Draft:Prashant Kumar

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  • Comment: The use of AI to write drafts is not allowed, see WP:NEWLLM.
    In any event this biography does not appear to meet any of the criteria in WP:NACADEMIC. A human needs to write this article and make it clear which criteria applies here. ChrysGalley (talk) 11:32, 9 March 2026 (UTC)


Prashant Kumar
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
AwardsHaagen-Smit Clean Air Award (2023)
Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2022, 2023)
Scientific career
FieldsAir quality, environmental engineering
InstitutionsUniversity of Surrey
Websitewww.surrey.ac.uk/people/prashant-kumar

Prashant Kumar is a professor at the University of Surrey, where he is Professor and Chair in Air Quality and Health and founding director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE).[1][2] His research concerns air quality, environmental engineering and urban pollution exposure.[1] In 2024, he was announced as a recipient of the California Air Resources Board's Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award in the International Education category.[3]

Education

Kumar obtained a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a master's degree in Environmental Engineering and Management from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.[1][4]

Career

After his PhD, Kumar joined the University of Surrey as a Lecturer in 2009. He was later appointed Senior Lecturer in 2012, Reader in 2015, and Professor and Chair in Air Quality and Health in 2017.[1] Kumar is Co-Director of the University of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability and founding director of GCARE.[1] [5] He is the Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded Network+ project Reclaiming Forgotten Cities (RECLAIM; EP/W034034/1).[6]

Research

Kumar's research concerns air quality, public health and the built environment, including urban air-pollution monitoring, aerosol and nanoparticle measurement, dispersion modelling, exposure mitigation and indoor air quality.[1][7][8]

His work on urban green infrastructure has examined roadside vegetation barriers, including hedges, living walls and other interventions for reducing exposure to traffic-related air pollution.[9][10] His group has also developed HedgeDATE, a decision-support tool for air-pollution exposure mitigation by green infrastructure.[11]

Public engagement

Kumar founded Guildford Living Lab, a University of Surrey platform established in 2016 to support cooperation between researchers, local communities and stakeholders on air pollution and climate-related projects.[12][13] In 2023, Kumar gave evidence to the UK Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on urban green spaces and air-pollution mitigation.[14]

Awards and honours

  • Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award, International Education category, California Air Resources Board, 2023 awards.[3][15]
  • Named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2022 and 2023.[16][17]

References

  1. "Professor Prashant Kumar". University of Surrey. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  2. "Professor Prashant Kumar, Founding Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research". Air Quality News. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  3. "Haagen-Smit Award Recipients". California Air Resources Board. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  4. "Professor Prashant Kumar". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  5. "GCARE People!". Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), University of Surrey. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  6. "Reclaiming Forgotten Cities – Turning cities from vulnerable spaces to healthy places for people [RECLAIM] (EP/W034034/1)". UKRI Gateway to Research. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  7. Extance, Andy (20 March 2018). "Taking care of the air". Education in Chemistry. Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  8. Kumar, Prashant; et al. (2022). "In-kitchen aerosol exposure in twelve cities across the globe". Environment International. 162: 107155. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107155.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  9. Harrabin, Roger (17 May 2017). "Cities need 'hedges as well as trees' for environment". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  10. Guerrier, Simon (22 August 2025). "How best to green the streets". NewStartMag. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  11. Barwise, Yendle; et al. (2021). "The co-development of HedgeDATE, a public engagement and decision support tool for air pollution exposure mitigation by green infrastructure". Sustainable Cities and Society. 75: 103299. doi:10.1016/j.scs.2021.103299.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  12. "New Trustee: Prof. Prashant Kumar Joins the ZCG Board". Zero Carbon Guildford. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  13. "Guildford Living Lab". University of Surrey. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  14. Guttridge-Hewitt, Martin (15 December 2023). "Well-placed trees halve air pollution, Select Committee told". Environment Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  15. "Four luminaries to receive California's premier air quality award". California Air Resources Board. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  16. "Global accolade for seven Surrey academics placed in top 1% worldwide in their field". University of Surrey. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  17. "Surrey researchers among world's most influential". University of Surrey. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2026.