Air Quality Management and Research in Southeast Asia

Erik Velasco: Research scientist with over 20 years of experience doing applied research in atmospheric sciences. He has led studies and participated in collaborative field campaigns to investigate the impact of urbanization and climate change on air quality, micrometeorology, and the emission of greenhouse gases. His findings have contributed to air quality and climate change mitigation programs, as well as improving public transportation plans and efforts to reduce urban warming. He studied mechanical and environmental engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and received his Ph.D from Washington State University. He has worked for research institutions in Mexico, the United States, and Singapore.

Armando Retama: Over 30 years of experience as an air quality monitoring specialist. He has contributed to improve air quality monitoring in Mexico and Latin America. For 16 years, he oversaw Mexico City’s air quality monitoring network. He consolidated the network and made it the backbone of the city's environmental management to address the threat posed by air pollution, becoming it one of Latin America’s most important and reliable networks. He also conducts research on the subject, specializing in atmospheric chemistry. He studied chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Dimitris Stratoulias: Senior scientist and data expert with more than 15 years of experience in academic and non-profit organizations. He is leading evidence-based R&D efforts and guiding geospatial information services for Earth Observation programs through the development of data streams, machine learning algorithms, real time information systems, science, and advocacy. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Remote Sensing from the University of Leicester awarded with a Marie Curie fellowship, a M.Sc. in GIS from the University of Edinburgh, and a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Athens. He has been living in 10 countries across Europe and Asia.