QUT Covid expert Lidia Morawska in Time’s 100 most influential

Queensland University of Technology researcher Lidia Morawska was one of the first to recognise that Covid spread through the air.

QUT's Professor Lidia Morawska has been named by Time magazine as one of the world’s top 100 most influential people in 2021. Picture: Anthony Weate

Australian air quality expert Lidia Morawska has been named by Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2021 for her campaign to have international authorities concede that the Covid-19 virus is highly transmissible via airborne particles.

Professor Morawska, who is director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at Queensland University of Technology, has been named a top innovator with a citation that reads “her advocacy helped change practices everywhere from schools to workplaces, making these environments safer for more people around the world”.

READ MORE:Scientist warns of airborne spread | Aerosol expert in despair at inaction | Morawska led global team |

“The most fundamental measure to eliminate the virus from indoor air is ventilation: every public building must have control measures to provide adequate ventilation,” Professor Morawska said of the recognition.

In the early months of the pandemic, she marshalled about 240 scientists urging authorities to address airborne transmission of Covid-19 and in May this year led dozens of researchers in calling for a “ventilation revolution” to clean up indoor air.

She devised a plan for Australia to follow in achieving clean air and is part of the executive of OzSAGE, the national network of independent experts offering advice on how to preserve and promote the wellbeing of Australians through the pandemic and beyond it.

The Polish-born scientist was named a Lifetime Achiever in environmental sciences in The Australian’s Research 2020 magazine and was last year was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

The International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health she directs at QUT is a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Air Quality and Health.

“The need for a purpose of my work, beyond satisfying curiosity, is what motivates me every day,” Professor Morawska said.