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Alastair Lewis
We’re trying to make sure that the chemicals that are being controlled from emissions are the right ones, and that the technologies that are going to be used are going to be cost-effective, and that the impacts that we’re going to get are going to be worth having.
—Alastair Lewis
Visualizing the Complexity of the Atmosphere
Alastair Lewis talks about the difficulty of presenting the public with emissions and pollution data. However, the public has responded well to 3D imagery which highlights the complexity of atmosphere and the science behind it.
Alastair Lewis is professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of York, director for composition research in the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and theme leader for technology in the National Environment Research Council.
Atmospheric Chemistry: Part of the Puzzle in Understanding How the Earth Functions
Earth is an extraordinarily complex system and Alastair Lewis explains how atmospheric chemistry fits in. He says it is one small piece; a detail.
How are pollutants distributed in the atmosphere? What methods are best for separating and analyzing the trace chemicals that potentially have a big impact on climate change?
Employing Art to Engage and Provoke Scientific Thought
Instead of spreadsheet and raw data art can be utilized to engage people with the scientific world around them. Art can display a sense of dynamic engagement raw data cannot explains Alastair Lewis.
Lewis’s interdisciplinary work spans the globe and combines the development and use of cutting-edge and often miniaturized instruments with new methods of data handling and visualization.
Learn more about Lewis’s innovative research:
york.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/academic/h-n/alewis/
Public Understanding of Climate Change Research
Alastair Lewis explains the societal impacts of his research on atmospheric chemistry.
One of the interesting aspects of atmospheric chemistry is that you work on a subject that actually has an influence on a whole range of fields. So in some ways you can get people’s interest because people tend to have an interest in something in science, and at one end it’s just understanding how the earth functions.
—Alastair Lewis