"Pollution is not a local issue, it’s a global one. We hope the whole globe can breathe clean air."                                        ——Interview with Zheng Mei

Zheng Mei studies and teaches atmospheric science at Peking University. She's passionate about training the next generation of scientists, and ensuring that everyone has access to clean air. “A teacher's job is to encourage, inspire, and challenge students to do the best they can do and imagine what they can achieve.” Mei knows that for her students to succeed, they must go beyond the halls of academia. “If you want to be great, you can't just read books. You have to go out and talk to people….Do your research and hope it will contribute to a better world.”

Source: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/pollution-is-not-a-local-issue-its-a-global-one-we-hope-the-whole-globe-can-breathe-clean-air-interview-with-mei-zheng/

 
About Zheng Mei:

Zheng Mei is a professor of College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Peking University and the Vice Dean of  Peking University Institute of Ocean Research.

Prof. Zheng's research focuses on developing tools for chemical characterization and measurement of particulate air pollutants especially carbonaceous aerosol to quantify sources and understand their impacts. The primary goal of developing different tools is to improve accuracy of source apportionment of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and to better understand impacts of air pollutants on human health and climate change. She has collaborated widely with domestic and international scientists. She is interested in interdisciplinary research for improved and integrated methods to study sources of aerosol including receptor modeling with organic and inorganic tracers, source-oriented modeling, and isotope analysis such as ¹⁴C. She currently leads a research team at Peking University and her on-going projects include developing online source apportionment of fine PM using single particle mass spectrometry, light absorbing properties and efficiencies of organic carbon in aerosol (brown carbon), changes of aerosol properties from land to sea, and the role of organic aerosol especially secondary organic aerosol during severe haze in megacities of China.

Personal link: https://ocean.pku.edu.cn/info/1184/2259.htm