way Toward Cleaner Air
The achievements of these women highlight the importance of diversity in science. Their work not only enhances our understanding of air quality but also shapes how societies respond to environmental challenges. Whether lobbying for policy reforms, running field experiments, or mentoring other women in STEM, they embody progress and inspire future generations to take action.