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2020 Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award - Yuan

Lyman A. Ripperton (1921–1978) spent his career as a practitioner in education and research for air pollution control. He left the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District in 1958 to assume a teaching and research position in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he initiated an air pollution education program that developed into one of the foremost of its kind in the United States. The Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award is presented to an individual who has inspired students to achieve excellence in their professional and social endeavors. It recognizes the ability that only a few educators possess: to teach with rigor, humor, humility, and pride. Recipients of this award are educators we would have chosen as our teachers if we had a choice. They are known by the accomplishments of their students.
 
A&WMA commends the following individuals and awards them the Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award in 2020:

Chung-Shin (Jonathan) Yuan, Ph.D.
Petros Koutrakis, Ph.D.


CHUNG-SHIN (JONATHAN) YUAN, Ph.D. 
Dr. Yuan is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU). He is a well-known scholar in the field of aerosol science and technology, both nationally and internationally. He has also had a highly distinguished career and is recognized as a key academic leader in air pollution abatement, air quality management, and environmental education.

Dr. Yuan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from National Cheng-Kung University (NCKU), a Master Degree in Environmental Engineering from National Taiwan University (NTU), and a Doctoral Degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) under the supervision of Professor Mark Rood. He is also a national certificated Environmental Engineer in Taiwan.

Dr. Yuan founded the A&WMA Taiwan Section in 1989, the first International Section for the Association. He is very active in academic affairs and has served as a leader of many associations and organizations. Particularly, he has been involved in organizing many national and international A&WMA Specialty Conferences in East Asia. He has also served as an Associate Editor of our Journal (JA&WMA) since 2011. Dr. Yuan contributes significantly to national and international academic efforts by providing technical assistance, technology transfer, and capacity building as well. As a well-known environmental educator, Dr. Yuan has advised more than 118 Master or Doctoral graduates, and he provides professional guidance to young scientists and encourages them to pursue environmental engineering, especially air pollution, as their career.

Dr. Yuan is highly recognized for his environmental research contributions and achievements that are addressing key issues facing the nation and the world. He has authored or co-authored 162 peer-reviewed Journal papers (including 12 published in JA&WMA), delivered 274 conference presentations (of which, 68 were presented at A&WMA Annual and Specialty Conferences), published 14 books or book chapters, and produced 19 patents for industrial emission control, indoor air cleaning, as well as air quality and meteorological monitoring. He has been invited more than thirty times as a keynote speaker or plenary presenter to highlight findings of his research at international conferences and workshops worldwide.

Prof. Yuan is an excellent educator evidenced by long-term student evaluation and the receivers of many teaching awards. He has received 2 Excellent Teaching Awards and 10 Best Teaching Awards from NSYSU. He is also the receiver of National Distinguished Engineer Professor Award from Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIEs) in 2011. Moreover, his professional contribution has been recognized by many national association awards including 4 Academic Awards of Best Research Paper of the Year from Chinese Institute of Environmental Engineering (ChIEnvE) and many Best Paper Awards from Annual Meetings of ChIEnvE and Taiwanese Association for Aerosol Research (TAAR). To recognize his outstanding contribution to aerosol science and technology, Dr. Yuan has been nominated and honored as the Fellow of TAAR in 2010.

In addition to being an extraordinary academic researcher, Dr. Yuan is continuously serving on several review panels for governmental reports and academic research proposals, and participates in many legislation task forces regarding local and national regulatory development. Based on his outstanding performance, Dr. Yuan was recruited as the Director General of the Environmental Protection Bureau in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan last year. During his tenure, he played a key role for the legislation and amendment of the related Environmental Act to mitigate pollution levels in the highly industrialized City of Kaohsiung. He has proposed several critical and efficient environmental policies and air quality improvement strategies. His control strategies and policies have proven to be very efficient, resulting in the best ambient air quality within the past five years.


Chung-Shin (Jonathan) YuanPh.D.

Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award