Profile
Dr. George Wolff is an internationally known expert on air quality and the relationships between meteorology and air quality. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and edited two books on atmospheric chemistry, aerosol chemistry, long-range transport, visibility, acid deposition, and climate change. His experience includes: four years with an air pollution regulatory agency, 15 years as an atmospheric science researcher and 16 years in environmental public policy. Dr. Wolff has served as a scientific advisor to numerous organizations including U.S. EPA (former Chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)), the Health Effects Institute (HEI), Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO), the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Professional Experience
- 2008-Present -- Principal Scientist, Air Improvement Resource, Inc.
- 2003-2008 -- Technical Fellow, Principal Scientist, General Motors Public Policy Center
- 1998-2000 -- Adjunct Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University
- 1996-2003 -- Principal Scientist, General Motors Public Policy Center
- 1992-1996 -- Chairman, U.S. EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)
- 1992-1996 -- Executive Committee, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board
- 1992-1996 -- Principal Scientist, General Motors Environmental and Energy Staff
- 1992-2003 -- Michigan Environmental Science Board
- 1991-1995 -- Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Science, School of Public Health, University of Michigan
- 1990-1992 -- Principal Research Scientist and Manager, Air Quality and Global Warming Programs, General Motors Research Laboratories
- 1987-1997 -- U.S. EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)
- 1987-1990 -- Principal Research Scientist and Manager, Atmospheric Modeling and Assessment and Climate Change Programs, General Motors Research Laboratories
- 1985-2006 -- U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board
- 1984-1988 -- Adjunct Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Michigan
- 1981-1987 -- Senior Staff Research Scientist and Group Leader, Atmospheric Sampling and Analysis Group, Environmental Science Department, General Motors Research Laboratories
- 1978-1981 -- Group Leader and Senior Research Scientist, Atmospheric Sampling and Analysis Group, Environmental Science Department, General Motors Research Laboratories
- 1977-1978 -- Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Science Department, General Motors Research Laboratories
- 1975-1977 -- Associate Engineer and Director of Air Pollution Program, Interstate Sanitation Commission, New York, NY
- 1973-1975 -- Senior Air Pollution Engineer, Interstate Sanitation Commission, New York, NY
Recent Projects and Major Projects
- Provide expert scientific advice to SEMCOG and MDEQ for their State Implementation Plans and Air Quality Maintenance Programs.
- Provide critical assessments of EPA documents related to EPA NAAQS review process and present assessments to CASAC.
- Provided expert witness testimony for utility industry in New Source Review litigation.
- Provide scientific advice to the Health Effects Institute's NPACT research program.
- Conducted life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions for a new cellulosic ethanol manufacturing facility.
- Provided technical advice to a Great Lakes property owners association on environmental impacts of off-shore wind turbine deployment.
- Recipient of 2009 Charles W. Gruber Leadership Award by the Air & Waste Management Association for outstanding service to the association.
- Designed the organizational structure for HEI/EMA’s Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES) program to characterize emissions and health effects of post-2007 diesel engines.
- Prepared a state-of-the-art scientific assessment on the role of man-made greenhouse gas emissions in climate change.
- Prepared scientific position for industry in litigation against the adoption of greenhouse gas emission standards.
- Designed program to create an inventory of PM2.5 emissions from all facilities of a major U.S. manufacturer.
- Recipient of the 1997 Frank A. Chambers Excellence in Air Pollution Control Award by the Air & Waste Management Association.
- Principal investigator of the 1993 Southeast Michigan Ozone Study (SEMOS).
- Selected as one of the first Fellow Members of the Air & Waste Management Association in 1991.
- Award for Outstanding Services to Meteorology by a Corporation, 1989 Presented by the American Meteorological Society to General Motors Research Laboratories for our atmospheric science research.
- Principal investigator (1988-1990) of research programs that established the role of atmospheric deposition to damage on automotive coatings.
- Principal investigator of the 1987 Southern California Air Quality Study (SCAQS).
- John Campbell Award, 1984 Presented by General Motors Research Laboratories for outstanding contributions to pure or applied science.
- Environmental Achievement Award, 1983 Presented by General Motors Corporation for outstanding employee contributions in the environmental field.
- Co-chair of the 1980 International Conference on Carbonaceous Particulate Matter.
- Principal investigator (1978-1983) of research programs that quantified the relationship between the chemical composition of PM and visibility.
- Principal investigator (1976-1985) of research programs that established and documented the existence of the long-range transport of air pollution across the eastern half of the US.
- Principal investigator of the 1978 Denver Brown Cloud Study.
Professional Associations
- Air & Waste Management Association – Member since 1970
– Honorary Member 2009-present
– Fellow Member 1991-present
– Vice President 1988-1989
– Director 1986-1989
– Editorial Review Board 1984-2007, Chair 1994-1996
– Technical Chair of the 1985 Annual Meeting in Detroit
– Frank A. Chambers Award for outstanding technical achievement to the science of air pollution 1997
– Charles W. Gruber Association Leadership Award 2009
- American Meteorological Society
- American Geophysical Union
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Education
Ph.D., (Environmental Sciences), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 1974
M.S., (Meteorology), New York University, 1970
B.S., (Chemical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 1969