Biography
Professional Links
Research Interests
With increasing interactions between human beings and the environment, air pollution and climate change are two major challenges many countries face. Atmospheric aerosols, especially with sizes smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), have significant health risks and climate effects due to their abilities to penetrate deeply into lungs and form clouds, while their formation mechanisms are not fully understood.
Dr. Zhang’s research aims to understand the physicochemical evolution and interactions of gas and particle phase compounds that form complex aerosol particles. Our group also examines the climate and health effects of aerosols in both outdoor and indoor environments. Current research projects include:
• Chemical evolution of organic aerosols using environmental chamber and chemical characterization techniques
• Climate effects of aerosols and their physicochemical properties: examining cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleation properties of complex aerosols
• The role of physicochemical properties of aerosols in air quality and climate change
• Applying kinetic and reaction mechanisms derived from laboratory studies to regional and global scale models
Graduate Students and Postdoc Opportunities
Professor Zhang is seeking to recruit graduate students and one postdoc to connect fundamentals of atmospheric chemistry with air pollution and climate predictions. Candidates will have the opportunity to work on projects (1) using environmental chambers, state-of-the-art aerosol and gas phase mass spectrometers to examine the chemical transformation of secondary organic aerosols; (2) applying advanced physical and chemical characterization techniques to examine the mixing state and phase state of ambient aerosols; (3) bridging liquid and ice cloud formation processes with aerosol physicochemical properties. Interested students should contact Dr. Zhang for more information.
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Harvard University, 2015
- B.S., Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 2010
Awards & Honors
- University of North Carolina Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence, 2019
- Best Papers of 2018 Environmental Science and Technology Letters, American Chemical Society, 2019
- Atmospheric Chemistry Colloquium for Emerging Senior Scientists (ACCESS XIV), Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2017
- U.S. National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015-2018
- National Undergraduate Scholarship, Peking University, 2008-2009
Selected Publications
- Wolf, M. J.; Zhang, Y.; Zawadowicz, M. A.; Goodell, M.; Froyd, K.; Freney, E.; Sellegri, K.; Rösch, M.; Cui, T.; Winter, M.; Lacher, L.; Axisa, D.; DeMott, P. J.; Levin, E. J. T.; Gute, E.; Abbatt, J.; Koss, A.; Kroll, J. H.; Surratt, J. D.; Cziczo, D. J., A biogenic secondary organic aerosol source of cirrus ice nucleating particles. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11 (1), 4834.
- Zhang, C.; Zhang, Y.; Wolf, M. J.; Nichman, L.; Shen, C.; Onasch, T. B.; Chen, L.; Cziczo, D. J., The effects of morphology, mobility size, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material coating on the ice nucleation activity of black carbon in the cirrus regime. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2020, 20 (22), 13957-13984.
- Zhang Y., Chen Y., Lei Z., Olson N. E., Riva M., Koss A. R., Zhang Z., Gold A., Jayne J. T., Worsnop D. R., Onasch T. B., Kroll J. H., Turpin B. J., Ault A. P. , Surratt J. D.: Joint Impacts of Acidity and Viscosity on the Formation of Secondary Organic Aerosol from Isoprene Epoxydiols (IEPOX) in Phase Separated Particles, ACS Earth & Space Chem, 2019, 3(12), 2646-2658. doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00209 (2019)
- Nichman L., Wolf M. J., Davidovits P., Onasch T. B., Zhang Y., Worsnop D. R., Bhandari J., Mazzoleni C., Cziczo D. J.: Laboratory Study of the Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation on Black Carbon Containing Aerosol, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12175-12194, doi:10.5194/acp-19-12175-2019 (2019)
- Zhang Y., Nichman L., Spencer P., Jung J. L., A., Heffernan B., Gold A., Zhang Z., Chen, Y., Canagaratna M., Jayne J. T., Worsnop D. R., Onasch T. B., Davidovits P., Chandler D., Surratt J. D., Kolb C. E.: The Cooling Rate- and Volatility-Dependent Glass-Forming Properties of Organic Aerosols Measured by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy. Environ. Sci. Technol. 53, 12366-12378, doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b03317 (2019)
- Olson, N. E., Lei Z., Craig R. Y., Zhang Y., Chen Y., Lambe A. T., Zhang Z., Gold A., Surratt J. D., Ault A. P.: Reactive Uptake of Isoprene Epoxydiols Increases the Viscosity of the Core of Phase-Separated Aerosol Particles." ACS Earth & Space Chem., 3, 1402-1414, doi: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00138 (2019)
- Riva M., Chen Y., Zhang Y., Lei Z., Olson N. E., Boyer Chelmo H. C., Narayan S., Yee L. D., Green H. S., Cui T., Zhang Z., Baumann K., Fort M., Edgerton E., Budisulistiorini S. H., Rose C. A., Ribeiro I. O., e Oliveira R. L., dos Santos E. O., Machado M. D., Szopa S., Zhao Y., Alves E. G., de Sa S. S., Hu W., Knipping E. M., Shaw S. L., Duvoisin Junior S., de Souza R. A. F., Palm B. B., Jimenez J. L., Glasius M., Goldstein A. H., Pye H. O. T., Gold A., Turpin B. J., Vizuete W., Martin S. T., Thoronton J. A., Dutcher C. S., Ault A. P., Surratt J. D.: Increasing Isoprene Epoxydiol-to-Inorganic Sulfate Aerosol (IEPOX:Sulfinorg) Ratio Results in Extensive Conversion of Inorganic Sulfate to Organosulfur Forms: Implications for Aerosol Physicochemical Properties, Environ. Sci. Technol., 53, 8682-8694, doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01019 (2019)
- Schmedding R., Ma, M., Zhang Y., Farrell S., Pye H. O. T., Chen Y., Wang C., Rasool Q., Budisulistiorini S. H., Ault A. P., Surratt J. D., Vizuete, W.*, α-Pinene-Derived Organic Coatings on Acidic Sulfate Aerosol Impacts Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Isoprene in a Box Model, Atmos., Environ., 213, 456-462, doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.06.005 (2019)
- Wolf M. J., Coe A., Dove L. A., Zawadowicz M. A., Dooley K., Biller S. J., Zhang Y., Chisholm S. W., and Cziczo D. J.: Investigating the Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation of Sea Spray Aerosols Using Prochlorococcus as a Model Source of Marine Organic Matter, Environ. Sci. Technol., 53(3): 1139-1149, doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05150 (2019)
- Zhang Y., Gong Z., Bateman A. P., Liu Y., Li Y., Geiger F. M., and Martin S. T.: Production and Measurement of Organic Particulate Matter in the Harvard Environmental Chamber, J. Vis. Exp. (141), e55685, doi: 10.3791/55685 (2018)
- Zhang Y., Liu P., Gong Z., Geiger F. M. , and Martin S. T.: Production and Measurement of Organic Particulate Matter in a Flow Tube Reactor, J. Vis. Exp. (142), e55684, doi: 10.3791/55684 (2018)
- Cui T., Zeng Z., dos Santos E. O., Zhang Z., Chen Y., Zhang Y., Rose C. A., Budisulistiorini S. H., Collins L. B., Bodnar W. M., de Souza R. A. F., Martin S. T., Machado C. M. D., Turpin B. J., Gold A., Ault A. P., and Surratt J. D.: Development of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method for the chemical characterization of water-soluble isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX)-derived secondary organic aerosol, Environ. Sci. Process. Impact, doi: 10.1039/C8EM00308D (2018)
- Zhang Y., Katira S., Lee A., Lambe A. T., Onasch T. B., Xu W., Brooks W. A., Canagaratna M. R., Freedman A., Jayne J. T., Worsnop D. R., Davidovits P., Chandler D., and Kolb C. E.: Kinetically controlled glass transition measurement of organic aerosol thin films using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3479-3490, doi: 10.5194/amt-11-3479-2018 (2018)
- Zhang Y., Chen Y., Lambe A. T., Olson N. E., Lei Z., Craig R. L., Zhang Z., Gold A., Onasch T. B., Jayne J. T., Worsnop D. R., Gaston C. J., Thornton J. A., Vizuete W., Ault A. P., and Surratt J. D.: Effect of Aerosol-Phase State on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from the Reactive Uptake of Isoprene-Derived Epoxydiols (IEPOX), Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 5, 167-174, doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00044 (2018)
- Liu P., Li Y. J., Wang Y., Bateman A. P., Zhang Y., Gong Z., Bertram A. K., and Martin S. T.: Highly Viscous States Affect the Browning of Atmospheric Organic Particulate Matter, ACS Cent. Sci., 4, 207-215, doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.7b00452 (2018)
- Bateman A. P., Gong Z., Liu P., Sato B., Cirino G., Zhang Y., Artaxo P., Bertram A. K., Manzi A. O., Rizzo L. V., Souza R. A. F., Zaveri R. A., and Martin S. T.: Sub-micrometre particulate matter is primarily in liquid form over Amazon rainforest, Nat. Geosci., 9, 34, doi: 10.1038/ngeo2599 (2015)
- Zhang Y., Sanchez M. S., Douet C., Wang Y., Bateman A. P., Gong Z., Kuwata M., Renbaum-Wolff L., Sato B. B., Liu P. F., Bertram, A. K. Geiger, F. M., and Martin S. T.: Changing shapes and implied viscosities of suspended submicron particles, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7819-7829, doi: 10.5194/acp-15-7819-2015 (2015)