Dr. Xi Zhang

Assistant professor at University of California Santa Cruz.

Email: xiz@ucsc.edu

Personal website: https://websites.pmc.ucsc.edu/~xiz/file/Home.html

Education

• B.S., Space Physics, Peking University, 2007

• Ph.D, Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, 2013

Professional Experiences

• 2015-          Assistant Professor, University of California Santa Cruz

• 2013-2015 Bisgrove Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Arizona

Honors and Awards

• 2019 Ronald Greeley Early Career Award

• 2012 Bisgrove Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship, University of Arizona

• 2010 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Student Abroad

Research Interests

Planetary science, in particular planetary climate. The goal of my research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the planetary climate system from observational, theoretical and modeling work. I work on the complicated climate systems on solar system planets, extra-solar planets and brown dwarfs.

Key Publications

1. Zhang, X., Strobel, D., and Imanaka, H., 2017, Haze Heats Pluto’s Atmosphere Yet Explains Its Cold Temperature, Nature, 551, 352-355

2. Zhang, X., West, R. A., Irwin, P., Nixon, C. A., and Yung Y. L., 2015, Aerosol Influence on Energy Balance of the Middle Atmosphere of Jupiter, Nature Communications, 6, 10231

3. Zhang, X., Liang, M. C., Montmessin, F., Bertaux, J. L., Parkinson, C., and Yung, Y. L., 2010, Photolysis of sulphuric acid as the source of sulphur oxides in the mesosphere of Venus, Nature Geoscience 3, 12, 834-837