Lei Zhao

Assistant Professor
Beckman Fellow, Center for Advanced Study
Office of Risk Management and Insurance Reseach (ORMIR) Faculty Fellow

(217) 300-9546

leizhao@illinois.edu

3211 Newmark Civil Engineering Building

For More Information

Education

B.S., Physics & Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University, 2009
Ph.D., Environmental Science, Yale University, 2015 (Advisor: Dr. Xuhui Lee)
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University, 12/2015 - 05/2018 (Supervisor: Dr. Michael Oppenheimer)

Biography

Dr. Lei Zhao is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and assistant professor affiliated with the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), and the National Center of Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research concerns the physical and engineering processes in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer where most human activities and environmental systems are concentrated, with a particular focus on built surfaces and urban environments. He combines theory, Earth system modeling, remote sensing and in situ observations, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) methods to study land-atmosphere interaction and environmental fluid mechanics that relate to urban climatology and hydrology, urban climate change, and climate impacts and adaptation. Lei is the recipient of the U.S. NSF CAREER Award, the Timothy Oke Award from the International Association for Urban Climate (2023), and the AGU Global Environmental Change Early Career Award from the American Geophysical Union (2023). He received his Ph.D. degree in atmospheric physics from Yale University and B.S. degree from Nanjing University. Before joining at UIUC, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University.

Academic Positions

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10/2018 - present
Assistant Professor (affiliated), National Center for Supercomputing Applications, 11/2018 - present
Assistant Professor (affiliated), Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), 03/2023 - present
Assistant Professor (affiliated), Department of Climate Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, 08/16/2025 - present

Graduate Research Opportunities

I am looking for highly motivated graduate students to join my group. Please contact me for questions about potential projects or about the application process at our department.

Research Interests

Urban climate
Multi-scale Earth system modeling
Land-atmosphere interactions
Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation
Environmental fluid mechanics and turbulence
Remote sensing
Boundary-layer meteorology

Research Areas

Selected Articles in Journals

J. Zhao, L. Yu, L. Zhao, H. Fu, P. Gong Significant contribution of urban morphological diversity to urban surface thermal heterogeneity. Urban Climate 61, 102383 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102383 (2025).
J. Zhao, L. Yu, L. Zhao, H. Fu, P. Gong Asymmetric influence of urban morphology changes on land surface temperature between daytime and nighttime. Sustainable Cities and Society 124, 106307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2025.106307 (2025).
K. Zhang, B. Fang, K. Oleson, L. Zhao, C He, Q Huang, Z Liu, C Cao, X Lee Urban land expansion amplifies surface warming more in dry climate than in wet climate: A global sensitivity study. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 130 (4), e2024JD041696 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JD041696 (2025).
H. Du, W. Zhan, B. Zhou, Y. Ju, Z. Liu, A. Middel, K. Huang, L. Zhao, T. Chakraborty, Z. Wang, S. Wang, J. Li, L. Li, F. Huang, Y. Ji, X. Li, & M. Li Exacerbated heat stress induced by urban browning in the Global South. Nature Cities 2, 157-169, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-024-00184-9 (2025).
K. Zhang, L. Zhao, K. Oleson, X. Li, X. Lee Enhancing Urban Thermal Environment and Energy Sustainability With Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Roofs. Earth's Future 13 (1), e2024EF005246 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005246 (2025).
Y. Cheng, L. Zhao, T. Chakraborty, K. Oleson, M. Demuzere, X. Liu, Y. Che, W. Liao, Y. Zhou, & X. Li U-Surf: a global 1 km spatially continuous urban surface property dataset for kilometer-scale urban-resolving Earth system modeling, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-416 (2025).
L. Wang, Y. Liu, L. Zhao, X. Lu, L. Huang, Y. Jin, S. Davis, A. Aghakouchak, X. Huang, T. Zhu, Y. Qin Unraveling climate change-induced compound low-solar-low-wind extremes in China. National Science Review 12 (1), nwae424 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae424 (2025).
Y. Sun, B. Fang, K.W. Oleson, L. Zhao, D.O. Topping, D.M. Schultz, & Z. Zheng Improving urban climate adaptation modeling in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) through transient urban surface albedo representation. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 16, e2024MS004380 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004380 (2024).
T. Chakraborty, Z. Venter, M. Demuzere, W. Zhan, J. Gao, L. Zhao, & Y. Qian Large disagreements in estimates of urban land across scales and their implications. Nature Communications 15, 9165 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52241-5 (2024).
X. Li, L. Zhao, Y. Qin, K. Oleson, & Y. Zhang Elevated urban energy risks due to climate-driven biophysical feedbacks. Nature Climate Change 14, 1056-1063 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02108-w (2024).
N. Nazarian, B. Bechtel, G. Mills, M. Hart, A. Middel, E.S. Krayenhoff, G. Langendijk, L. Zhao, A. Pitman, & W. Chow Integration of urban climate research within the global climate change discourse. PLoS Climate 3 (8), e0000473 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000473 (2024).
G. Huang, K. He, X. Lyu, Y. Zang, H. Shu, L. Zhao, J. Li, C. Wang High precision Intracity Temperature Estimation based on Generated Point Clouds. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 62, 5705615 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2024.3439608 (2024).
X. Li, L. Zhao, K.W. Oleson, et al. Enhancing Urban Climate-Energy Modeling in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) through Explicit Representation of Urban Air-conditioning Adoption. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 16 (4), e2023MS004107 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.169945607.70663662/v1 (2024).
L Yang, Q Li, Q Li, L Zhao, Z Luo, Y Liu Different explanations for surface and canopy urban heat island effects in relation to background climate. iScience 27 (3) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.108863 (2024).
H Du, W Zhan, Z Liu, ES Krayenhoff, TC Chakraborty, L Zhao, L Jiang, P Dong, L Li, F Huang, S Wang, Y Xu Global mapping of urban thermal anisotropy reveals substantial potential biases for remotely sensed urban climates. Science Bulletin 68 (16), 1809-1818 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.06.032 (2023).
L. Gray, L. Zhao, A. Stillwell Impacts of climate change on global total and urban runoff. Journal of Hydrology, 620 (A), 129352 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129352 (2023).
F. Li, Q. Zhu, W.J. Riley, L. Zhao, L. Xu, K. Yuan, M. Chen, H. Wu, Z. Gui, J. Gong, J. Randerson AttentionFire_v1.0: interpretable machine learning fire model for burned-area predictions over tropics. Geoscientific Model Development, 16 (3), 869-884 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-869-2023 (2023).
J. Yang, L. Zhao, K. Oleson Large humidity effects on urban heat exposure and cooling challenges under climate change. Environmental Research Letters, 18(4), 044024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc475 (2023).
K. Zhang, C. Cao, H. Chu, L. Zhao, J. Zhao, X. Lee Increased heat risk in wet climate induced by urban humid heat. Nature, 617, 738-742 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05911-1 (2023).
H. Lin, Y. Li, L. Zhao Partitioning of sensible and latent heat fluxes in different vegetation types and their spatiotemporal variations based on 203 FLUXNET sites. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 127 (21), e2022JD037142 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037142 (2022).
D. Wu, W. Liu, B. Fang, L. Chen, Y. Zang, L. Zhao, S. Wang, C. Wang, J. Marcato, J. Li Intracity Temperature Estimation by Physics Informed Neural Network Using Modeled Forcing Meteorology and Multispectral Satellite Imagery. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 60, 1-15 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2022.3201284 (2022).
Q. Zhu, F. Li, W.J. Riley, L. Xu, L. Zhao, K. Yuan, H. Wu, J. Gong, J. Randerson Building a machine learning surrogate model for wildfire activities within a global Earth system model. Geoscientific Model Development 15 (5), 1899-1911 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1899-2022 (2022).
J. Zhu, X. Li, Y. Fan, H. Shi, L. Zhao Effect of carbon market on air pollution: Firm-level evidence in China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 182, 106321 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106321 (2022).
K. Zhang, X. Lee, N.M. Schultz, L. Zhao, C. He, Q. Huang, Z. Liu, H. Chu, J. Zhao A global dataset on subgrid land surface climate (2015-2100) from the Community Earth System Model. Geoscience Data Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.153 (2022).
R. Xu, Y. Li, A.J. Teuling, L. Zhao, D.V. Spracklen, L. Garcia-Carreras, R. Meier, L. Chen, Y. Zheng, H. Lin, B. Fu Contrasting impacts of forests on cloud cover based on satellite observations. Nature Communications 13, 670 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28161-7 (2022).
Y. Qin, M. Zhou, D. Pan, Z. Klimont, D.B. Gingerich, D.L. Mauzerall, L. Zhao, G. He, J.M. Bielicki Environmental consequences of potential strategies for China to prepare for natural gas import disruptions. Environmental science & technology 56, 2, 1183-1193 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03685 (2022).
L. Chen, B. Fang, L. Zhao, Y. Zang, W. Liu, Y. Chen, C. Wang, J. Li DeepUrbanDownscale: A physics informed deep learning framework for high-resolution urban surface temperature estimation via 3D point clouds. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 106, 102650 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2021.102650 (2022).
R. Xu, Y. Li, K. Guan, L. Zhao, B. Peng, C. Miao, B. Fu Divergent responses of maize yield to precipitation in the United States. Environmental Research Letters 17 (1), 014016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac3cee (2021).
Z. Zheng, M. West, L. Zhao, P.L. Ma, X. Liu, N. Riemer Quantifying the structural uncertainty of the aerosol mixing state representation in a modal model. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21 (23), 17727-17741 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17727-2021 (2021).
Z. Zheng, L. Zhao, & K.W. Oleson Large model structural uncertainty in global projections of urban heat waves. Nature Communications 12, 3736 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24113-9 (2021).
W. Zhou, K. Guan, B. Peng, Z. Wang, R. Fu, B. Li, E. A. Ainsworth, E. DeLucia, L. Zhao, Z. Chen A generic risk assessment framework to evaluate historical and future climate-induced risk for rainfed corn and soybean yield in the US Midwest. Weather and Climate Extremes 100369 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2021.100369 (2021).
T. Xu, K. Guan, B. Peng, S. Wei and L. Zhao Machine Learning-Based Modeling of Spatio-Temporally Varying Responses of Rainfed Corn Yield to Climate, Soil, and Management in the U.S. Corn Belt. Front. Artif. Intell. 4:647999 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2021.647999 (2021).
E.S. Krayenhoff, A.M. Broadbent, L. Zhao, M. Georgescu, A. Middel, J.A. Voogt, A. Martilli, D.J. Sailor, E. Erell Cooling hot cities: A systematic and critical review of the numerical modelling literature. Environmental Research Letters 16 (5), 053007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdcf1 (2021).
K. Yuan, Q. Zhu, S. Zheng, L. Zhao, M. Chen, W.J. Riley, X. Cai, H. Ma, F. Li, H. Wu, L. Chen Deforestation Reshapes Land-Surface Energy-Flux Partitioning. Environmental Research Letters 16 (2), 024014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd8f9 (2021).
L. Zhao, K. Oleson, E. Bou-Zeid, E.S. Krayenhoff, A. Bray, Q. Zhu, Z. Zheng, C. Chen, M. Oppenheimer Global multi-model projections of local urban climates. Nature Climate Change 11 (2), 152-157 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00958-8 (2021).
Z. Zheng, J. Curtis, Y. Yao, J. Gasparik, V. Anantharaj, L. Zhao, M. West, N. Riemer Estimating Submicron Aerosol Mixing State at the Global Scale with Machine Learning and Earth System Modeling. Earth and Space Science 8 (2), e2020EA001500 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001500 (2021).
W. Zhang, L. Chen, Z. Xiong, Y. Zang, J. Li, L. Zhao Large-scale point cloud contour extraction via 3D guided multi-conditional generative adversarial network. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 164, 97-105 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2020.04.003 (2020).
Y. Li, K. Guan, A. Yu, B. Peng, L. Zhao, B. Li, J. Peng Toward building a transparent statistical model for improving crop yield prediction: Modeling rainfed corn in the U.S. Field Crops Research 234, 55-65 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2019.02.005 (2019).
B.Y. Liu, Q. Zhu, W.J. Riley, L. Zhao, H. Ma, L. Larsen Using Information Theory to Evaluate Directional Precipitation Interactions Over the West Sahel Region In Observations and Models. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 124 (3), 1463-1473 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029160 (2019).
L. Zhao Urban growth and climate adaptation, Nature Climate Change 8 (12), 1034 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0348-x (2018).
W. Wang, X. Lee, W. Xiao, S. Liu, M. Zhang, Y. Wang, N. Schultz, L. Zhao Global lake evaporation accelerated by changes in surface energy allocation in a warmer climate. Nature Geoscience 11 (6), 410-414 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0114-8 (2018).
L. Zhao, M. Oppenheimer, Q. Zhu, J. Baldwin, K. Ebi, E. Bou-Zeid, K. Guan, X. Liu Interactions between urban heat islands and heat waves. Environmental Research Letters 13 (3), 034003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa9f73 (2018).
L. Zhao, X. Lee, N.M. Schultz A wedge strategy for mitigation of urban warming in future climate scenarios. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 17 (14), 9067-9080 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9067-2017 (2017).
C. Cao, X. Lee, S. Liu, N.M. Schultz, W. Xiao, M. Zhang, L. Zhao Urban heat islands in China enhanced by haze pollution. Nature Communications 7, 12509 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12509 (2016).
N.M. Schultz, X. Lee, P.J. Lawrence, D.M. Lawrence, L. Zhao Assessing the use of sub-grid land model output to study impacts of land cover change. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 121: 6133-6147 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025094 (2016).
L. Zhao, X. Lee, A.E. Suyker, X. Wen Influence of leaf area index on the radiometric resistance to heat transfer. Boundary-Layer Meteorology 158 (1), 105-123 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-015-0070-4 (2016).
L. Zhao, X. Lee, R.B. Smith, K. Oleson Strong contributions of local background climate to urban heat islands. Nature 511: 216-219 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13462 (2014).
L. Zhao, X. Lee, S. Liu Correcting surface solar radiation of two data assimilation systems against FLUXNET observations in North America. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 118: 9552-9564 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50697 (2013).
X. Lee, M.L. Goulden, D.Y. Hollinger, A. Barr, T.A. Black, G. Bohrer, R. Bracho, B. Drake, A. Goldstein, L. Gu, G. Katul, T. Kolb, B. Law, H. Margolis, T. Meyers, R. Monson, W. Munger, R. Oren, K.T. Paw U, A.D. Richardson, H.P. Schmid, R. Staebler, S. Wofsy, L. Zhao Observed increase in local cooling effect of deforestation at higher latitudes. Nature 479: 384-387 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10588 (2011).

Journal Editorships

Associate Editor, Urban Climate (a top-ranked journal in urban climate science field by Elsevier ScienceDirect), 2024 - present
Associate Editor, Earth's Future (a top-ranked journal of the American Geophysical Union), 2023 - present

Teaching Honors

Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (CEE 592) (2023 Spring)
Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (CEE 595) (2022)
Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (CEE 592) (2021 Spring)

Research Honors

Highly Cited Researchers list, Clarivate (2025)
AGU Fellow (2025)
James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2025)
ORMIR Faculty Fellow, Office of Risk Management and Insurance Research, Gies Business School (2024)
Beckman Fellow, Center for Advanced Study (2024)
Global Environmental Change Early Career Award, American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2023)
Timothy Oke Award, International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC) (2023)
NSF CAREER Award, U.S. NSF (2022)
STEP Research Fellowship, Princeton University (2016-2018)

Other Honors

Award received by my student Yifan Cheng: 2025 YEE Memorial Fund Fellowship Award, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2025)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: 2025 Engelbrecht Fellowship, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2025)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship, U.S. DOE PNNL (2025-2027)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: 2024 Loh Kwan Chen Fellowship, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2024)
Award received by my student Laura Gray: 2024 Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2024)
Award received by my student Joyce Yang: Best Student Presentation Award, 11th International Conference on Urban Climate, Sydney, Australia (2023)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: 2023 Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2023)
Award received by my students Joyce Yang, Cathy Li, & Bowen Fang: Andrew Slater Award, National Center for Atmospheric Research. (2023)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: AGU Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA), American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2022 (2022)
Award received by my student Cathy Li: 2020 YEE Memorial Fund Fellowship, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UIUC (2020)