Air Pollution Fighter
He started his air pollution research in 1948, when Southern California residents suffered stinging eyes and respiratory irritation from the smog. Although his original concern started from the sickness of his plants, he had received many requests from government agencies to investigate air pollution. He identified unburned hydrocarbons, ozone, and nitrogen oxides from automobile exhaust and industrial fuel combustion as primary precursors to smog, and he developed a test to measure the intensity of the smog. His research led the automobile industry to install positive crankcase ventilation, the first vehicle emissions control system, in 1961. In 1968 he was appointed the first Chairman of the California Air Resources Board by Ronald Reagan, California's Governor at the time. Reagan fired him in 1974 for refusing to weaken pollution control efforts.
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