(Salt Lake City) —The University of Utah Program for Air Quality, Health, and Society will host its second annual retreat on Monday, April 14 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. University researchers will come together to discuss ideas for addressing the consequences of Utah's air quality at University Guest House, 110 Fort Douglas Blvd., Salt Lake City.
The event will feature keynote speaker Jonathan Samet, Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California and Director of the USC Institute for Global Health. Samet was recently named chair the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other sessions throughout the day include a Utah legislative update on air quality policy and highlights from researchers awarded seed-grant funding earlier this winter to investigate air quality.
The Program for Air Quality, Health and Society launched last year with a mission to:
- Bring together investigators from across the University of Utah and beyond to establish multidisciplinary collaborations devoted to studies concerning air quality.
- Be a recognized, credible resource for information concerning air quality for use by universities, business and industry, education, and public policy decision makers.
- Exploit the distinctive and varied environment in the state to generate new knowledge concerning the impact of air quality on human health and society.
- Explore all facets of air pollution, from its generation to health-effects mechanisms in individuals to societal implications and ways to reduce or mitigate these effects.
With support from the Offices of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Research, and the College of Engineering the program provides an important opportunity to catalyze collaboration.