17 May 2022
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Professor Catherine Noakes, a leading expert in ventilation and the transmission of airborne infection, has been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.
Noakes, professor of environmental engineering for buildings at Leeds University, was recognised for her contribution to research on indoor air quality and the transmission and control of airborne infection.
In delivering Professor Noakes’ citation for this award, Dr Christopher Iddon, chair of the CIBSE Natural Ventilation Group, said: “The importance of good indoor environments has never been so prominent in public discourse and Professor Noakes has helped raise this public knowledge through her many appearances on national news and radio shows.
"It is this lifetime of work and her recent dedication to the national efforts during the pandemic, that the CIBSE Natural Ventilation Special Interest Group proposed Cath for an honorary lifetime CIBSE membership.”
Much of Professor Noakes’ work has gone on to inform CIBSE and government guidance. Specifically, Noakes supported CIBSE in producing guidance on ventilation for COVID-19 and she has contributed to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on ventilation for control of the virus.
Professor Noakes’ knowledge of ventilation and infection transmission led her to becoming one of the government’s key scientific advisers on COVID-19. In recognition of her work, she was received an OBE in September 2020.