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Dr. Zhang's
Teaching Philosophy
My
educational
thrust is to bridge the gaps between university education and
real-world
practice. My long-term educational goal
is to develop a vigorous interdisciplinary and reality-based
educational program
that is integrated with research and diversity. Such
an interdisciplinary and reality-based
education becomes imperative
and increasingly important, since (1) emerging research areas (e.g.,
air
quality forecasting, global climate change) and industries (e.g.,
biotechnology) have crossed the boundaries of traditional disciplines
and
require integrated multidisciplinary knowledge, and (2) applied aspects
of
sciences and technology necessitate practical and hands-on training
activities
for future scientists, engineers and managers. I believe:
(1) it is very important to attract
young students, especially women and minorities, into the research fields to
learn necessary skills needed for their careers at an early stage; (2)
formal
classroom teaching and informal teaching through advising, mentoring,
seminars
and research activities are equally important; (3) a healthy education
program
should encourage both moral and intellectual growth of students. As a professor and a mentor at NEU, I am
working closely with students to create a healthy and welcome
teaching/learning
climate and to maximize opportunities for their moral and intellectual
growth.
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Existing Courses (MEA/CE
779, MEA 593J/793J,
MEA 493M/593I)
- MEA/CE 779:
Advanced Air Quality
"This is a very nice and beneficial course.
Through the course, I have learnt not only the fundamental
parts of air quality, but also the advanced and hot topics
in the area of air quality!"
-Kaishan Zhang, PhD Candidate,
Civil Engineering
" This course emphasizes on the advanced/hot
topics and latest progresses of the formation, growth, dynamics,
and thermal dynamics of air pollutants. It also provides
the fundamental knowledge of atmospheric chemistry and air
quality models. It’s very useful for my related research.
"
- Ping Liu, PhD Candidate,
MEAS
- MEA 793J:
Advanced Air Quality Modeling and Forecasting
"This course not only provides
the fundamental knowledge of principles and applications
of air quality models, but also provides lab section to
run the different modules and models. It’s very helpful
to have the whole idea of the air quality models and have
the experience to write and modify small programs and run
some popular models such as CMAQ."
-Ping Liu, PhD Candidate,
MEAS
"This is the course I have ever taken in which
I have learned most and practiced most. In this course
I have improved my coding ability and familiarity with
linux as well as my understanding of air quality modeling."
-Xiaoming Hu, PhD Candidate,
MEAS
"This course is an excellent
foundation in air quality modeling. Students learned
the fundamentals of atmospheric structure, thermodynamics,
and urban, regional, and stratospheric air chemistry.
Students used a remote high
performance computing cluster to learn how to run numerical
solvers for differential equations, air chemistry modules,
and a complete air chemistry forecast model. Model
output was viewed using PAVE, a software application
that can create "5-D" time-series maps of
pollutant species distribution across the country. Practice
in modifying Fortran scripts enabled all the students
to come up to speed in Fortran programming.
For the final project, the
students were given a choice among more than 30 topics
to choose from. The students were given a full
paragraph of information about each topic with a suggested
starting point. Students did not have to struggle
to come up with topics which might turn out to be not
meaningful.
Because of the instructors
extensive research in this field, students learned about
the most recent developments in air quality modeling
as well as air quality requirements and regulation.
The instructor’s preparation
and presentation in class is the best I have seen. "
-Bob Melvin , MS Student,
MEAS
- MEA 593J: Air Quality Modeling
and Forecasting
"This class was real experience. Its concepts
are really unique and one gets hands on experience on
almost every phase of air quality modeling. Labs are really
great as they provide chance to look into actual modeling
world, which was not case in any other class I took. I
think this class should be offered every year so that
students can get maximum benefit from it. A must for everyone
working in air quality field"
-Bajwa Kanwardeep, PhD
Candidate, MEAS
" I thoroughly enjoyed taking Dr. Zhang’s
Introduction to Air Quality Modeling class this past semester.
It was a rigorous and challenging course that presented
the past, present and future of the field. Several of
the hottest topics were covered, which gave us students
a good idea of what is going on right now. The class was
well taught and is an excellent precursor to working in
the field of air quality.
I learned lots of valuable information about atmospheric
chemistry. I learned a lot about the history of air quality
modeling that I previously did not know. Most importantly
I learned the current status of the field and what are
the important issues that are being studied right now.
Also I learned a lot about various air quality models
and was able to gain some minimal experience with some
of them, which potentially may help me obtain a job later
on."
- Curtis Scott , MS Student,
MEAS
"MEA593J (Air Quality Modeling) was an excellent
class. The text deals with the fundamentals of both gaseous
and aerosol modeling and the class focuses both on modeling
in a laboratory environment as well as providing academic
background (lectures) for atmospheric chemistry in general.
Dr Zhang made sure that everyone in the class would learn
hands on about modeling and the programming involved,
no matter the skill level of the student. To my knowledge,
there is no other course offered at NC State that provides
this type of experience. Since air quality forecasting
in the "real" world depends so heavily on modeling,
this is a course that should definitely be added permanently
to the MEA curriculum."
- Jessica Blunden , PhD Candidate, MEAS
"Air Quality Modeling (MEA 593 J) was
an invaluable class in my education in the atmospheric
sciences. While Advanced Air Quality did spend a single
lecture going over the basics of Air Quality Modeling,
the advantages of understanding the basic code of
gas-phase models, aerosol models, and other models
has already proved extremely helpful. Not only was
the history of air quality modeling and the models
being used today covered, the new recent innovations
in air quality modeling were also covered. The class
was very comprehensive, and a vast amount of information
was covered and covered well." "The lab section provided
a great opportunity for the entire class. Regardless
of previous experience in programming, Dr. Zhang assisted
each student in working through the different models,
understanding them, and then actually running them.
Overall, this was an excellent course, and I would
recommend this class to anyone in the field of air
quality."
- by Stephen Goetz, MS
Student, MEAS
- MEA 493M/593I:
Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry
"In this class (MEA593 I) I built up many common
sense and concepts of atmospheric chemistry, which is
absolutely necessary for entering the field of air quality
modeling."
-by Xiaoming Hu, PhD Candidate,
MEAS
"Dr. Zhang's Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry
is a useful course that provides a comprehensive survey
of a number of topics in the field of atmospheric chemistry
and air quality. It includes a diverse range of topics,
including structure of the atmosphere, chemical processes
affecting the atmosphere and air quality, local and
global pollution problems, and air quality legislation.
Since air quality is such a multi-disciplinary field,
it is helpful to have an introductory course like this
to give students an overview of the related subject
matter."
- by Chris Bender, MS Student,
MEAS
"MEA 593 I "Introduction to Atmospheric
Chemistry" was an excellent and rigorous introduction
of the important topics in atmospheric chemistry research,
including urban pollution, stratospheric ozone dynamics,
and aerosol effects on air quality. I believe that this
course is critical to the success of students beginning
their studies in this field. The focus of MEAS 593 on
the fundamentals of atmospheric chemistry and air quality
will allow for a more in-depth treatment of advanced
topics in the subsequent classes by providing a comprehensive
view of the important and core topics."
-by David J. Williams
Research Physical Scientist
USEPA Environmental Sciences Division
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Future
Courses
- MEA 200 Level Course: Air Quality:
From Urban Pollution to Global Climate Change
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