40 Under 40 Recognition Program

The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists is proud to introduce the AAEES 40 Under 40 Recognition Program.

This program was introduced to recognize talented individuals who have, either personally or as part of a team, been responsible for helping to advance the fields of Environmental Science or Environmental Engineering in a demonstrable way within the last 12 months. A nominee must be under 40 at the end of the calendar year in which they are nominated.

Winners are chosen by a panel of past recipients who weigh equally business successes and civic/philanthropic activities.

Click here for the full criteria and nomination forms.

2025 Recipients

Ariel J. Atkinson, Ph.D.
Project Manager - Applied Water Quality Research
Southern Nevada Water Authority

Dr. Ariel Atkinson is a Project Manager for the Applied Water Quality Research team at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Ariel works with engineers, postdocs, and students on needs-driven research in support of SNWA and Las Vegas Valley Water District’s treatment facilities, distribution system, and groundwater wells. She also leads (as PI or co-PI) a number of funded (WRF, USBR, and WaterStart) research projects on Legionella, UV-LED, DAF, and ozone nanobubbles. Her groundbreaking Legionella occurrence and treatment research led to the implementation of the first municipal-scale UV-LED reactor in the America's and securing ~$9M to fund the equipping of up to 28 wells with UV-LEDs and restoring appx120 MGD of capacity. Ariel also volunteers on the Executive Committee and Board for the International Ozone Association (IOA-PAG), chairs the IOA-PAG's technical program committee, serves as a Project Advisory Committee member on WRF projects, and is an Associate Editor for AWWA Water Science.

Prior to SNWA, Ariel received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Appalachian State University, working with Dr. Carol Babyak on soil characterization. She worked in air quality monitoring at Eastern Research Group for a few years, before pursuing her PhD in Environmental Engineering from UNC Chapel Hill and working with Dr. Orlando Coronell on the development of anti-biofouling membranes. Ariel also did a postdoc with Dr. Paul Westerhoff, P.E. at the NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment at Arizona State University.

Joe Charbonnet, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Iowa State University

Dr. Joe Charbonnet is an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Iowa State University. Charbonnet’s research focuses on two of the most pressing topics of environmental engineering today: PFAS contamination and water reuse. Charbonnet is a leader in the fields of PFAS identification and forensics. Proposed only two years ago (in an award-winning perspective in Environmental Science & Technology Letters) Charbonnet’s scale for communicating PFAS identities has already become the gold standard for reporting the results of nontargeted PFAS analysis. His research tracking the sources of PFAS contamination has been extensively cited and has made Charbonnet a sought-after presenter on PFAS forensics. His work on engineered geomedia for stormwater recycling bridges the divide between fundamental science and applied systems unlocking hundreds of new acre-feet of water each year.

Charbonnet particularly excels as an educator. He has taught the principles of environmental engineering and water chemistry to rapt audiences in the auditoriums of Iowa State University and UC Berkeley, all the way to middle school classrooms and even inside the walls of San Quentin State Prison. His teaching and mentoring have contributed to the development of new PhDs and professors across the US. As relatively new assistant professor himself, he has already graduated two members of his research group into careers in the public sector and private consulting.

Outside of academia, Charbonnet is a husband to the best environmental engineer he knows, and the father of two of the most efficient producers of biosolids in the country.

Jiannan (Nick) Chen, Ph.D., A.M. ASCE
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
University of Central Florida

Dr. Jiannan (Nick) Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2015, where he received the Norman Severson Award for Outstanding Graduate Students. Following his Ph.D., Dr. Chen worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Virginia before joining UCF in 2020.

Dr. Chen’s research focuses on landfill containment systems, life-cycle assessment of waste management, waste geotechnics, and recycling programs and education. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, and his Pollutant Fate and Transport Processes and Geochemistry Laboratory has secured over $1 million in funding from sources, including the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), EPRI, Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste, FDOT, PNNL, NSF, DOE, NIH, and industry partners.

Dr. Chen serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) and as Scholarship Chair and Board Member of the A&WMA Florida Section. He was recognized as a top reviewer for the journal of Waste Management (Elsevier) in both 2018 and 2023. Actively involved in education and workforce development, Dr. Chen is currently serving as the faculty advisor for the CRESP Early-Career Program and the ASCE UCF Student Chapter.

Rebecca Ciez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering & Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Purdue University

Dr. Rebecca Ciez is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. Prior to Purdue, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. Her research combines methods from engineering, quantitative policy analysis, and economics to consider the economic and environmental impacts of energy systems and technologies. She applies these methods to energy technologies that are part of the electrification and decarbonization transition, including battery energy storage systems, residential and industrial heat pumps, hydrogen electrolysis, steel electrification, and direct air capture. Nonprofits, national laboratories, and academic institutions have sought Dr. Ciez’s contributions to policy framing: she has participated in energy transition policy workshops hosted by the Clean Air Task Force, NREL, and University of Calgary’s Net Zero Electricity Research Initiative. Her lab’s research has been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, US Department of Energy, Purdue’s Center for High Performance Buildings, and NSF.

Dr. Ciez’s work has been published in journals including ACS Energy Letters, Joule, and Nature Sustainability, and has been covered by publications including Science Magazine, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, and IEEE Spectrum. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Sherri Cook, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Colorado Boulder

Dr. Sherri Cook is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her BS from Virginia Tech and her MSE and PhD from the University of Michigan. Dr. Cook is focused on improving our understanding of and ability to generate sustainable solutions, especially to help overcome global shortfalls in reliable access to safe water and sanitation. Her research and teaching focus on generating a foundation of data, understanding, and tools to help transform treatment of, and access to, high quality water and sanitation without incurring unacceptable risks to human health, financial stability, and the environment.

She developed three novel courses focused on teaching sustainability principles to undergraduate, graduate, and non-engineering students. Her research thrusts are: (1) Charting pathways for sustainable water and waste management systems by applying sustainability assessment methodologies to existing and novel technologies to enable sustainable water treatment technology development and implementation; she conceptualized and evaluated a new treatment system, which removes micropollutants from wastewaters using biochar generated from wastewater solids, and a landfill circular economy system, which treats landfill gas and leachate using biochar generated from diverted organic waste. (2) Advancing sustainability-based evaluations and engineering decisions by developing new methods and decision frameworks to promote universal and sustained sanitation; she created a formal framework for including social considerations and local context in design and implementation processes for sanitation, PFAS, and drinking water systems. (3) Advancing environmental biotechnology applications to enable sustainable civil infrastructure; she co-founded a company that produces zero-carbon bio-cement.

Jeseth Delgado Vela, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Duke University

Dr. Jeseth Delgado Vela is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University. She integrates molecular tools and modeling to understand how microbial community interactions and dynamics affect engineered water treatment systems. Dr. Delgado Vela earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering and M.S. at the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She was a recipient of the Ford Foundation Dissertation Award, was named an Early Career Research Fellow by the Gulf Research Program, and was awarded an NSF CAREER Award.

Sarah Fakhreddine, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Sarah Fakhreddine is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Fakhreddine’s research focuses on developing water management solutions that holistically address issues of water quantity and quality. She investigates fundamental hydrologic and biogeochemical processes that control the fate and transport of contaminants and nutrients in complex systems, including highly developed watersheds. Her work applies laboratory, numerical modeling, and field-based approaches to translate the fundamental processes into actionable engineering approaches that protect water quality for human and ecosystem health.

Dr. Fakhreddine’s previous work has developed strategies to protect water quality during managed aquifer recharge (MAR), an increasingly used freshwater enhancement strategy. Her findings elucidated fundamental processes controlling the mobilization of naturally occurring metals during MAR. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, her projects have produced guidance documents and support tools for water managers and regulators. Currently, her team is conducting a large-scale analysis of potential opportunities and limitations to MAR, including water quality impacts, across principal aquifers of the United States. This national assessment is part of a ~$2M United States Environmental Protection Agency funded project.

Dr. Fakhreddine received her Ph.D. in Environmental Earth System Science and M.S. in Environmental Engineering and Science from Stanford University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Sustainable Water Resources group and the University of Texas at Austin and served as a fellow in the Climate Resilient Water Systems group at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Alex Gorzalski, Ph.D., P.E., PO
Founder
One Water Engineering

Dr. Gorzalski is the founder of One Water Engineering, an environmental consulting firm focused on water treatment. He assists water systems, technology companies, and universities with developing and testing new treatment technologies at bench and pilot scale. One Water Engineering also operates laboratory facilities for evaluating commercial and novel sorbents for the removal of micropollutants, including PFAS.

Prior to founding One Water Engineering, Dr. Gorzalski worked for a large water utility serving Washington, DC and a national consulting firm in California and North Carolina. His water utility work focused on capital project delivery and operations, where he managed a 120 MGD water treatment plant. As a consulting engineer, he served as his firm’s national co-lead for emergency preparedness and designed water treatment plants, including serving as the engineer of record for the design of PFAS treatment facilities.

Dr. Gorzalski graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a licensed engineer in four states and a certified water treatment plant operator.

Sarah-Jane Haig, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
School of Public Health
University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Sarah Haig is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a secondary appointment in the School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Haig received her PhD in Civil Engineering and MSci. in Microbiology from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. After concluding her Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Microbiology of the Built Environment fellowship and a Dow Sustainability postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan she joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in September 2018.

Dr. Haig’s research group studies microbial exposures in the built environment. Operating at the intersection of engineering, environmental microbiology, environmental chemistry, and public health her group assesses and mitigates health risks associated with pathogens transmitted within the built environment, with a specific focus on drinking water systems. Since 2018, her interdisciplinary program—funded by agencies like HUD, EPA, NSF (including a 2024 CAREER award) have tackled issues in building plumbing, water treatment, indoor air quality, and microbial risk assessment. Using a combination of traditional microbiological techniques, modern molecular methods, and multivariate statistical analyses her team advances knowledge, develops solutions, and informs strategies to improve indoor environments to safeguard public and environmental health.

Ling Nathanael Jin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Health Technology and Informatics
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr. Ling Nathanael Jin is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Health Technology and Informatics. He leads the Health and Environment Advancement Lab (HEAL), focusing on interdisciplinary research that integrates environmental chemistry, toxicology, and microbiology. His work addresses critical global challenges, including air pollution and human health, and marine pollution and wildlife health.

Dr. Jin's research on toxic components of airborne fine particulate matter and microbial risks of plastic pollution has garnered significant attention, leading to multiple invitations from Nature for his team to contribute insights on these pressing issues. His studies on marine toxicants affecting the health of green turtles and dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef and Chinese White Dolphins in Hong Kong, inform local conservation strategies. He has received several Best Paper and Most Popular Paper Awards from leading journals in recognition of his pioneering discoveries.

Beyond research, Dr. Jin actively mentors the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers, fostering their professional and personal development, which has led to numerous prestigious awards for his students and postdocs. He engages in various editorial initiatives to connect established and emerging scholars, stimulating knowledge dissemination and global debates on critical environmental issues. Through his leadership and mentorship, Dr. Jin is dedicated to advancing the integrated goals of One Sustainable Health.

Dr. Jin wishes to thank his mentors, collaborators, family, and especially his HEALers for supporting HEAL’s mission in research and outreach.

Hanyang Li, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
San Diego State University

Dr. Hanyang Li is currently an assistant professor of environmental engineering at San Diego State University. She has been recognized for her groundbreaking scientific contributions to aerosol and air quality research and her commitment to environmental justice. Her graduate and post-doctorate training spans multiple disciplines within engineering, specifically in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Environmental Engineering, providing her with a robust and diverse foundation for her innovative research.

Her innovative research includes developing a state-of-the-art toxic metal aerosol analyzer, significantly enhancing the capabilities of low-cost sensors in environmental monitoring. She has also improved climate models through advanced machine learning algorithms, contributing to a better understanding of particle light absorption. Dr. Li actively works with underserved communities, training them to use low-cost air sensors and developing user-friendly data analytical tools to interpret air quality data, demonstrating her dedication to addressing environmental justice issues. As an assistant professor at San Diego State University, she has created an inclusive and supportive learning environment for students from diverse backgrounds, developed and taught courses emphasizing interdisciplinary knowledge, data analysis, and hands-on learning, and mentored female students and those from underrepresented groups. She has secured multiple research grants from federal and state agencies as well as industry, leading projects that span laboratory experiments, field observations, and computational analysis. Dr. Li’s collaborative spirit and interdisciplinary approach have positioned her as a leader in advancing air quality monitoring and climate science.

Cresten Mansfeldt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering
University of Colorado Boulder

Dr. Cresten Mansfeldt is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering and the Environmental Engineering Program, where he has been a faculty member since 2019. Dr. Mansfeldt earned his PhD at Cornell University, following his undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota. He further refined his expertise during a postdoctoral fellowship in the Environmental Chemistry Group at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. His research is driven by the dynamic interplay between natural and built environments, with a particular focus on water reuse, the built environment microbiome, and the impacts of natural disasters like wildfires on urban systems. His past research projects include monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in campus wastewater, evaluating the risks associated with synthetic biology products, and exploring the bioethics of emerging biological innovations in environmental engineering. His current research projects explore the impacts of contaminants resulting from wildland-urban interface, tracking synthetic biology products in the environment, and strengthening our understanding of direct and de facto water reuse.

As an educator, Dr. Mansfeldt teaches courses on material flows, from carbon and energy cycling by microorganisms to waste material management in urban infrastructure. He is deeply committed to equipping the next generation of environmental engineers with the skills to address complex global challenges. Inspired by the interconnectedness of natural and engineered systems, Dr. Mansfeldt's work exemplifies a forward-thinking approach to solving environmental issues, ensuring sustainable and resilient urban environments in the face of a changing world.

Brett Poulin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Toxicology
University of California, Davis

Dr. Brett Poulin is an Assistant Professor in the department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Davis. He received B.S. degrees in Environmental Chemistry and Molecular Biology (2008) from the University of California Santa Cruz and an M.S. (2013) and Ph.D. (2016) in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. After completing his graduate work, Dr. Poulin was a science lead for 4 years at the U.S. Geological Survey.

He joined the faculty of University of California, Davis in the Fall of 2020. The mission of his research is to advance the understanding of the chemistry and toxicology of trace metal contaminants in both man-made and natural environments. A portion of his research program focuses on the neurotoxic element mercury, a contaminant transported atmospherically over regional and global distances that impacts wildlife and humans worldwide. This research aids in guiding the remediation and management of reservoirs and wetlands, assessing climate-change effects on mercury cycling (e.g., permafrost thaw, sea-level rise), and understanding how organisms detoxify mercury. His group has active research in the Arctic investigating climate-driven releases of metals from enhanced acid rock drainage. He has been awarded the NSF CAREER Award (2022) and secured >$3M in extramural funding. As an educator, he has developed two new undergraduate courses at the University of California Davis that use modern pedagogical methods to learn about water quality and human and ecosystem health.

Outside of work, Dr. Poulin keeps active with his family (two kids and spouse) and enjoys biking, hiking, camping, and paddling.

Mim Rahimi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering
Cullen College of Engineering
University of Houston

Dr. Mim Rahimi is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston (UH), where he also holds an affiliate appointment with the Materials Science and Engineering Program. Before joining UH, Dr. Rahimi was a postdoctoral associate at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2018–2021), working with Prof. Alan Hatton.

Dr. Rahimi earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Bruce Logan. Dr. Rahimi’s research group at UH focuses on developing electrochemical processes for climate change mitigation, including a wide range of technologies for carbon capture from air, ocean, and point sources. His work has been recognized through the 2024 NSF CAREER Award, the Department of Energy (DOE) National EnergyTech University Prize, and the UH-Chevron Energy Transition Innovation Challenge. Please refer to Dr. Rahimi’s team website to explore more about the research activities: www.TeamRahimi.com.

Yun Shen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
George Washington University

Dr. Yun Shen is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at George Washington University (GWU). Before joining in GWU, Dr. Shen was an assistant professor in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Riverside from 2020 to 2022. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. After that, she had her postdoctoral training at University of Michigan from 2016-2019.

Dr. Yun Shen’s research is at the forefront of addressing critical challenges in the nexus of environment and health. She is investigating the transmission and control of environmental pathogens in a variety of environments (i.e., wastewater and drinking water), especially the clusters of pathogens in the complex environments. The outcomes of her research advance the understanding of pathogen health risks and facilitate the sustainable strategies of public health protection. By integrating interdisciplinary approaches, her research demonstrates a unique blend of innovation, dedication, and significant impact. Beyond her research, Dr. Shen is deeply committed to academic service and mentorship. She actively serves in the academic community by participating in conference/workshop organization, serving as a guest editor for journals, and reviewing proposals and journal articles. Moreover, she is passionate about fostering diversity in STEM and inspiring the next generation of environmental engineers in her research and teaching. She has mentored multiple students, including several high school students, from underrepresented groups in their research and independent studies.

Lauren Stadler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rice University

Lauren Stadler is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University. She is an environmental engineer whose research focuses on wastewater-based epidemiology, environmental antibiotic resistance, wastewater and resource recovery, and environmental synthetic biology. Her lab’s research focuses on envisioning wastewater as a source of (1) valuable information on public health and (2) resources that can be recovered. Stadler has been collaborating with the Houston Health Department since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to develop methods, implement, and operationalize a city-wide wastewater monitoring system that informs public health action. Stadler co-leads the Houston-based CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System Center of Excellence. She was named a “New Engineer to Watch” by the Water Environment Federation, a Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellow by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and a Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D Engineering Scholar, and is an NSF CAREER awardee.

Before joining the faculty at Rice, Dr. Stadler earned her B.S. from Swarthmore College and M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan. She was a Fulbright Scholar in New Delhi, India, where she studied nutrient removal from wastewater using algae, and also worked for a startup company that designed algae-based wastewater treatment systems.

Arjun K. Venkatesan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Dr. Arjun Venkatesan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Before joining NJIT, he served as the Associate Director for the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology and as a Research Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Currently, Dr. Venkatesan directs the Emerging Contaminants Research Laboratory (ECRL) at NJIT. His research group focuses on the occurrence, fate, and treatment of toxic chemicals in the environment, including PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, and pesticides. They also develop innovative analytical and monitoring approaches to assess human and environmental health risks associated with toxic exposures and drug use.

Dr. Venkatesan has secured and managed ~$7 million in external research funding from federal agencies (NSF, US DoD, US DOE, USBR), state governments (NY, NJ), private foundations, and industry partners. His group's work has been featured in prominent media outlets, including National Geographic, PBS programming, and the National Institutes of Health, among others.

He earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2009, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University in 2013. To date, Dr. Venkatesan has published over 55 peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as emerging contaminants, wastewater-based epidemiology, and water treatment.

Yuan Yao, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Systems
Sustainable Systems, and Chemical & Environmental Engineering
Yale University

Dr. Yuan Yao is an Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Systems, and Chemical & Environmental Engineering at Yale University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Dr. Yao’s research focuses on understanding the potential environmental impacts of emerging technologies and biomass utilization. She uses interdisciplinary approaches from industrial ecology, sustainable engineering, and machine learning to develop systems analysis tools supporting sustainable engineering and policy decisions. She develops new methods and integrated modeling frameworks to assess, advance, and optimize industrial systems for improved environmental and societal outcomes.

Dr. Yao has authored over 50 peer-reviewed research articles in prestigious journals, such as Science, Nature Chemical Engineering, Nature Sustainability, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Yao received the U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 35 Under 35 Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Laudise Medal from the International Society of Industrial Ecology for her outstanding achievement in industrial ecology and multi-scale environmental modeling. She also received the Early Career Award for an exceptional junior Environmental Science and Engineering professorship from the Chinese American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science.

She has served on the U.S. National Academies' provisional committee analyzing current life cycle assessment methods for low-carbon transportation fuels. Dr. Yao is an Associate Editor at Resources, Conservation & Recycling, a leading journal dedicated to sustainable resource management and conservation.

Jiachen Zhang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Unviersity of Southern California

Dr. Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). Her research group investigates the interactions of air quality, climate, and society. Her research group investigates the interactions of air quality, climate, and society, as well as quantify the climate, air quality, health, and equity impacts of engineering and policy solutions.

Dr. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from USC and a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Peking University. During her doctoral and postdoctoral studies, she utilized and enhanced various physics-based computational models to assess the climate and air quality impacts of adopting solar reflective cool surfaces and promoting the adoption of renewable energy. In her previous position as the Manager of the Mobile Source Technology Assessment and Modeling Section at the California Air Resources Board, she led a team of scientists and engineers to develop emission inventories for cars and trucks and inform pioneering policies aimed at promoting zero-emission vehicle adoption and reducing air pollutant emissions from mobile sources.

Dr. Zhang chairs the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee of the Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California and serves as the secretary of the Air & Waste Management Association West Coast Section. She was named by the All America Chinese Youth Federation (AACYF) to the 2022 “Top 30 Under 30,” an annual award for Asian American young aspiring leaders.

Past Recipients 

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