Gdańsk University of Technology researcher among NASA award-winning air quality mission team
Dr. Wojciech Wojnowski of the Faculty of Chemistry at Gdańsk University of Technology has been recognized as part of the international team awarded the prestigious NASA Group Achievement Award for contributions to the ASIA-AQ (Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality) mission.
In brief
Dr Wojciech Wojnowski of the Faculty of Chemistry at Gdańsk University of Technology has received the NASA Group Achievement Award for his part in the ASIA-AQ research mission. The ASIA-AQ mission covered South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan, with data collected from airborne platforms, satellites and ground stations, including the NASA DC-8 research aircraft. Wojciech Wojnowski took part in the campaign as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo and operated the PTR-ToF-MS instrument for real time analysis of volatile organic compounds. The results were published in open access on NASA platforms.
The award is one of NASA’s highest distinctions for teams delivering exceptional contributions to agency missions and scientific advancement. ASIA-AQ was designed as a large-scale international research campaign focused on collecting high-resolution air quality and atmospheric data across Asia.
Conducted between February and April 2024, the mission covered four countries - South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan - combining aircraft-based measurements, satellite observations, and ground monitoring systems.
Dr. Wojciech Wojnowski joined the project as a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the University of Oslo. During the airborne campaign, he participated in research flights aboard NASA’s DC-8 airborne laboratory, operating the PTR-ToF-MS instrument for real-time measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere.
Following field operations, the collected data underwent further analysis during his research stay at the University of Innsbruck under the AMERICIUM programme, funded through the IDUB initiative.
A key outcome of the project was the development of an extensive dataset on volatile organic compound concentrations in the Asian troposphere. The dataset has already been published in open access via NASA platforms and is expected to support future atmospheric chemistry studies, climate modelling, and environmental monitoring initiatives.
The recognition highlights the growing role of Polish researchers and institutions in international high-impact science projects, particularly in environmental analytics, atmospheric monitoring, and advanced measurement technologies relevant to global sustainability challenges.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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