Dr. Barbara Zielinska receives DRI's 2002 Dandini Medal of Science
Dr. Barbara Zielinska, a senior air quality scientist and atmospheric chemist at the Desert Research
Institute, has received DRI’s 2002 Alessandro Dandini Medal of Science for advancing the institute’s
capabilities for detecting, identifying and quantifying harmful chemical components in air pollution
samples. DRI President Stephen G. Wells said the Dandini Medal is the DRI's highest annual recognition
for scientific accomplishment by a member of its research faculty.
Zielinska, a member of DRI’s research faculty since 1989, has conducted research across the nation and
in several foreign countries, focusing on the characterization of organic compounds in ambient air, their
chemical transformation in the atmosphere, and determination of their emission sources. She also serves
on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee advising the
agency’s director on policy and technology applications.
Zielinska established and manages DRI’s state-of-the-art Organic Analytical Laboratory, a internationally
regarded facility for analyzing air samples for trace amounts of organic air pollutants identified as
being adverse to human health. The Laboratory also conducts analyses to identify the sources of volatile
organic compounds and organic particulates, many of which are known or suspected cancer causing
substances.
Wells said Dr. Zielinska received the minted medallion and $1,000 prize from Countess Angela Dandini, the
award's sponsor and widow of the medal's namesake, in formal ceremonies at DRI on November 22. Countess
Dandini established the award following her husband's death in 1992. The late Dandini had been an
inventor, engineer, scientist, educator and visionary who succeeded in establishing what is now the
Dandini Research Park in Reno, home to both the northern Nevada campus of DRI and
Truckee Meadows Community College.
Zielinska’s research has led to an extensive publication record, including 40 publications since joining
DRI, and she is regularly invited to give presentations on the collection and analysis of organic
emissions and ambient aerosols at meetings and symposia worldwide. Zielinska received her Ph.D. in
Chemistry from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a
full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international
scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists,technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research
projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $33 million operating budget consists of
research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state
of Nevada for administrative costs.