The David Sinclair Award American Association for Aerosol Research

David Sinclair was born in New York City in 1901, the only child of 23-year-old writer Upton Sinclair. Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906, a novel that drew worldwide attention. David had a most unusual childhood, with a sporadic early education, a famous father devoted to social causes, and family acquaintances with many celebrities of the time. Sinclair earned his A.B. (Physics) at the University of Wisconsin (1924) and Ph.D. (Physics) at Columbia University (1937). It was at Columbia, during postdoctoral research ( ) with renowned scientist Victor K. laMer, that he became interested in aerosol physics.

His early contributions while at Columbia University as a student, instructor, and researcher included the Sinclair-LaMer aerosol generator verification of Mie theory the “Owl” for measuring particle size in nearly-monodisperse aerosols He retired in 1966, but in 1967 answered a want ad from a small government physics laboratory in Manhattan seeking a scientist to work on aerosol questions. This facility became the Environmental Measurements Laboratory. Sinclair’s publications from rank among some of the most noteworthy in the aerosol science literature.

The David Sinclair Award “recognizes sustained excellence in aerosol research and technology by an established scientist still active in his/her career. The individual’s research must have a lasting impact in aerosol science”. The award memorializes David Sinclair, one of aerosol science’s great innovators, known for his knowledge, ingenuity and energy.

2005 Recipient of the David Sinclair Award Richard K. Chang Henry Ford II Professor of Applied Physics, Department of Applied Physics, Yale University “Richard Chang’s contributions to the optics, laser diagnostics, and chemistry of aerosols, droplets, and microparticles have been both extensive and continuous for the last 30 years. ” “Richard has seen the world in an aerosol droplet, and he has shown that world to the rest of us.” “Inventive, seminal, and very often beautiful are proper adjectives to describe his work.”