Her research interest is primarily in the field of air pollution, environmental exposure assessment, and aerosol science and technology. Her current research focuses on measuring and modeling ultrafine particle emissions, transport, and transformation on and near roadways as well as from emerging sources such as electronic cigarettes in various microenvironments. Her scholarship and creativity has been recognized by several national awards, including the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award from the Health Effects Institute in 2007, the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation in 2009, and the Haagen-Smit Prize from Atmosphere Environment in 2011. Dr. Zhu was appointed to California Air Resource Board’s Research Screening Committee in January 2014.