Jianyu “Kevin” Zheng, a postdoctoral fellow with the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR) Center II, whose work focuses on remote sensing for dust aerosols, is the recipient of the 2025 Elsevier/JQSRT Richard M. Goody Award. This honor recognizes early-career researchers for outstanding contributions to the fields of atmospheric radiation and remote sensing. Zheng, Ph.D. ’23, atmospheric physics, will accept the award in June at the 21st Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference in Milazzo, Italy.

Zheng researches microscopic particles from deserts that drift across the globe, influencing Earth’s climate. These particles play a dual role in the planet’s radiation budget, which describes how much heat is trapped or reflected. 

“Aerosols can scatter solar radiation, but they can also absorb thermal radiation from the Earth. If the scattering effect is stronger, that will cause cooling. If the absorption effect is stronger, then it causes warming,” Zheng says. “That causes uncertainties, because right now we still don’t know to what extent aerosols are warming or cooling in different circumstances, due to our limited understanding of how aerosols’ properties change during global transport.” 

Zheng’s research digs into this complexity, offering insights that could sharpen the accuracy of climate predictions.

A dust aerosol size surprise

Using satellite data, Zheng studies dust as it travels from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. His findings show that dust particles are on average larger than most scientists expected. Other emerging research using samples collected from ocean-mounted buoys has also shown that large particles can stay aloft for weeks or months—much longer than researchers had assumed. 

“Particle size on average generally decreases over time during transport,” Zheng says, “but our study shows that it remains relatively constant as dust transports over the North Atlantic until it reaches Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.”

He also identified seasonal shifts in particle sizes. Current climate models assume a constant rate of particle shrinkage as dust travels across the Atlantic, and they completely overlook seasonal dynamics, so Zheng’s discoveries are pushing experts to rethink how aerosols are represented in climate models.

Today Zheng is expanding his work to investigate particle size variability over land, an even more complex dynamic than over the ocean.

Left: Zheng also recently received the NASA Goddard Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award. (Courtesy of Zheng)

Finding his niche

Zheng’s academic journey began in China, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in geography and a master’s focused on atmospheric science. Then a chance encounter with Zhibo Zhang, professor of physics, changed his trajectory. 

“I hadn’t thought about coming to the U.S., but Zhibo invited me to consider UMBC when we met at a research conference,” Zheng recalls. “I thought the United States might be a good choice to try learning in a different environment.”

With Zhang’s guidance and access to collaborators at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Zheng has honed his expertise in dust aerosol research over several years. 

“Zhibo is the reason I ended up taking this postdoc position at NASA Goddard, because of the close collaborators that he has there who were engaged with my Ph.D. project,” Zheng says. At Goddard, Zheng is mentored by Hongbin Yu, a research physical scientist. 

“I have to give thanks to both of them, Zhibo and Hongbin, for keeping me motivated to continue this work. It helped me build up a reputation in this specific field early in my career,” Zheng says. “I think it’s the most important reason that I got this award, because right now I am an early-career scientist who is considered as rising in this field among the scientific community—they recognize this work.”

In his current role, Zheng continues to explore the frontiers of atmospheric science. His work not only deepens our understanding of aerosols but also lays the groundwork for more reliable climate models—with implications that reach far beyond the lab.