Surrey air quality expert joins Defra’s national advisory group

Professor Prashant Kumar, the Founding Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), joins the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) – Defra’s independent scientific advisory committee on air pollutants – following a competitive shortlisting and interview process. 

The AQEG advises Defra and the devolved administrations on the levels, sources and characteristics of air pollutants across the UK, contributing directly to the country’s air quality evidence base and informing national policy.

Along with his role at GCARE, Professor Prashant Kumar is Chair in Air Quality and Health at Surrey’s School of Engineering and Co-Director of the University’s Institute for Sustainability. His research focuses on the sources, behaviour and health effects of air pollutants in cities – from traffic emissions and nanoparticles to indoor air quality and nature-based solutions for cleaner urban environments. 

One of the world’s most highly cited air pollution researchers, Professor Kumar received the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award from the California Air Resources Board, an accolade widely regarded as the highest honour in air quality science. He is Director of the UKRI-funded RECLAIM Network Plus, a trustee of Zero Carbon Guildford, and an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Southeast and Chongqing Universities in China.  

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Notes to editors 

• Professor Kumar is available for interview; please contact mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk to arrange. 
• More information about the AQEG can be found at gov.uk/government/groups/air-quality-expert-group