Extramural Research
John Froines Continues EPA STAR’s Rich Tradition of State Recognition as the Sixth EPA STAR Researcher to Receive the Prestigious Haagen Smit Award
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The California Air Resources Board (ARB) recognizes three individuals each year with the Haagen Smit award for their achievements in policy, research, technology development of breakthrough technologies through a lifelong commitment to protecting California’s environment and public health by improving air quality.
The Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award was named after Dr. Arie Haagen-Smit, ARB’s first chairman, known to many as the “father” of air pollution control, determined 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.
Dr. John Froines, continues EPA STAR’s rich tradition of receiving state recognition by receiving the Hagaan Smit Award. Announced in 2011, he was the 6th EPA STAR researcher to win the Haagen Smit award. Friones, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health holds a variety of positions in health sciences and toxicology programs including chairman of California’s Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants and was the director of the Southern California Particle Center established under EPA STAR grants R827252 and R832413. Froines also served as director of UCLA’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences for 25 years and was deputy director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health before moving to UCLA. Dr. Froines’ research on the health effects of particulate matter has enhanced the understanding of toxic air contaminants and their impacts on public health. In addition, his dedication to making scientific information useful to decision makers has contributed to informed public policy and significant achievements in improving public health at state, national and international levels.
Other previous EPA STAR researchers awarded the Haagen Smit Award include:
2009: Dr. John M. Peters - Dr. Peters is the Hastings Professor of Preventive Medicine in the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Environmental Health in the Department of Preventive Medicine. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology in UCLA’s School of Public Health. In his over 40 year career, Dr. Peters has published over 150 research papers, reports and chapters on subjects such as the health effects of air pollution, vinyl chloride and other chemicals in both the work and general environment. He is the principal investigator of the Children's Health Study, a landmark epidemiologic investigation to identify chronic health effects from exposure to air pollution in Southern California communities, which has followed 11,000 children for periods as long as 13 years. His EPA STAR research
2008: Alexander Farrell - Farrell joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2003 and became director of the campus's Transportation Sustainability Research Center in 2006. He was recognized internationally as a leading expert on transportation fuels and the role of transportation in climate change. His research interests included biofuels, hybrid electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, the low-carbon fuel standard and transportation sustainability. For the State of California, he was involved in the most central research and analysis projects for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and AB32, and he wrote and spoke frequently about plug-in hybrids.
2006: Dr. Arthur Winer - Dr. Arthur Winer is a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health. His 35-year career in air pollution research and teaching began in 1971 at UC Riverside’s Statewide Air Pollution Research Center (SAPRC) where he served as Associate Director of SAPRC from 1978 to 1986. Dr. Winer is extensively published in nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has mentored and taught more than 200 graduate how to conduct air pollution research.
2004: Dr. Roger Atkinson - Dr. Roger Atkinson is a distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Department of Chemistry, and Director of the Air Pollution Research Center at the University of California, Riverside. His pioneering research in atmospheric reactions of radicals and organic chemicals has elucidated the chemistry responsible for the formation of ozone and other air pollutants. His 30 years of research and service on review panels are reflected in his more than 300 publications.
2003: Dr. John Seinfeld - Dr. John Seinfeld is the Louis E. Nohl Professor in the Divisions of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Seinfeld is widely acknowledged for his pioneering research in the field of atmospheric science, and academic role in mentoring many of today’s leading scientists. Through both experimental and theoretical studies, he has made numerous contributions to our knowledge of the chemistry of the urban atmosphere, the formation, growth, and dynamics of atmospheric aerosols, and the role of aerosols in climate.
For a list of all past award winners, visit:
Recipients of the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award (PDF) (17 pp, 458 K)
To learn more about the award or to make a nomination see:
For more info on EPA STAR research of Haagen Smit award recipients see: