Remembering Kirk
January 19, 1947 – June 15, 2020
Kirk in Tamil Nadu, India, as part of a HAPIN field visit in 2017.
Professor Kirk R. Smith – or as his friends and colleagues affectionately called him, Kirk – passed away quietly, surrounded by family, at his home in Berkeley, California on June 15, 2020. As media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Times of India will tell you, Kirk was a towering figure in the world of environmental health and, undeniably, the founding father of global household air pollution science and advocacy as it exists today.
Kirk was a generous mentor, a selfless colleague, and a dear friend to those who knew him well. He has left this world far better than he entered it, and, in doing so, touched the lives of billions.
We struggle to find the words to eulogize a giant. We likely will never find them. But as we work to describe the tremendous impact he has had on those he knew and many, many more whom he did not, please find comfort in these articles remembering Kirk:
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Kirk R. Smith, Nobel Prize recipient and environmental health giant, dies at 73
CCAPC, of which Kirk was Founding Directory
Tribute at the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre (CCAPC, Delhi, India)
New York Times
Kirk Smith, Towering Figure in Environmental Science, Dies at 73
Washington Post
Kirk R. Smith, scientist who warned of health hazards of open-fire cooking, dies at 73
Lancet
Kirk R. Smith
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Obituary: Kirk Smith
Environmental Health News • John Holdren (Kirk’s PhD advisor and Science Advisor to President Obama)
Remembering Kirk Smith | Looking back at the life and achievements of the pioneering air pollution scientist.
Times of India
Pioneering scientist Kirk Smith put ‘chulha’ smoke on global health map
Daily Cal
Carrying forward his commitment to the underprivileged’: UC Berkeley professor Kirk Smith dies at 73
East West Center
IN MEMORIAM: PIONEERING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCHER KIRK SMITH
India Climate Dialogue
India loses champion of clean indoor air for women
Down to Earth India
Remembering Kirk R Smith (1947-2020) | Kirk leaves us with the power of imagining change and hope
The Indian Express
Prof Kirk Smith passes away: Pioneering researcher at forefront of efforts to address household air pollution
Clean Cooking Alliance
Statement from the Alliance on the Passing of Clean Cooking Advocate Dr. Kirk Smith
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
In Memoriam: Professor Kirk R Smith
The Tyler Prize
In Remembrance
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Tribute to Professor Kirk R. Smith
Kalpana Balakrishnan and SRIHER
Josh Rosenthal, Clean Cooking Implementation Science Network
Tribute from Chinese Colleagues