Zhang, Shipeng

Associate Professor

I obtained my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nanjing University and my doctoral degree from the University of Oxford, where I also recieved the Clarendon scholarship. Since July 2025, I have been serving as an Associate Professor at the Nanjing–Helsinki Institute of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University. My research focuses on the impacts of human activities—such as greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions—on the climate system, with particular attention to their effects on temperature, precipitation, and the Earth’s energy balance. By integrating climate modeling with theoretical analysis, I aim to deepen the understanding of key climate processes and improve the reliability of climate projections.

Looking ahead, I plan to combine atmospheric science, climate modeling, and machine learning approaches to address pressing challenges in climate and environmental research. I welcome applications from motivated PhD students and postdoctoral researchers interested in these areas.

Contact: shipeng.zhang@nju.edu.cn

Eduation

Sep 2017 – Jul 2023: DPhil in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford

Sep 2013 – Jun 2017: MSc in Atmospheric Physics and Atmospheric Environment, Nanjing University

Sep 2009 – Jun 2013: BSc in Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University

Professional Experience

Jul 2025 – present: Associate Professor, Nanjing–Helsinki Institute of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University

Jul 2023 – May 2025: Postdoctoral Researcher, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University

Research Interests

Aerosol climate effects

Precipitation response under climate change

Geoengineering

Teaching (all courses taught in English)

Undergraduate: Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis; Experiments in Atmospheric Sciences

Graduate: Cloud Physics; Introduction to Global Change Science

Publications (See Google Scholar for the most up-to-date list of publications)

Zhang, S., et al. Nonlinearity of Hydrological Sensitivity Driven by Evolving Patterns of Sea Surface Temperature in Climate Models. In preparation, 2025.

Zhang, S., et al. Assessing GFDL-ESM4.1 Climate Responses to CESM2-WACCM6 Geoengineering Forcing for 2.0°C Warming Target. Geophysical Research Letters, 2024. doi: 10.1029/2024GL113532

Zhang, S., et al. Sea surface warming patterns drive hydrological sensitivity uncertainties. Nature Climate Change, 13(6), 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41558-023-01678-5

Zhang, S., et al. Anthropogenic aerosols modulated twentieth-century Sahel rainfall variability via their impacts on North Atlantic sea surface temperature. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(1), 2022. doi: 10.1029/2021GL095629

Zhang, S., et al. On the contribution of fast and slow responses to precipitation changes caused by aerosol perturbations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21(13), 10179–10197, 2021. doi: 10.5194/acp-21-10179-2021

Zhang, S., et al. On the characteristics of aerosol indirect effect based on dynamic regimes in global climate models. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16, 2765–2783, 2016. doi: 10.5194/acp-16-2765-2016

Ghan, S., Wang, M., Zhang, S., et al. Challenges in constraining anthropogenic aerosol effects on cloud radiative forcing using present-day spatiotemporal variability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113, 5804–5811, 2016. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1514036113