Renyi Zhang is University Distinguished Professor and Holder of Harold J. Haynes Endowed Chair in Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University (TAMU). He received a Ph.D. from MIT and performed post-doctoral work at Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech. His research has covered a variety of areas in atmospheric, chemical, environmental, climate, and public health sciences, including (i) photochemical oxidation of hydrocarbons emitted from anthropogenic and biogenic sources; (ii) nucleation, growth, and transformation of aerosols; (iii) development of state-of-the-art instrumentation to measure trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere; and (vi) assessments of aerosol-cloud-climate interaction and air pollution on human health. His earlier research made important contributions to the understanding of stratospheric ozone depletion. His scientific endeavors have not only made breakthrough discoveries in these areas but have also provided insights into the impacts of anthropogenic activities on human health, ecosystems, and climate, which are critical to policy-making and mitigation for environmental and climate protections. He is an elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Meteorological Society, and American Geophysical Union. In 2016, he was honored by a named symposium “Formation & Transformation of Atmospheric Aerosols – From Air Pollution to Climate Change” at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Our Scientific Findings on COVID-19 Transmission
(Zhang et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2020; Li et al. Sci. Total Environ. 2020)
Airborne Particulate Matter and Children’s Health
(Zhang et al. Thorax, 2021; Rychlik et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2019; Wu et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2019)
Air Pollution and Hurricane Harvey
(Pan et al. Geophy. Res. Lett., 2020)
In the News
- The Medical News: Prenatal ultrafine PM exposure has adverse effects on children’s health, development
Particulate matter (PM) is a major component of air pollution that is increasingly associated with long-term consequences for the health and development of children. - CNN: School openings so far reveal science is right – masking works
In some places where schools have been open for a while now, such as Georgia and Hawaii, public health experts notice what happens when schools follow the science: classes go on without disruption as long staff and students wear masks. - 2021 TAMU Chemistry Open House
Two group members discuss our research between Hurricanes and Atmospheric Chemistry for the 2021 Chemistry Open House. - New Scientist: Air Pollution from chemical plants made Hurricane Harvey worse
Air pollution can make the local effects of hurricanes worse, according to a study of 2017’s devastating Hurricane Harvey. - TAMU Hispanic Heritage Month 2021
“Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope”. Mario J. Molina (1943-2020) – The Mexican-born Atmospheric Chemist and Nobel Prize Recipient and His Legacy with Texas A&M. - KBTX: Texas A&M study shows link between face masks and flattening COVID-19 curve
A study conducted by Texas A&M professor and graduate student looked at the correlation between face mask mandates and COVID-19 case trends.
Recent Publications
- Unexpected oligomerization of small α-dicarbonyls for secondary organic aerosol and brown carbon formation. Li et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. (2021)
- Gestational Exposure to Ultrafine Particles Reveals Sex-and Dose-Specific Changes in Offspring Birth Outcomes, Placental Morphology, and Gene Networks. Behlen et al. Toxicol. Sci. (2021)
- Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter. Johnson et al. Environ. Health Prev. Med. (2021)
- Multi-generation production of secondary organic aerosol from toluene photooxidation. Li et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. (2021)
- Explosive secondary aerosol formation during severe haze in the North China Plain. Peng et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. (2021)
- Assessing the Uncertainties in Ozone and SOA Predictions due to Different Branching Ratios of the Cresol Pathway in the Toluene-OH Oxidation Mechanism. Zhang et al. ACS Earth Space Chem. (2021)
- Carbenium ion-mediated oligomerization of methylglyoxal for secondary organic aerosol formation. Ji et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (2020)
- Hygroscopicity of organic aerosols linked to formation mechanisms. Liu et al. Geophy. Res. Lett. (2020)
- An unexpected catalyst dominates formation and radiative forcing of regional haze. Zhang et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (2020)
- Remarkable nucleation and growth of ultrafine particles from vehicular exhaust. Guo et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (2020)
Affiliations
- https://atmo.tamu.edu/people/profiles/faculty/zhangrenyi.html
- https://www.chem.tamu.edu/faculty/renyi-zhang/
– Researchers shall not claim their authority by labeling their specialty but shall make convincing arguments by presenting scientific evidence. “Scientists may depict the problems that will affect the environment based on available evidence, but their solution is not the responsibility of scientists but of society as a whole – Mario J. Molina, 1995 Chemistry Nobel Laureate”
Dr. Renyi Zhang's Group 