The Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) is honoured to showcase Dr. Zhao as it’s featured member of the month for CIC News June 2025. Dr. Zhao is the winner of the 2025 Environment Division Mehran Alaee Early Career Researcher Award. Dr. Zhao participated in an interview with the CIC to explain how he realized early on the importance of studying the environment.

Identifying Air Quality Issues in his Hometown

Originally from China, Dr. Zhao also spent part of his childhood in Japan. Even as a child, he became aware of one persistent issue: air quality.

“The one thing I noticed when I was little was that the air is sometimes hazy. I guess as a kid, I didn’t really think much about that. Later, as I grew up, I learnt about environment, and air pollution was the one thing that’s visible and it’s clearly harmful to the people there,” Dr. Zhao explains.

Dr. Zhao left China many years ago but still has extended family that resides in Beijing. His family members would inform him about how the air quality had become significantly worse.

“This was just about the time, while I was in university, [that] I was deciding about grad school. I found this perfect match in between better understanding environmental issues and my interest in chemistry,” Dr. Zhao recalls.

Bridging Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry

Atmospheric chemistry is a part of the environmental chemistry discipline. According to Dr. Zhao, even though we can’t physically see air, it’s vital to understand how it affects us because we breathe air 24/7.

“The air is at the intersection of many important environmental issues that we are facing right now,” Dr. Zhao explains.

Global warming is primarily caused by greenhouse gases. Air pollution is due to pollutants in the air in the form of gas or small particles suspended in the air.

It’s this complex and invisible chemistry of the air that Dr. Zhao’s research seeks to unravel.

“We are more fundamental chemists. We are more focused on understanding the exact composition of the air,” Dr. Zhao says.

Through his research, Dr. Zhao is interested in understanding the types of chemical reactions that occur in the air. Moreover, how these chemical reactions impact the environment.

“I am interested in knowing how these chemical reactions affect our health, the environment, and the climate,” Prof. Zhao says.

Studying Wildfires with His Research Group

A major area of focus for Dr. Zhao’s research group is currently wildfire smoke — also referred to as biomass burning — and its role in atmospheric pollution and climate change.

“We look at, for example, the emission factors of air pollutants. That is, if you burn one kilogram of fuel or wood, how much air pollutant is emitted from that?” Dr. Zhao explains.

Dr. Zhao, alongside his research group, was able to study this in collaboration with researchers across Canada and in a fire lab facility that belongs to Natural Resources Canada in Edmonton.

“The fire lab has a big burning stage, and you have a huge hood on the top. It is like a hood four times bigger than that in a commercial kitchen,” Prof. Zhao explains.

In the lab, you can collect the smoke from the hood and direct it into a variety of instruments. Then, the researchers can read off the data in real time and analyze it further.

Beyond the lab, Dr. Zhao also channels his passion for chemistry into community and professional engagement.

Involvement with the CIC

“I knew there was this conference and a group of great researchers in Canada studying chemical sciences. My involvement with the CIC really started seven years ago when I became a faculty member at the University of Alberta,” Dr. Zhao explains.

In his role as a professor, he had greater access to his community and determined how he could better serve them.

“A couple of years into my role as a professor, I wanted to be more involved with the CIC. I decided to join the executive team in the Environmental Chemistry division,” Dr. Zhao notes.

Three years ago, Dr. Zhao began his role as the treasurer for the division.

Looking Ahead to CSC 2025 in Ottawa

Being active in the division and the CSC are among Dr. Zhao’s top priorities. Not only is he super involved in the division, but he also looks forward to the annual conference every year.

“I’ll be delivering an award lecture in Ottawa this year and look forward to connecting with people in the Environmental Division and beyond.”

To connect with Dr. Zhao at CSC 2025, register today!