--- description: Find out why Lidia Morawska is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: Lidia Morawska: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta98520a4d09cd685/698a1cb009208f5a69418410/lidia-morawska-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # Lidia Morawska by Scott Gottlieb  Lidia Morawska Anthony Weate/QUT Lidia Morawska Anthony Weate/QUTAnthony Weate/QUT When trying to slow the spread of a fast-moving virus, it is essential to know how that virus is spread. In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists overestimated the potential for contaminated surfaces to spread the virus, and we underestimated how far the aerosol particles that people exhaled could travel and remain infectious. It caused us to badly misjudge the risks in closed spaces where there was poor air circulation. Through the fog of this viral war, some scientists saw clearly. Lidia Morawska stands out among peers for her work in recognizing the importance of aerosol transmission and marshaling the data that would convince the World Health Organization and other authoritative bodies to do the same. She assembled a team of more than 200 scientists and public-health authorities to [recognize the role of aerosols](https://time.com/5883081/covid-19-transmitted-aerosols/ "undefined") in spreading SARS-CoV-2 and change how we measure and lessen our risk of contracting the virus. Her advocacy helped change practices everywhere from schools to workplaces, making these environments safer for more people around the world. _Gottlieb is a former U.S. commissioner of food and drugs_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/"},"headline":"Lidia Morawska","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:16:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:14.974Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta98520a4d09cd685/698a1cb009208f5a69418410/lidia-morawska-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta98520a4d09cd685/698a1cb009208f5a69418410/lidia-morawska-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/","name":"Lidia Morawska"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2021 TIME100 List","description":"See every 2021 TIME100 Honoree in One Minute","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZgB6AGK2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2021-09-15T10:45:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZgB6AGK2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095975/lidia-morawska/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```