Mingyi WangAssistant Professor

Research Focus:

Atmospheric Chemistry, Aerosol Microphysics, and Climate Change

Email:

mingyiw@uchicago.edu

Biography

I am an atmospheric scientist focusing on aerosol particle formation and its impact on air quality and climate change. Before joining UChicago, I was a Schmidt Science Fellow at Caltech, where I worked on aerosol microphysics in the upper atmosphere using aircraft measurements. I received my Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, where I studied the chemical mechanisms that drive particle formation in various environments. My research was recognized with the Sheldon K. Friedlander Award from the American Association for Aerosol Research.

Research Interests

The major remaining uncertainty in climate prediction comes from the aerosol-cloud-climate interactions in the atmosphere. Therefore, an accurate representation of aerosols and clouds is the foundation of any effort to forecast long-term climate change. My research leverages interdisciplinary expertise in atmospheric chemistry and aerosol microphysics to understand how aerosol particle formation drives urban smog, how aerosol forcing will change in future emission scenarios, and how aerosol dynamics can inform climate intervention research. My lab aims to achieve this goal by providing novel approaches to (a) constrain the oxidative chemistry of emerging pollutants for particle nucleation, (b) resolve microphysical processes in particle growth and survival, and (c) develop a particle dynamics model with experimental and meteorological inputs for real-world deployment.

Selected Publications

• Wang, M.; Xiao, M.; Bertozzi, B; Marie, G; Rörup, B; Schulze, B; . . . Donahue, N. M. (2022). Synergistic HNO3–H2SO4–NH3 upper tropospheric particle formation. Nature, 605, 483–489. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04605-4
• Wang, M.; He, X.-C.; Finkenzeller, H.; Iyer, S.; Chen, D.; Shen, J.; . . . Sipilä, M. (2021). Measurement of iodine species and sulfuric acid using bromide chemical ionization mass spectrometers. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4187–4202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4187-2021
• Wang, M.; Chen, D.; Xiao, M.; Ye, Q.; Stolzenburg, D.; Hofbauer, V.; . . . Donahue, N. M. (2020). Photo-oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons produces low-volatility organic compounds. Environ. Sci. Technol., 54, 7911–7921. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02100
• Wang, M.; Kong, W.; Marten, R.; He, X.-C.; Chen, D.; Pfeifer, J.; . . . Donahue, N. M. (2020). Rapid growth of new atmospheric particles by nitric acid and ammonia condensation. Nature, 581, 184–189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2270-4
• Wang, M.; Yao, L.; Zheng, J.; Wang, X.; Chen, J.; Yang, X.; Worsnop, D. R.; Donahue, N. M.; Wang, L. (2016). Reactions of atmospheric particulate stabilized Criegee intermediates lead to high-molecular-weight aerosol components. Environ. Sci. Technol., 50, 5702–5710. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02114