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Kai Zhu

Kai Zhu
Associate Professor
Geospatial Data Sciences
Climate + Energy
Conservation + Restoration
Cities + Mobility + Built Environment
Cross-cutting
[email protected]
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3508 Dana
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Zhu Lab
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Institute for Global Change Biology

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About

Dr. Zhu’s research interests revolve around global change biology, ecological modeling, and environmental data science. He brings together his expertise in ecology, statistics, and computer science to advance the understanding of how plants and soil respond to environmental changes. His research spans a wide range of scales, from local experiments to global analyses. Dr. Zhu has been recognized for his contributions to the field, having received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, been elected as an Ecological Society of America Early Career Fellow, and won the New Phytologist Tansley Medal.

Publications

Google Scholar page
Research

Ecological acclimation of climate-vegetation dynamics, plant phenology coupling with climate and its implications for public health, and nature-based solutions to climate change and biodiversity challenges.

Education

Postdoc, Stanford University (global ecology)

PhD, Duke University (environment)

MS, Duke University (statistical science)

In the News
A map of the United States showing changing trends in the start of allergy season.
June 30, 2025

Seasonal allergies caused by fungal spores now start three weeks earlier under climate change

Contact: [email protected] New research led by the University of Michigan found that, due to climate change, seasonal allergies caused by fungal spores now start three...

COP29 logo
November 11, 2024

COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan: U-M experts available to comment

EXPERTS ADVISORY Negotiators from nearly 200 countries have gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan for the two-week COP29 conference in an effort to advance global climate...

2023 Faculty group photo
November 7, 2024

Faculty News and Research

News and research highlights about SEAS faculty.

A hillside painted by the diversity of native forbs in Walker Canyon, California.
October 16, 2024

Grasslands live in the climate change fast lane

Contact: [email protected] The impacts of climate change can take varying degrees of time to show up in ecosystems but, in grasslands, the response to climate change is...

Climate change is moving tree populations away from the soil fungi that sustain them
May 28, 2024

Study shows climate change is moving tree populations away from the soil fungi that sustain them

As our planet warms, many species are shifting to different locations as their historical habitats become inhospitable. Trees are no exception, but their shift to new...

SEAS Associate Professor Kai Zhu: How climate change affects forest and grassland ecosystems
May 15, 2024

SEAS Associate Professor Kai Zhu: How climate change affects forest and grassland ecosystems

“I can’t tell you how trees sing or cry,” Associate Professor Kai Zhu told the audience during the recent University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability...

Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds
January 16, 2024

Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds

Climate change is reshaping forests differently across the United States, according to a new analysis of U.S. Forest Service data. With rising temperatures, escalating...

Future of Big Data
May 22, 2023

Meet the Future: Big Data and Sustainability Solutions

Thanks to the digital revolution, a burgeoning amount of big data is available in real-time on a mass scale. Big data offers scientists unparalleled access to vast amounts of raw information that can be harvested, analyzed and translated into new solutions to the world’s most challenging problems—including sustainability and climate change. We spoke to four SEAS professors about how they are using big data to reimagine sustainability solutions to agriculture, landscape conservation, biological systems and cities.

In the Media
07/01/2025
Kai Zhu
Climate change triggers earlier mold allergy season, say Michigan scientists (Bridge Michigan)
10/19/2024
Kai Zhu
Impacts of climate change are changing grasslands in real time (Cosmos)
01/17/2024
Kai Zhu
Climate change alters where forests grow the best (MLive)
07/22/2023
Kai Zhu
Climate change lengthening pollen season, making allergies worse (The Daily Herald)
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability
Dana Building
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(734) 764-6453
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