ABOUT ME

I am currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). My main research interests are extreme weather and climate (wildfire, drought, flood, etc.), attribution of internal variability and anthropogenic warming, land-atmosphere coupling, shallow-to-deep convection transition, remote sensing of cloud, and application of statistical and machine learning methods. 

I received my B.S. degree from Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) in 2013, followed by a Ph.D. degree from Peking University (PKU) in 2019. From 2019 to 2024, I was a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Rong Fu in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 

I have authored and co-authored 18 publications in top peer-reviewed journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Science Advances, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP), Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (JGR-A), and Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (JAS). I am also a reviewer for 19 peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS, Environmental Research Letters (ERL), Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), etc., and a proposal reviewer for NSF and NASA.

Three of my works (Zhuang et al. 2021; Turco et al. 2023; Zhuang et al. 2024) that quantify climate change's impact on the increasing fire weather risk and changing drought dynamics over the Western US were published and highlighted in PNAS and Science Advances, receiving extensive coverage by various news outlets. Zhuang et al. 2021 was also ESI Highly Cited Paper, recognized as University of California’s 10 Best Research Stories of 2021, and referenced by Congressman Casten from Illinois at the House Science Committee Hearing to support his amendment to H.R.5781 "National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act".

My CV  |  Departmental Webpage   |  Google Scholar  |  ResearchGate

★ I am guest-editing a special issue for the journal Atmosphere, titled "Fire Weather and Drought: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives". I warmly welcome all interested colleagues and researchers to consider submitting their research work.

★ I am seeking new students to join my group (PhD, MPhil, undergraduate). Please reach out if you are interested in potential opportunities. (PhD/MPhil in Geography through HKPFS or RPg Programme, HKBU Undergraduate Research Programme)

★ Opportunities for postdoc and research assistant positions may become available based on funding conditions. If you are interested, please feel free to reach out for further discussion. 

▪ Feb 10, 2025: Atmosphere Special Issue "Fire Weather and Drought: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives"  is now open for submission.

▪ Jan 10, 2025: Start my new job at HKBU.

▪ Nov 25, 2024: Our work Zhuang et al. 2024 (Sci. Adv.) is selected as "Featured Image" by NOAA Climate.gov. (Link)

▪ Nov 6, 2024: Check out our new paper, Zhuang et al. 2024, published in Science Advances. Our study reveals that in the western US, high evaporative demand—primarily driven by anthropogenic warming—has overtaken precipitation deficits as the leading contributor to drought severity and coverage. 

▪ Oct 2, 2024: Congratulations to my student Annie Rosen, co-mentored by myself, Prof. Rong Fu at UCLA, and Dr. Longtao Wu at JPL, for winning the Best JSIP Presentation Award at the UCLA JIFRESSE Summer Internship Program (JSIP). (Link)

▪ Mar 28, 2024: Check out our new paper, Wang et al. 2024 (as corresponding author), published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. It highlights the role of lower-tropospheric humidity in land-atmosphere coupling under dry soil conditions in the US Southern Great Plains. 

▪ Mar 14, 2024: Invited talk at UCLA AOS 271 Seminar: Atmospheric Dynamics. "Impacts of Atmospheric Circulation and Anthropogenic Warming on Drought and Wildfire Risk in the Western US". (Recording)

▪ Jan/Feb, 2024: Zhuang et al. 2021 (PNAS) received the "ESI Highly Cited Paper" rating.

▪ Feb 06, 2024: Check out my new paper, Zhuang & Fu 2024, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. It proposes a "Self-Organizing Map - Analogue" approach to quantify circulation influence on precipitation anomalies and investigates the role of PDO in precipitation changes in the US Southwest and Great Plains. 

▪ Feb 06, 2024: Heartfelt congratulations to my postdoc advisor, Prof. Rong Fu, on the distinguished honor of being elected as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). (UCLA News)

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