Kai Zhu

Figuring the odds of Earth’s global hot streak

Is global change real? How about this year's temperature record? I helped to calculate the odds--really low, indeed! GO FIGURE: Figuring the odds of Earth's global hot streak The global heat streak of the 21st century can be explained with statistics that defy astronomical odds. First, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration calculates global average temperature going back to 1880. That's 135 years. So if no other forces were in play and temperatures last year were totally [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:47:39-04:00

Stanford grant to study Ebola

Zhiyuan Song and I got a seed grant from Center for Innovation in Global Health Ebola Innovation at Stanford. We will use our expertise to solve global health challenges. Abstract below. Dynamically evaluating and mapping Ebola outbreak risks in West and Central Africa in response to social-environmental changes Since the first recorded outbreak of human Ebola virus disease in 1976, the Ebola epidemics have evolved from rare smallscale endemics to frequent largerscale epidemics. The current ongoing [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:47:49-04:00

Migration paper among most cited

Zhu K., Woodall C.W., Clark J.S. (2012). Failure to migrate: lack of tree range expansion in response to climate change. Global Change Biology, 18, 1042-1052. Of all the 608 articles contributing to the journal’s 2013 Impact Factor, this paper is one of the 25 most-cited since publication according to Web of Science®, placing it among the top 4% of articles.

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:03-04:00

Embarking at Stanford

Really excited to begin postdoc at Carnegie Institution for Science and Stanford University, with Chris Field, Nona Chiariello, and Tad Fukami!

Kai Zhu2017-09-02T12:28:39-04:00

Graduated from Duke

Five years, three degrees! 2009-2014, Ph.D., Environment (Ecology) 2012-2014, M.S., Statistical Science 2013-2014, Certificate in College Teaching

Kai Zhu2017-09-02T12:28:49-04:00

Migration paper cited by IPCC

Zhu K., Woodall C.W., Clark J.S. (2012). Failure to migrate: lack of tree range expansion in response to climate change. Global Change Biology, 18, 1042-1052. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations. The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change, producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments. For the efforts to [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:18-04:00

Turnover paper published in Global Change Biology

Climate Warming May Speed up Forests' Life Cycles Zhu K., Woodall C.W., Ghosh S., Gelfand A.E., Clark J.S. (2014). Dual impacts of climate change: forest migration and turnover through life history. Global Change Biology, 20, 251-264. News release below. DURHAM, N.C. – Many climate studies have predicted that tree species will respond to global warming by migrating via seed dispersal to cooler climates. But a new study of 65 different species in 31 eastern [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:31-04:00

Awarded NSF grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) to James S. Clark (Principal Investigator) and Kai Zhu (Co-Principal Investigator) for support of the project entitled "DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Forest climate requirements change through species life history." This award is effective May 1 , 2013 and expires April 30, 2014. See details on the NSF website. Abstract below. Global warming is expected to have strongly negative effects on many species. One way [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:38-04:00

Received ESA award

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has named Kai Zhu, a doctoral student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, the recipient of its prestigious 2012 Outstanding Research in Ecology by a Graduate Student Award on August 7 at the ESA annual meeting in Portland, OR. Press release below. PhD Student Kai Zhu Receives ESA Award for Outstanding Research DURHAM, NC – The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has named Kai Zhu, a [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:48-04:00

Winning Dean’s award

Kai Zhu was named a recipient of the 2012 Dean’s Award for Outstanding PhD Student Manuscript of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment for his paper, “Failure to migrate: lack of tree range expansion in response to climate change,” which was published in October 2011 in the peer-reviewed journal Global Change Biology. Press release highlights below. Zhu’s study finds that more than half of eastern U.S. tree species aren’t responding as predicted to climate [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:48:56-04:00