June 17, 2025

Jeffrey Collett receives 2025 Frank A. Chambers Excellence in Air Pollution Control Award

Frank A. Chambers (1885–1951) was a founder of the Smoke Prevention Association of America, a forerunner of the Air & Waste Management Association, and was instrumental in building the foundation for A&WMA. His pioneering ideas for smoke control were employed by many cities across the United States. The Frank A. Chambers Excellence in Air Pollution Control Award is presented annually by the Association for outstanding achievement in the science and art of air pollution control. It requires technical accomplishments considered to be major contributions, the merits of which have been widely recognized by persons in the field. The coverage is intentionally broad, since it recognizes achievement in any line of technical endeavor in air pollution control, from pure research to applied science.

A&WMA presents the 2025 Frank A. Chambers Excellence in Air Pollution Control Award to Jeffrey L. Collett, Jr.

Jeff Collett grew up on the Oregon coast where he developed a deep appreciation of the natural environment. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout, was a state debate champion, and graduated as valedictorian from Neahkahnie High School in Rockaway, Oregon, before heading to MIT for his undergraduate studies. At MIT, he majored in chemical engineering and received the department’s Roger de Friez Hunneman Prize in recognition of outstanding academic performance. After graduating from MIT (’84), Jeff earned an M.S. (’85) and PhD (’89) at Caltech in Environmental Engineering Science. The focus of his graduate research was precipitation and cloud chemistry. Jeff completed a postdoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zurich, 1989-91), where he studied aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in the Swiss Alps.