Draft:Prashant Kumar

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] His University of Surrey staff profile lists his qualifications as PhD (Engg-Cantab), MTech (Environment-IITD), BEng (Civil-IEI) and a Diploma in Civil Engineering.^[1] The California Air Resources Board notes that his doctoral work specialised in measurement and dispersion modelling of nanoparticles in the urban environment.^[3]

Kumar joined the University of Surrey as a Lecturer (2009–2012) and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer (2012–2015), Reader (2015–2017) and Professor and Chair in Air Quality and Health (from 2017).^[1] He has been Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) since the centre's establishment in 2017.^[1][4]

Within the University of Surrey's Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, he joined the senior leadership team as Associate Dean (International) in 2020 and later became a founding Co-Director of the pan-university Institute for Sustainability in 2023.^[1] He is the Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded Network+ project Reclaiming Forgotten Cities (RECLAIM; EP/W034034/1).^[5]

He has also been involved in other UK research initiatives addressing urban sustainability and climate adaptation, including the UKRI-funded GP4Streets (DIY Greening Prescription for Climate Adaptation in Urban Streets) project and the EPSRC GREENIN Micro Network Plus (Greening the Indoors: Transformation of indoor environments in a changing climate).^[6][7]

Kumar also holds visiting and external academic roles, including Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin and Guest Professor at Southeast University.^[1]

Kumar's research spans air quality, public health and the built environment, with a stated emphasis on atmospheric aerosols and nanoparticles, their measurement and physicochemical characterisation, and dispersion modelling across vehicle-wake, street and city scales using numerical, wind-tunnel and computational fluid dynamics methods.^[1] In University of Surrey reporting on the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award, his work is described as including research on air pollution impacts for children and young people, kitchen-based air pollution, and green-blue-grey infrastructure for mitigating air pollution and heat in urban areas.^[2]

A recurring theme in Kumar's work is the evaluation of nature-based interventions, such as vegetation barriers and other forms of green infrastructure, for reducing exposure to traffic-related air pollution in urban settings.^[1] A UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 impact case study reports that the Greater London Authority commissioned a report on green infrastructure to protect people from air pollution (2019) that was co-authored by the University of Surrey (with Kumar leading Surrey's contribution), the University of Birmingham and Transport for London.^[8]

Kumar has also contributed to research on indoor air quality, including global comparative studies of in-kitchen particulate matter exposure in low-income households and related mitigation considerations (for example, ventilation and cooking practices).^[9] The University of Surrey reports that he has supported public-facing guidance aimed at reducing kitchen air pollution exposure in low-income households.^[10]

As part of applied research and translation, Kumar's group has described decision-support approaches for designing roadside vegetation barriers to reduce exposure to traffic emissions, including the HedgeDATE tool (Hedge Design for the Abatement of Traffic Emissions).^[11][12]

Kumar is the founder of Guildford Living Lab, a University of Surrey-linked initiative described on his staff profile as supporting local collaboration on air quality and sustainability challenges.^[1] He is also listed as a trustee of the local charity Zero Carbon Guildford (ZERO).^[1][13]

In policy-facing activity, Kumar (on behalf of GCARE) has submitted written evidence to the UK Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry on urban green spaces.^[14]

The University of Surrey has also reported on public communication outputs associated with his air pollution work, including an air-pollution guidance booklet developed for school communities and later disseminated more widely in international contexts.^[15]

• Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award (International Education category; 2023 awards; awardees announced October 2024), California Air Resources Board.^[3][2]

• Haagen-Smit Prize for Best Paper (2023), for a paper on green infrastructure and air pollution abatement (co-authored by Kumar).^[16]

• Vice-Chancellor's Award "Researcher of the Year" (2017), University of Surrey.^[1][4]

• Named a Clarivate "Highly Cited Researcher" (top 1% by citations in Web of Science by field and year), with University of Surrey announcements listing him among the institution's Highly Cited Researchers in 2022 and 2023.^[17][18]

• Abhijith, K. V.; et al. (2017). "Air pollution abatement performances of green infrastructure in open road and built-up street canyon environments – A review". Atmospheric Environment. 162: 71–86. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.05.014.

• Kumar, Prashant; et al. (2019). "The nexus between air pollution, green infrastructure and human health". Environment International. 133: 105181. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105181.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)

• Barwise, Yendle; et al. (2021). "Hedge design for the abatement of traffic emissions (HedgeDATE): An online decision support tool to promote healthier living". Sustainable Cities and Society. 64: 102967. doi:10.1016/j.scs.2021.102967.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)

• 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)