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Zezhen (Jay) Cheng
Chemist

Dr. Zezhen (Jay) Cheng is a chemist with the Terrestrial-Atmospheric Processes Integrated Research Platform at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. Cheng’s research uses microscopy, spectroscopy, and other instruments to understand the physical, chemical, and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols and their evolution during the atmospheric process.

Research Interests

  • Atmospheric aerosol physicochemical properties
  • Evolution of aerosol properties during transport and atmospheric aging
  • Optical properties of biomass burning aerosols
  • Instrumentation for aerosol sampling techniques

Education

  • PhD in Engineering, University of Georgia
  • ME in Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
  • BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University

Publications

2024

Vandergrift, G. W., D. N. Dexheimer, D. Zhang, Z. Cheng, N. N. Lata, M. M. Rogers, M. Shrivastava, J. Zhang, B. J. Gaudet, F. Mei, and S. China. 2024. “Tethered Balloon System and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Reveal Increased Organonitrates Aloft Compared to the Ground Level.” Environmental Science & Technology https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c02090. 

Li, Z., D. Nguyen, J. D. Bazak, K. S. Han, Y. Chen, V. Prabhakaran, T. T. Le, Z. Cheng, M. Song, V. G. Pol, K. T. Mueller, and V. Murugesan. 2024. “Stable Cycling of Mg Metal Anodes by Regulating the Reactivity of Mg2+ Solvation Species.” Advanced Energy Materials 14 (16): 2301544. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202301544. 

2023

Cheng, Z., M. Morgenstern, S. Henning, B. Zhang, G. C. Roberts, M. Fraund, M. A. Marcus, N. N. Lata, P. Fialho, L. Mazzoleni, B. Wehner, C. Mazzoleni, and S. China. 2023. “Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Internally Mixed Particle Populations at a Remote Marine Free Troposphere Site in the North Atlantic Ocean.” Science of the Total Environment 904: 166865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166865. 

Mathai, S., D. Veghte, L. Kovarik, C. Mazzoleni, K. Tseng, S. Bucci, T. Capek, Z. Cheng, A. Marinoni, and S. China. 2023. “Optical Properties of Individual Tar Balls in the Free Troposphere.” Environmental Science & Technology 57 (44): 16834–16842. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c03498. 

El Hajj, O., S. W. Hartness, G. W. Vandergrift, Y. Park, C. K. Glenn, A. Anosike, A. R. Webb, N. S. Dewey, A. C. Doner, Z. Cheng, G. S. Jatana, M. Moses-DeBusk, S. China, B. Rotavera, and R. Saleh. 2023. “Alkylperoxy Radicals Are Responsible for the Formation of Oxygenated Primary Organic Aerosol.” Science Advances 9 (46): eadj2832. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj2832. 

Tan, S., M.-T. Nguyen, D. Zhang, L. Zhong, Z. Cheng, S. China, G. E. Johnson, and V. Prabhakaran. 2023. “Electric-Field-Induced Assembly of an Ionic Liquid–Water Interphase Enables Efficient Heavy Metal Electrosorption.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15 (37): 44469–44481. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c07465. 

Ijaz, A., W. Kew, Z. Cheng, S. Mathai, N. N. Lata, L. Kovarik, S. Schum, S. China, and L. R. Mazzoleni. 2023. “Molecular and Physical Composition of Tar Balls in Wildfire Smoke: An Investigation with Complementary Ionisation Methods and 15-Tesla FT-ICR Mass Spectrometry.” Environmental Science: Atmospheres 3: 1552–1562. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ea00085k. 

Lata, N. N., Z. Cheng, D. Dexheimer, D. Zhang, and F. Mei. 2023. “Vertical Gradient of Size-Resolved Aerosol Compositions over the Arctic Reveals Cloud Processed Aerosol in-Cloud and above Cloud.” Environmental Science & Technology 57 (14) 5821–5830. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09498. 

Prussin, A. J., Z. Cheng, W. Leng, S. China, and L. C. Marr. 2023. “Size-Resolved Elemental Composition of Respiratory Particles in Three Healthy Subjects.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters 10 (4): 356–362. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00156. 

Royer, H. M., M. L. Pohlker, O. Kruger, E. Blades, P. Sealy, N. N. Lata, Z. Cheng, S. China, A. P. Ault, P. K. Quinn, P. Zuidema, C. Pohlker, U. Poschl, and A. J. Gaston. 2023. “African Smoke Particles Act as Cloud Condensation Nuclei in the Wintertime Tropical North Atlantic Boundary Layer over Barbados.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 23 (2): 981–998. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-981-2023. 

Vandergrift, G. W., N. N. Lata, S. Mathai, A. Ijaz, Z. Cheng, M. Shrivastava, J. Zhang, A. S. Md Shawon, G. Kulkarni, L. R. Mazzoleni, W. Kew, and S. China. 2023. “Case Study Evaluation of Size-Resolved Molecular Composition and Phase State of Carbonaceous Particles in Wildfire Influenced Smoke from the Pacific Northwest.” Environmental Science: Atmospheres 3: 1251–1261. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EA00058C. 

2022

Cheng, Z., A. Liyu, D. Dexheimer, N. N. Lata, G. Kulkarni, C. M. Longbottom, F. Mei, and S. China. 2022. “An Automated Size and Time-Resolved Aerosol Collector Platform Integrated with Environmental Sensors to Study the Vertical Profile of Aerosols.” Environmental Science: Atmospheres 2: 1263–1276. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ea00097k.

Cheng, Z., M. Morgenstern, B. Zhang, M. Fraund, N. N. Lata, M. A. Marcus, L. Mazzoleni, P. Fialho, S. Henning, B. Wehner, and C. Mazzoleni. 2022. “Particle Phase-State Variability in the North Atlantic Free Troposphere during Summertime Is Determined by Atmospheric Transport Patterns and Sources.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 22: 9033–9057. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9033-2022. 

2021

Cheng, Z., N. Sharma, K.-P. Tseng, L. Kovarik, and S. China. 2021. “Direct Observation and Assessment of Phase States of Ambient and Lab-Generated Sub-micron Particles upon Humidification.” RSC Advances 11: 15264–15272. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ra02530a.