Engineer to receive Nevada Medal

Wednesday, March 14, 2001 | 8:54 a.m.

John H. Seinfeld, a chemical engineer who developed the first mathematical models for describing urban air pollution, will receive this year's silver Nevada Medal from the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas on March 28.

Seinfeld focused on understanding the chemical and physical processes that occur in polluted city air. His early work in 1972 led to landmark papers on mathematical models for air pollution that were incorporated into the federal Clean Air Act.

Seinfeld, a Louis E. Nohl professor and former chair of the California Institute of Technology's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was one of the first scientists to describe the chemical processes that led to urban ozone.

Joining the faculty of the institute in 1967 he has supervised more than 50 doctoral students who have gone on to research careers in academics and private industry.

He has continued to be a leading figure in scientific advances in understanding how aerosols -- microscopic particles and droplets -- form and grow in the air. Seinfeld, 59, has published more than 400 papers and four books, including the textbook on atmospheric science, "Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change."

The Nevada Medal award also includes $10,000 in cash. Award ceremonies and Seinfeld's lecture also will be conducted in Reno March 26.