Welcome to our research group, led by Dr. Gan Zhang, where we are dedicated to climate modeling, prediction, and applications. We investigate climate risks involving physical phenomena (e.g., cyclones) and socioeconomic factors (e.g., energy transition). Our research emphasizes synergizing theoretical research in geophysical fluid dynamics with exciting developments in observational capabilities, machine learning, and real-world applications.

Beyond our pursuit of research excellence, we believe in the importance of diverse thinking and fostering a collaborative environment. We encourage group members with solid foundational skills to explore adjacent subjects like data science, exo-climate, and economics studies. We firmly believe that a diverse range of interests and experiences enriches our scientific endeavors and fosters a well-rounded approach to problem-solving.

Our Story

Before finding his passion in climate science, the group founder, Dr. Zhang, grew up in a remote coal town near the Huai River in China. The region has distinct monsoon seasons and was used to seeing “94 major floods per century”. Mindful of childhood flood experiences, Dr. Zhang left his hometown at fifteen with great curiosity about environmental issues. Some highlights of his later journey include pondering the retreating glacier of Mont Blanc at Les Houches summer school, appearing together with Dr. Suki Manabe on the website of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), and leveraging weather-climate knowledge to contribute to some of the biggest years of the world’s most profitable hedge fund.

The group attributes its roots to a desire to explore and serve the world. It benefited from input from many inspiring and generous colleagues around the world. We invite aspiring students and scholars to join us and write future chapters of our group’s story.

Recent Updates

December 2025: Megha Rao, Mingfei Ren, Yudi Mao, and Gan Zhang will present research at the 2025 AGU annual meeting.

December 2025: Gan Zhang will give a seminar talk on weather-climate prediction at the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science of UIUC.

December 2025: A collaborative paper with U Chicago on wind extreme changes was accepted for publication.

August 2025: A team led by Gan Zhang published a research article demonstrating Google’s NeuralGCM’s capability for seasonal prediction.

July 2025: A proposal led by Gan Zhang was selected by the NSF for funding support. The team thanks the support of collaborators at GFDL/Princeton, Google, and Nvidia!

July 2025: Yudi Mao attended the Community Earth System Model Tutorial at Boulder, CO.

June 2025: Mingfei Ren attended the Dynamical Core Model Intercomparison Project and Summer School at Boulder, CO.

May 2025: Gan Zhang attended the World Climate Research Programme Global KM-scale Hackathon at GFDL/Princeton.

April 2025: Mingfei Ren and Yudi Mao successfully applied for opportunities to attend summer schools at the NCAR, Boulder, CO. Congratulations!

March 2025: Gan Zhang gave a department talk on the seasonal shifts in TC activity and energy risks at CliMAS.

February 2025: Yudi Mao won an award for scientific communication and outreach in the SESE research review. Congratulations!

February 2025: Gan Zhang published a research article on wind energy and energy risks in Environmental Research Letters. Bloomberg reported the findings.

January 2025: Gan Zhang gave an informal research presentation at the Vecchi group at Princeton University.

January 2025: Gan Zhang gave presentations on tropical cyclone activity and wind energy at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (https://annual.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/2025/). He will contribute as a session co-chair and a panelist on climate-linked economics.

August 2024: Gan Zhang received an Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society (2025 Award and Honors Recipients – American Meteorological Society).