Menu
Top

Chak K. Chan

Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering

Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division
Email icon chak.chan@kaust.edu.sa
Website icon Aerosol Science & Air Pollution (Group Webpage)

Less air pollution for a healthier life and a cleaner tomorrow.

We deserve fresher air in both outdoor and indoor environments and more blue skies.

Air pollution is one of the drivers of the energy transition. It also affects our health, plant growth, and marine environment through atmospheric – sea interactions. Our aim is to bridge science and policy for a better environment​

Program Affiliations

Center of Excellence

Biography

Prof. Chak Chan received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Caltech and his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently an Associate to the President and Professor in Environmental Science and Engineering at KAUST. He joined KAUST in 2023 as a professor of chemical engineering and Dean of the Physical Science and Engineering Division. Prior to KAUST, he served as Dean and Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment at the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong. Before that, he was a professor and the Founding Head of the Division of Environment at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He was the first Editor-in-Chief in Atmospheric Environment outside the US and Europe (2008-2019). He received the Haagen Smit Prize of Atmospheric Environment in 2015

Research Interests

Prof. Chak Chan is the Principal Investigator of the Aerosol Science and Air Pollution (ASAP) Laboratory at KAUST. He studies the sources, physical and chemical transformations, and health and climate impacts of atmospheric particulate matter (PM), with the aim of providing scientific evidence to guide policy initiatives on air quality and environmental health. Current research includes identifying sources and processes that contribute to indoor and outdoor air pollution and assessing their impacts in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on photochemistry in the transformation of air pollutants. He has established the KAUST Air Quality Research Supersite, focusing on real-time characterization of air pollutants and their impacts
Keyword tag icon
Raman ​ spectroscopy​ aerosol and cloud ​ interactions​ secondary organic​ aerosol​ source apportionment​ environmental health​

Education Profile

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1992

  • BSc in Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, 1986

Awards and Recognitions

  • Haagen Smit Award of Atmospheric Environment, 2015​

  • Asian Young Aerosol Scientists Award, 2005​

Publications

  • Zhang R., Chan C.K. (2023) Simultaneous formation of sulfate and nitrate via co-uptake of SO2 and NO2 by aqueous NaCl droplets: combined effect of nitrate photolysis and chlorine chemistry. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-223

  • Gen M., Liang Z., Zhang R., Mabato B.R., Chan C.K (2022) Particulate nitrate photolysis in the atmosphere. RSC Environmental Science: Atmospheres. DOI: 10.1039/d1ea00087j

  • Mabato B.R., Lyu Y., Ji Y., Huang D.D., Li X., Nah T., Lam C.H., and Chan C.K. (2022) Aqueous secondary organic aerosol formation from the direct photosensitized oxidation of vanillin in the absence and presence of ammonium nitrate. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-273-2022

  • Zhou L., Salvador C.M., Priestley M., Hallquist M., Liu Q., Chan C.K., Hallquist Å.M. (2021) Emissions and formation of secondary air pollutants from modern heavy-duty trucks in real traffic – chemical characteristics using on-line mass spectrometry. Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00412

  • Gen M., Zhang R., Huang D.D., Li Y., Chan C.K.(2019) Heterogeneous SO2 oxidation in sulfate formation by photolysis of particulate nitrate. Environmental Science & Technology Letters. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00681

Research Areas

  • Earth Science and Engineering

Multimedia