UT’s Joshua Fu has been chosen as the recipient of the prestigious 2018 Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award for his education efforts related to controlling air pollution.
Fu is a leading environmental researcher whose study of carbon released by burning oil flares helped NASA solve a riddle about black carbon in the Arctic. Additionally, his modeling of black carbon has helped the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Arctic Council speed up research on ground-level pollution.
The Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme also recently invited Fu to take part in a study on short-lived climate pollutants.
“Earning recognition from within your research focus is always a special feeling,” said Fu, the John D. Tickle Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “It’s validation of your work, your methods, and of the students that have come through your classes and research projects.”
Fu has directed projects for the US Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA.
Ripperton was a pioneering researcher in environmental engineering who conducted landmark studies related to hydrocarbons, automobile transmissions, pollution related to combustion, and the effect of nitrogen dioxide pollution on animals.
The Air and Waste Management Association established the honor in his memory in 1980, awarding it to faculty who have inspired students excel and those who have the ability “to teach with rigor, humor, humility, and pride.”
Fu will receive the award at the 111th Air and Waste Management Association Annual Conference and Exhibition in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 28.
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CONTACT:
David Goddard (865-974-0683, david.goddard@utk.edu)