About me

Hello! My name is Yaowei Li (李垚纬). I am currently a NOAA Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow, co-hosted by Prof. Susan Solomon at MIT and Prof. Paul Wennberg at Caltech.

I received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering with Prof. Frank Keutsch from Harvard University in 2024. During my Ph.D., I also worked closely with my committee members: Prof. Jesse Kroll, Prof. Steve Wofsy and Prof. Scot Martin.

My research centers on atmospheric chemistry-climate interactions, with a particular focus on the climate and chemical impacts of aerosols in both the troposphere and stratosphere, especially those from wildfires and volcanic eruptions. I tackle these complex questions through a combination of field and laboratory studies, complemented by tools such as the radiative transfer model (RRTMG) and remote sensing. I am the Co-PI for the DPOPS (optical particle spectrometer) instrument onboard ER-2 aircraft in NASA DCOTSS mission and mini-MOUDI (particle collecting system) instrument onboard WB-57 aircraft in NOAA SABRE mission. I have also participated in the Munich Urban Air Quality Campaigns, where I led the ammonia Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (NH4+ CIMS) instrument. In the lab, I have been working on: (1) instrumentation for high-altitude aircraft campaigns, (2) optical property measurements of organic aerosols using ellipsometry and FTIR techniques, (3) dynamics of organic gas-particle partitioning at low temperatures using aerosol flow tube and mass spectrometers.

Prior to Harvard, I received a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and a B.A. in Economics from Peking University (Beijing, China) in 2018. My undergraduate research was advised by Prof. Qi Chen focusing on: (1) chemical characterization of PM1 and PM2.5 in Beijing using aerosol mass spectrometers, (2) development and application of drone-based VOCs sampling system.

Outside of research, I enjoy hiking, playing volleyball and badminton, and spending time with my cat, Luna.