Beizhan Yan

Dr. Beizhan Yan is an Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs and a Lamont Associate Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). His Ph.D. study at RPI (2000-2004) focused on the source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Hudson River. After two years of postdoc in Idaho National Laboratory, he joined Washington University in St. Louis to study nanoscale size effects on biogeochemical processes for environmental bioremediation. At LDEO, he has established an Environmental Organic Geochemistry Lab with ability to extract, isolate, and identify organic contaminants and biomarkers from environmental and biological samples.

He has successfully traced metals and aromatic hydrocarbons in the waters and air of NYC and linked the exposures of these air pollutants to pediatric asthma outcomes. He is also leading a collaborative study to examine the association between pediatric respiratory outcomes and air pollutants (including PM2.5 and black carbon, VOCs) in Beijing China. To determine possible impacts of hydrofracking on environment stresses (e.g., noise and air and water pollutions), psychological stress, and health outcomes, he is leading a collaborative study in Pennsylvania. He is also conducting the ecological impact of microplastics in estuaries and oceans.