Maintaining clean indoor air is essential for protecting our health and well-being. However, indoor air quality is influenced by a mix of pollutants from both indoor activities and outdoor sources. Everyday actions, such as cooking or using certain appliances, can release pollutants into our living spaces. Meanwhile, outdoor air pollution—like wildfire smoke—can seep indoors, compounding the problem.

Hear from Dr. Ran Zhao how keeping indoor air quality is essential to our health and what you can do to keep your air clean.

Dr. Ran Zhao received both of his Bachelor’s and PhD degrees in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada. He worked as an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology before becoming an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Alberta in 2018, and later an associate professor in 2024. His team is engaged in a wide range of research topics related to atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and climate change. Specific research directions include wildfire emissions, indoor air quality, cloudwater chemistry, and the development and application of low-cost air quality sensors. In particular, using low-cost sensors, his team takes a community-based, participatory approach to understand indoor air quality and the impact it receives from the outdoor environment. Dr. Zhao is the recipient of a number of awards, including the 2021 Clean Air Award from Alberta Captial Airshed, 2023 Chemistry Professor of the Year Award, and the 2023 Petro Canada Emerging Innovator Award. In 2024, he was also selected as one of eight early-career editorial board members of the academic journal, Indoor Environments.