Renyi Zhang

About

Dr. Renyi Zhang is the Harold J. Haynes Chair in Geosciences and a University Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University. His scientific endeavors have advanced the understanding of four pressing global issues: air pollution, climate change, stratospheric ozone layer depletion, and the COVID-19 pandemic. His investigations have provided critical insights into the formation mechanisms and impacts of fine aerosols or particulate matter, including explaining the chemistry behind the historic 1952 London Fog and severe hazes in Asia. His research on aerosols and their radiative forcing has significant implications for climate studies and the assessment of black carbon's role in global warming. Zhang's work has transformed the understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions, their effects on climate, and regional air pollution's global impacts, which are essential for addressing climate change and weather extremes. Additionally, his research has shed light on adverse health effects related to ultrafine particles and provided pivotal evidence on airborne COVID-19 transmission, impacting public health policies. His earlier work on stratospheric chemistry contributed to understanding the mechanisms behind the Antarctic ozone hole. Dr. Zhang has played a leading role in establishing research centers and interdisciplinary programs focused on atmospheric chemistry and environmental impacts, mentoring numerous early career scientists and graduate students who…

Research topics

• Geology
• Chemistry
• Meteorology
• Materials science
• Atmospheric sciences
• Environmental chemistry
• Computer Science
• Chemical engineering
• Environmental science
• Physics

Selected publications

• Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 1315 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Various mitigation measures have been implemented to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including widely adopted social distancing and mandated face covering. However, assessing the effectiveness of those intervention practices hinges on the understanding of virus transmission, which remains uncertain. Here we show that airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route to spread the disease. By analyzing the trend and mitigation measures in Wuhan, Ch…

  DOI

• An unexpected catalyst dominates formation and radiative forcing of regional haze

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 266 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  alone is insufficient in mitigating haze occurrence and highlight the necessity of accurate representation of the BC chemical and radiative properties in predicting the formation and assessing the impacts of regional haze.

  DOI

• Remarkable nucleation and growth of ultrafine particles from vehicular exhaust

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 234 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  High levels of ultrafine particles (UFPs; diameter of less than 50 nm) are frequently produced from new particle formation under urban conditions, with profound implications on human health, weather, and climate. However, the fundamental mechanisms of new particle formation remain elusive, and few experimental studies have realistically replicated the relevant atmospheric conditions. Previous experimental studies simulated oxidation of one compound or a mixture of a few compounds, and extrapolat…

  DOI

• The effect of black carbon aging from NO2 oxidation of SO2 on its morphology, optical and hygroscopic properties

  Environmental Research · 2022 · 18 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Radiative and Microphysical Impacts of the Saharan Dust on Two Concurrent Tropical Cyclones: Danielle and Earl (2010)

  Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · 2024-01-27 · 10 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Saharan dust exerts profound impacts on the genesis and intensification of tropical cyclones (TCs). Such impacts on various stages of the TCs have yet to be explored. In this study, we utilize the Cloud‐Resolving weather research and forecasting model (WRF) to investigate the relative importance of the microphysical and radiative effects of dust on two hurricanes (Earl and Danielle) at different life stages under similar dynamical conditions in 2010. Both TCs were embedded in a dusty en…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Generation, Characterization, and Atmospheric Aging of Soot Particles from Diesel Combustion

  NSF · $332k · 2009–2013

• Collaborative Research: Demonstration of a New Framework for Studying Aerosol Indirect Effects

  NSF · $177k · 2004–2009

• Aerosol Growth and Chemical Compositions from Heterogeneous Processing of Organic Compounds

  NSF · $597k · 2009–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Min Hu

  State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control

  140 shared

• Song Guo

  110 shared

• Jianfei Peng

  Nankai University

  103 shared

• Yuan Wang

  Stanford University

  79 shared

• Jun Zheng

  72 shared

• Yuemeng Ji

  Guangdong University of Technology

  60 shared

• Misti Levy Zamora

  University of Connecticut

  57 shared

• Zhijun Wu

  State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control

  56 shared

Labs

• Renyi Zhang's GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D., Department of Chemistry and Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1993

• M.S., Physics

  University of Nevada Reno

  1989

• B.S., Atmopsheric Physics

  Nanjing Institute of Meteorology

  1983

Awards & honors

• Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation,…
• Outstanding Career Award, College of Arts & Sciences, TAMU,…
• Sigma Xi Outstanding Distinguished Scientist Award, TAMU, 20…
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science,…
• Honor Award for Scientific Excellence, Division of Environme…

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