Prof Chak-keung Chan discusses role of particulate matter (PM) in air pollution

Prof Chak-keung Chan, Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment and Dean of the School of Energy and Environment, gave a talk titled “Particulate Matter (PM) Air Pollution” on 1st June at City Seminar.

Prof Chan pointed out that PM is the major component of outdoor air pollution, which causes premature mortality on a global scale. He further elaborated the properties of primary and secondary PM, to explain how they degrade visibility and affect global climate. Based on the real time PM characterization, Prof Chan also presented some recent findings of air pollution in Hong Kong and China.

Professor Chan recieved BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986 and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1992. He joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as Assistant Professor in 1992 and rose to the rank of Professor in 2006. Trained as a chemical engineer, he researches on the interactions between PM and the atmosphere. He received Haagen Smit Award of Atmospheric Environment in 2015, Second Prize of the State Natural Science Award in 2010, and First Prize of the Natural Science Award in 2007. He was the first winner of the Asian Young Aerosol Scientists Award. He has been an Editor-in-Chief of Atmospheric Environment since 2008 and is the first scholar outside the US and Europe to hold such position for the Journal in its history of 50 years.

About City Seminar
The City Seminar 香港席明納was initiated by Prof Houmin Yan, Dean of the College, with an aim to discuss topics together (席Xí), to understand suchtopics in depth (明Míng), and to gain something of value from the discussions (納Nà). Professors and/or scholars are invited to explore a wide range of topics during the series.

To review Prof Chan's speech, please click here.
For more information about past and upcoming seminars, please visit the City Seminar website.