Thank you for reaching out to me! Please feel free to have a cup of coffee/tea/US black tea (i.e., Coca Cola).
This is what I used to have during my Ph.D.: zero-sugar US black tea. With two great Coke lover buddies, we can drink a whole 32x pack up in less than a week! If you physically visit my place, I will share a can of it with you.
Introduction to myself
I am a postdoc in Environmental Engineering and Sciences at the Air Quality Research Center, University of California Davis. My advisor is Dr. Anthony Wexler (https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/wexler/).
I received my Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering (ranked #3 in the U.S.) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in May 2022, under the supervision of Prof. Vishal Verma. My committee members include Dr. Vishal Verma, Dr. Nicole Riemer, Dr. Helen Nguyen, and Dr. Alexander Laskin (from Purdue University). During my Ph.D., I had been collaborating with Dr. Brent Stephens (from Illinois Institute of Technology), Dr. Alexander Laskin, and Dr. Simon Hu (from ZJU-UIUC). During 2014-2016, I studied in the M.S. program in Environmental Engineering and Sciences at the University of Florida and worked with Dr. Chang-Yu Wu (currently working at the University of Miami).
Currently, I have been focusing on developing a novel instrument for measuring the ion mobility of organic species in the atmosphere. The device is anticipated to be applied to detecting and distinguishing different organic pollutants in grape vineyards where the California wildfire has posed severe effects during the growth of grapes and production of wines.
I am enthusiastic about improving awareness in understanding the mechanisms of the effect of ambient pollution on the human body, measuring the toxicological term of ambient pollutants, and predicting their exposure outcomes directly by their toxicological effect. To realize this, a frame of exposure mechanism and measurement technique must be built, which will be my research goal in the near future.
Education
June 2016 - May 2022: Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Advisor: Dr. Vishal Verma
Major academic course highlights: Air Quality Modeling, Aerosol Sampling and Measurements, Public Health Engineering, Atmospheric Chemistry, Indoor Environmental Control, Indoor Air Quality Engineering (GPA: 3.91/4.0)
Thesis title: Connecting Acellular Oxidative Potential (OP) with Chemical Composition and Emission Sources of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in the Midwestern US
August 2014 - August 2016: M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Advisor: Dr. Chang-Yu Wu
Major academic course highlights: Air Pollution Control Design, Foundation of Air Pollution, Aerosol Mechanics, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, General Virology, Statistical Methods in Research (GPA: 3.96/4.0)
Thesis title: Performance Evaluation of a Novel Device for Virus Aerosol Sampling - Batch Adiabatic-Expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC)
September 2009 - June 2013: B.S. in Applied Chemistry, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Advisor: Dr. Huiyu Song
Major academic course highlights: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Principle of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Design (Total GPA: 3.13/4.0, Upper-division GPA: 3.70/4.0)
Employment History
March 2022 – Present
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Air Quality Research Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA
June 2016 – March 2022
- Research Assistant, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
August 2014 – June 2016
- Research Associate, Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
August 2012 – September 2012
- Environmental Analyst, Inner Mongolia Lvjie Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., Hohhot, China.
Research Projects
March 2022 – Present: Developing a Cross Flow Ion Mobility Spectrometer (CF-IMS) for Measuring Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Semi-volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) emitted from Ripe Grapes affected by Wildfire in California and Oregon Vineyards
January 2021 – May 2022: Source Apportionment of OP and Mass Concentrations of PM2.5 in Midwest U.S.
December 2019 – January 2021: Seasonal Variability of Mass Concentration and Oxidative Potential (OP) of Size-resolved Aerosol in Haining, China
July 2019 – May 2022: Connection of Chemical Characterization and OP of Humic-like Substances (HULIS) in Ambient PM2.5 and Biomass Burning Aerosol
April 2019 – May 2021: Spatiotemporal Variability of PM2.5 OP and mass concentrations in Midwest U.S.
July 2016 – January 2021: Comparison of Oxidative Potential of Size-Resolved PM in Indoor Environment and Ambient Condition in an Unoccupied Residence
August 2017 – November 2019: Design and Evaluation of Semi-Automated Multi-endpoint ROS-activity Analyzer (SAMERA) System for Evaluating the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Aerosols
June 2016 – August 2017: The Interactions among Metals and Organic Species in Ambient Particulate Matter (PM) on ROS Generation
August 2014 – June 2016: Size Amplification of Viral Aerosol by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC)
February 2013 – June 2013: Integrated Analysis in Measuring the Quantity of the Main Constituents of Lithium Iron Phosphate in Lithium Ion Battery
March 2012 – April 2013: Palladium-Catalyzed Negishi Cross-Coupling Reaction under Electrochemical Environment in Aqueous Phase
Publications
1. Yu, H., Wang, Y., Puthussery, J.V., and Verma, V. Source Apportionment of Acellular Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5 with Five Endpoints in the Midwest US. Plan to submit to Journal of Hazardous Materials.
2. Zhang, W., Yu, H., Verma, V., and Laskin, A. Field Evidence for Enhanced Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species in Atmospheric Aerosol Containing Quinoline Components. Submitted to Atmospheric Sciences in May 2022.
3. Wang, Y., Salana, S., Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., and Verma, V., 2022. On the Relative Contributions of Iron and Organic Compounds and their Interaction in Cellular Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5. Environmental Science and Technology Letters. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00316.
4. Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., Wang, Y., and Verma, V., 2021. Spatiotemporal Variability in the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Midwestern United States. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. DOI: 10.5194/acp-2021-376.
5. Wang, Y., Puthussery, J.V., Yu, H., Liu, Y., Salana, S., and Verma, V., 2021. Sources of Cellular Oxidative Potential of Water-soluble Fine Ambient Particulate Matter in the Midwestern United States. Journal of Hazardous Materials. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127777.
6. Zeng, Y., Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., 2021. Influence of Environmental Conditions on the Dithiothreitol (DTT)-based Oxidative Potential of Size-resolved Indoor Particulate Matter of Ambient Origin. Atmospheric Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118429.
7. Wang, Y., Puthussery, J.V., Yu, H., and Verma, V., 2020. Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions Among Organic and Metallic Components of the Ambient Particulate Matter (PM) for the Cytotoxicity Measured by Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. Science of the Total Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139511.
8. Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., and Verma, V., 2019. A Semi-automated Multi-endpoint Reactive Oxygen Species Activity Analyzer (SAMERA) for Measuring the Oxidative Potential of ambient PM2.5 aqueous extracts. Aerosol Science and Technology. DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2019.1693492.
9. Wei, J., Yu, H., Wang, Y., and Verma, V., 2018. Complexation of Iron and Copper in Ambient Particulate Matter and Its Effect on the Oxidative Potential Measured in a Surrogate Lung Fluid. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05731.
10. Yu, H., Wei, J., Cheng, Y., Subedi, K. and Verma, V., 2018. Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions among the Particulate Matter Components in generating Reactive Oxygen Species based on the Dithiothreitol Assay. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04261.
11. Yu, H., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Theodore, A.D., Lednicky, J.A., Fan, Z.H. and Wu, C.Y., 2018. An Efficient Virus Aerosol Sampler Enabled by Adiabatic Expansion. Journal of Aerosol Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2018.01.001.
12. Xiong, Q., Yu, H., Wang, R., Wei, J., & Verma, V., 2017. Rethinking Dithiothreitol-Based Particulate Matter Oxidative Potential: Measuring Dithiothreitol Consumption versus Reactive Oxygen Species Generation. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b01272.
Conference Presentations
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., & Verma, V., Spatiotemporal Variability in the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Midwestern United States. American Association for Aerosol Research 38th Annual Conference (virtual), October 18-22, 2021.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., & Verma, V., Development of a Semi-automated Multi-endpoint ROS Activity Analyzer (SAMERA) and its Application in Assessing Spatiotemporal Variability of PM2.5 Oxidative Potential in Midwest USA. American Chemical Society Fall 2021 Conference, Atlanta, GA, August 22-25, 2021.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., Liu, Y., & Verma, V., Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential (OP) of Water-Soluble PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. American Association for Aerosol Research 38th Annual Conference (virtual), October 5-9, 2020.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Zhang, W., Hettiyadura, A., Verma, V., & Laskin, A., Synergistic Effect of Quinoline Constituents on Oxidative Potential of Ambient Humic-like Substances (HULIS). Pittcon Conference & Expo, Chicago, IL, March 1-5, 2020.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Comprehensive Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. using a Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS-Activity Analyzer (SAMERA). American Geophysical Union 100 Fall Meeting 2019, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Comprehensive Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. using a Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS-Activity Analyzer (SAMERA). American Association for Aerosol Research 37th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 14-18, 2019 (student poster award).
Poster presenter: Zhang, W., Yu, H., Hettiyadura, A., Verma, V., & Laskin, A., Synergistic Effect of Quinoline Constituents on Oxidative Potential of Ambient Humic-like Substances (HULIS). Turkey Run Analytical Chemistry Conference 2019, Marshall, IN, September 27-28, 2019.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS Analyzer (SAMERA). International Aerosol Conference 2018, St. Louis, MO, September 2-7, 2018.
Platform presenter (by Dr. Vishal Verma): Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., Comparison of the Oxidative Potential of Size-segregated Aerosols of Ambient Origin in Indoor and Outdoor Environments. Indoor Air 2018, Philadelphia, PA, July 22-27, 2018.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Wei, J., Cheng, Y., Subedi, K., & Verma, V., Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions among the Particulate Matter (PM) Components in generating Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). American Association for Aerosol Research 36th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC, October 16-20, 2017.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., Comparison of the Oxidative Potential of Size-segregated Aerosols of Ambient Origin in Indoor and Outdoor Environments. American Association for Aerosol Research 36th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC, October 16-20, 2017.
Platform presenter (presented by Dr. Chang-Yu Wu): Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., & Dong, L., Size Amplification and Viability Preservation of Aerosolized Virus by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC): Thesis Report. American Association for Aerosol Research 35th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 17-21, 2016.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., Size Amplification of Virus Aerosol by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC). Florida Air and Waste Management Association, Tallahassee, FL, October 24-25, 2015.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., Size Amplification of Virus Aerosol by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC). American Association for Aerosol Research 34th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, October 12-18, 2015.
Patents
Verma, V., Yu, H., & Puthussery, J. Device and Method for Assessing Oxidative Potential of Ambient Particulate Matter. U.S. Patent Application No. 17/204,158, 2021. (Get its introduction from the video on my home page!)
Honors and Awards
May 2023: Finalist of Triple Ring STAIR side-car award
September 2021: American Association for Aerosol Research Registration Waiver Grant
March 2020: Chester P. Siess Award
October 2019: American Association for Aerosol Research Outstanding Student Poster Award
September 2018: International Aerosol Conference 2018 Travel Grant
October 2017: American Association for Aerosol Research Student Assistantship
August 2015: Dale Lundgren Air Resource Scholarship
May 2015: Florida Air & Waste Management Association Scholarship
Certificates
Introduction to Git and GitHub (Authorized by Google; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 100%)
Neural Networks and Deep Learning (Authorized by DeepLearning.AI; Offered through Coursera: Grade Achieved: 98%)
Applied Machine Learning in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 98.56%)
Applied Plotting, Charting, and Data Representation in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 100%)
Introduction to Data Science in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 92.75%)
Crash Course on Python (Authorized by Google; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 98.50%)
The Raspberry Pi Platform and Python Programming for the Raspberry Pi (Authorized by University of California Irvine; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 99.37%)
Interfacing with the Raspberry Pi (Authorized by University of California Irvine; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 99.37%)
Activities in Academia
March 2023 - Present: Active Reviewer of American Chemical Society Journals (Field: Environmental Engineering and Sciences, Environmental Chemistry, Atmospheric Science, and Public Health)
January 2023 - Present: Organizer of UC Davis Air Quality Chemistry & Physics Seminar Series 2023 (AQSS2023)
January 2023 - Present: Member of Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES) and CAPEES Student Chapter
May 2021 - March 2022: Founding President of UIUC AAAR Student Chapter
December 2019 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Geophysical Union
October 2019 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Chemical Society
December 2018 - Present: Active Reviewer of Environmental Science & Technology Letters
January 2018 - May 2018: Teaching Volunteer of CEE545 Aerosol Sampling and Analysis
August 2015 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Association for Aerosol Research
August 2015 - August 2016: Student Member of Air & Waste Management Association
May 2015: Florida Air & Waste Management Association Scholarship
Mentorship (Mentee List)
December 2022 - Present: Hao-Lin Fang
Academic Level during Mentorship: Graduate Student (Master of Science), Grade 1
Position: Research Assistant (Part-time)
Role in the Lab: Conduct literature review on IMS development and vineyard VOC detection; conduct experiments on HR-CF-IMS optimization, calibration, and evaluation
May 2018 - October 2018: Huawei Zhang
Academic Level during Mentorship: Graduate Student (Master of Science), Grade 1
Position: Research Volunteer (Independent study)
Role in the Lab: Conducting experiments on new OP protocol development and interactions among PM species in various OP endpoints
January 2018 - April 2018: Yiwen Zhang
Academic Level during Mentorship: Graduate Student (Master of Science), Grade 2
Position: Research Volunteer (Independent study)
Role in the Lab: Conducting experiments on OP measurement of ambient PM2.5 samples
June 2017 - August 2017: Yilan Cheng
Academic Level during Mentorship: Undergraduate Student (Bachelor of Science), Junior
Position: Research Volunteer (Independent study)
Role in the Lab: Conducting experiments on OP measurement of PM2.5 components and investigating their interactions in DTT assay
Career after graduation: Joined the University of California Berkeley as a graduate student
