Xu receives AIChE Early Career Award
Lu Xu won the 2025 Environmental Division Early Career Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Lu Xu, assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has won the 2025 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Environmental Division Early Career Award. The honor recognizes Xu’s contributions to the transformative understanding of the impacts of biogenic and wildfire aerosols, as well as ozone chemistry, on air quality and climate, and advanced instrumentation development.
Xu’s research interests are in air quality and climate change. He has investigated the atmospheric chemistry of organic compounds from diverse sources and the subsequent impacts on air quality, human health and climate. He also developed analytical methods based on mass spectrometry to characterize the complex atmospheric composition. His research involves laboratory studies, field measurements and instrument development.
Xu joined McKelvey Engineering in 2023 from University of Colorado, Boulder, where he was a research scientist in the Chemical Science Laboratory for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Previously, he was a postdoctoral scholar, then staff scientist for the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at California Institute of Technology.
“The breadth and depth of Lu’s contributions to aerosol science and technology are truly remarkable,” said Sally Ng, Love Family Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “He has made exceptional contributions to advancing our understanding of aerosol sources, formation mechanisms, radical chemistry, ozone chemistry in wildfires and development of new instrument and measurement techniques.” Ng, who was Xu’s doctoral adviser, nominated him for the award.
AIChE is the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals. It has over 60,000 members from more than 110 countries. Founded in 1908, AIChE aims to advance the profession, provide resources for its members and foster a global community of chemical engineers.
Xu will receive the award during the AIChE annual meeting in Boston in November 2025.