Lei Zhu
Enrico Fermi Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemistry at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL (1991-1993)
PhD in Physical Chemistry at Columbia University, New York, NY (1991)
MA in Physical Chemistry at Columbia University, 1987
Lei Zhu, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health. She completed her doctoral training at Columbia University. She was the Enrico Fermi Postdoctoral Scholar in the Chemistry Division at Argonne National Laboratory during 1991-1993. She joined the Wadsworth Center in 1993 and subsequently joined the faculty at UAlbany.
Dr. Zhu’s research program has been designed to investigate and understand what controls the atmosphere’s energy balance and how chemical reactions impact composition, pollutant and oxidant formation in the earth’s environment. Answers to these questions are highly relevant to understanding atmospheric climate change, as well as controlling air pollution and protecting public health. To characterize gas phase spectroscopy and chemical reactions, Dr. Zhu uses cavity ring-down spectroscopy, FTIR, and mass spectrometry as her primary experimental methodologies. Many atmospheric processes and reactions occur on the surfaces at the ground and on aerosols. Dr. Zhu’s group has developed an innovative approach based upon a variant of cavity ring-down technique, Brewster angle cavity ring-down spectroscopy, to determine UV/visible absorption cross sections of adsorbed molecules/ions and to investigate molecular/ionic species adsorption on surfaces. Dr. Zhu’s research has been supported by NSF.
Research interests
- Light interaction with gases and particles and associated impacts on atmospheric radiative balance
- Photochemistry
- Reaction kinetics
- Heterogeneous chemistry
- Ice nucleation and ice film optical properties