Sensing Change: Alastair Lewis
This interview was conducted as part of the Institute’s yearlong Sensing Change initiative exploring the interconnections between art, science, and our changing environment.
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.
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
Alastair Lewis talks about the difficulty of presenting the public with emissions and pollution data.
Earth is an extraordinarily complex system and Alastair Lewis explains how atmospheric chemistry fits in.
Instead of spreadsheet and raw data, art can be utilized to engage people with the scientific world around them.
Alastair Lewis explains the societal impacts of his research on atmospheric chemistry.
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?
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: