Yue Zhang

Watching students reach this milestone is one of the most rewarding parts of being a professor. Congratulations Dr. Gagan and Mingsheng! 🎓🔬

A very proud moment for our lab this week.

Our first PhD student, Dr. Sahir Gagan, @sahirgagan.bsky.social, successfully defended his dissertation on emerging pollutants, and Mingsheng Fang passed his MS defense on aerosol optical properties.🎉🥳

Real-Time Identification and Quantification of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Using High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry with Positive Reagent Ions Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging pollutants of concern, primarily due to their terminal degradation products, which exhibit environmental persistence and mobility. Several group...

Excited to share that my Ph.D. student Sahir Gagan @sahirgagan.bsky.social has published new research in Analytical Chemistry🧪
Using real-time CIMS, we developed the first online method to detect short-chain #PFAS & precursors at ppt levels. @pubs.acs.org
url-shortener.me/6SWO

@envirosci.acspublications.org

Effects of Atmospheric Aging on the Respiratory Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles Inhalation exposure to nanoplastic particles (NPPs) can lead to significant pulmonary toxicity; however, the effects of environmental processing on their toxicity remain poorly understood. This study ...

🎉 Congrats to my PhD student Alana Dodero on her new paper in Chemical Research in Toxicology!
We show that atmospheric aging makes nanoplastics more toxic to human lung cells through collaboration with Prof. Natalie Johnson’s group in public health.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

@envirosci.acspublications.org

Excited to share my PhD student Sining Niu’s new paper in ACS ES&T Air! 🎉
Using a VIA-CIMS system with NH₄⁺ ionization, the study simultaneously measures SOA physiochemical properties, including composition, volatility & viscosity in real-time.
👏 Congrats, Sining!
🔗 pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

It’s been my extreme honor to serve AAAR this year as your Conference Chair! It was great to reconnect with colleagues, friends & former mentees! Thank U especially to Amy Sullivan, Suresh Dhaniyala, and the Conference Planning Committee. Thanks Roya Bahreini 4 serving as the next Conference Chair.

Thank you Rachel for your dedicated work in AAAR!

10AC.4 4:45 pm, PhD student Sining Niu will talk about Chemical Composition and Volatility Distribution of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formed through Multiphase Chemical Reactions as with Different Sulfate Seed Acidity.

Please feel free to stop by! #AerosolChemistry #LEDChamber

Thursday of #AAAR2025, our group has two more talks both in the afternoon part of the aerosol chemistry session.

10AC.4 4:15 pm, I will talk about using our LED-powered Environmental Chamber with Modeling-Assisted Control to Form Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) Coatings from Multiphase Reactions

Conference chair Jason Surratt

The conference chair works tirelessly behind the scenes to make these meetings happen!! Awesome job and nice blazer @surrattairchemlab.bsky.social #AAAR2025

These presentations demonstrate our continued efforts to understand complex atmospheric processes, from PFAS detection in particles to the physicochemical behavior of secondary organic aerosol systems.

If you’re attending #AAAR2025, we’d love to connect and discuss!
#PFAS #SOA #Hygroscopicity

💧 3:45 PM | Session 7CC.2
Nahin Ferdousi-Rokib, Collaborator, Postdoc at JHU - Diffusion and Salting-In Effects on Isoprene-Derived Secondary Organic Aerosol Mixture Proxy Hygroscopicity

Excited for #AAAR2025, Our Group Member and Collaborator’s Presentations on Wednesday!

🧪 10:30 AM | Session 5CE.4
Xiangxinyue Meng (Postdoc) - Real-Time Detection of Particle-Phase Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) Using Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

🤝 Collaborators:
11:15 AM, 1AC.7 Laura Marie - Particle Photooxidants from Wildfire Smoke

2RM.4 Poster Session, Yoonsub Kim - Advancing Airborne PFAS Characterization near Industrial Sources

Please feel free to stop by and we would love to connect! More will come up on Wednesday!

🌫️ @Sahir Gagan - 4:45 PM, 3CE.6
“Characterizing Atmospheric Oxidation & CCN Activity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics” @sahirgagan.bsky.social

🌟 Excited for #AAAR2025 Conference! 🌟

Our lab and collaborators will present the following research this Tuesday:

🧪 Jiayun Zhao - 10:15 AM, 1AC.3
“Volatility-Resolved In-Situ Chemical & Optical Characterization of Brown Carbon as a Function of Atmospheric Aging”

Meet the Tropical Systems Group @tamuatmo.bsky.social: featuring Dr. Kwesi Quagraine, Stephanie Ortiz Rosario, and Dr. @zmoon92.bsky.social ! We study the weather and climate of the tropics — from ⛈️to TCs 🌀— using km-scale models, obs, & a passion for science comms!
sites.google.com/tamu.edu/nun...

Quantifying the Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Volatile Chemical Products (VCPs) in the Greater Houston Area Volatile chemical products (VCPs), including organic species emitted from pesticides, coatings, cleaning products, and personal care products, account for more than half of the urban VOC emissions in ...

ES&T Paper: pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
ESPI Paper: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

📜Excited about new papers from our group!
Two studies led by our Ph.D. students Alana Dodero & Kyle McCary quantify VCPs in Houston using mobile/field measurements, the first kind of measurements in a subtropical urban setting.
Findings show distinct spatial/temporal patterns vs. temperate cities.

Characterizing Atmospheric Oxidation and Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles Nanoplastic particles (NPPs) are emerging anthropogenic pollutants and have been detected in urban, rural, and remote areas. Characterizing the lifetime, fate, and cloud-forming potential of atmosphe...

🎉 Congrats to PhD student Sahir Gagan from my group for publishing in ES&T! His new paper quantifies the atmospheric lifetime, aging, and CCN activity of nanoplastic particles, a major step in understanding their atmospheric & climate processes.

🔗 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Harvard president receives standing ovation during commencement.

Controlled particle coating from β-caryophyllene photo-oxidation: An aerosol dynamics modeling–assisted chamber method The Texas A&M Environmental Chamber (TAMEC) was employed to generate secondary organic aerosols (SOA) by oxidizing β-caryophyllene with hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in the presence of ammonium bisulfate...

Excited to share our postdoc Miska Olin’s new paper in Aerosol Sci. & Tech! Using our 10 m³ chamber + modeling, Miska explored how nucleation and SOA coating interact, achieving precise SOA coating thickness.
Congrats, Miska! 🎉👏

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

An Atmospheric Chemistry Perspective on Airborne Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPPs) are emerging pollutants with significant environmental impacts due to their persistence, increasing concentrations, and potential health risks. Most MNPP studies have focused on identifying, quantifying, and assessing their ecotoxicological impacts in water or soil. However, the atmosphere is crucial in transporting and chemically transforming MNPPs. Further, well-established aerosol particle characterization techniques are underutilized and inconsistently applied in existing atmospheric MNPP studies. This perspective synthesizes the existing literature and addresses future research needs unique to atmospheric MNPPs, highlighting the need to bridge the microplastics and atmospheric aerosol communities to better understand their sources, chemical transformations, transport mechanisms, as well as their health effects and ecological impacts, which differ from those in soil and water. Advancing research in these areas requires standardized methods and a multidisciplinary approach to comprehensively assess MNPP interactions across environmental compartments, providing essential insights into their environmental fate and risks.

Excited to share our new perspective paper in ES&T on atmospheric micro- & nanoplastic particles! 🧪
We cover recent advances & future directions in this emerging area. Great collaboration with Nate Slade, Arthur Chan & Andy Ault!
📄 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
#AtmosChem #Microplastics #Nanoplastics

Excited to talk about multiphase chemistry at the #ACSSpring2025!

Constraining Gas Phase Yields and Reactive Uptake Coefficients of Oxidation Products from the Hydroxyl Radical-Isoprene Reaction onto Acidic Particles by Vocus Ammonia-Adduct Chemical Ionization Mass ... Isoprene, the most abundant nonmethane volatile organic compound in the atmosphere, undergoes photochemical reactions with hydroxyl radical (•OH), a major sink for isoprene, leading to the formation o...

Through the experimentally quantified time-dependent reactive uptake, he also showed that there were pronounced self-limiting effects during the multiphase reaction process. Read more: doi.org/10.1021/acse...

Constraining Gas Phase Yields and Reactive Uptake Coefficients of Oxidation Products from the Hydroxyl Radical-Isoprene Reaction onto Acidic Particles by Vocus Ammonia-Adduct Chemical Ionization Mass ... Isoprene, the most abundant nonmethane volatile organic compound in the atmosphere, undergoes photochemical reactions with hydroxyl radical (•OH), a major sink for isoprene, leading to the formation o...

Congratulations to Jiayun Zhao from our group on his new publication in ES&T Air by working with our awesome collaborators! He quantified yields and uptake coefficients of isoprene oxidation products under low NOx—and showed that non-IEPOX pathways still account for ~20% of SOA formation.

Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. Student Tackles Emerging Pollution Challenges Texas A&M doctoral student Sahir Gagan is exploring how tiny plastic particles and dangerous chemicals in the air could impact our health and the environment.

Proud! My PhD student Sahir Gagan has been awarded the Thomas Powell Fellowship! His work in lab and field sampling, along with his commitment to outreach programs, is making a real impact. Thrilled to see his hard work is recognized in the news today! artsci.tamu.edu/news/2025/02...

Kudos to all the PIs who stepped up to lead and even volunteered for test drives during the first few days. Teamwork makes the dream work! 🌟