Pronouns: He/Him/His
Email: hy18 AT ualberta DOT ca
Website: http://www.randyyu.com/, https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/hy18
I had my postdoc career in Environmental Engineering and Sciences at the Air Quality Research Center, University of California Davis with Dr. Anthony Wexler (https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/wexler/). I received my Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering (ranked #3 in the U.S.) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in May 2022, under the supervision of Prof. Vishal Verma. During my Ph.D., I had been collaborating with Dr. Brent Stephens (from Illinois Institute of Technology), Dr. Alexander Laskin, and Dr. Simon Hu (from ZJU-UIUC). During 2014-2016, I studied in the M.S. program in Environmental Engineering and Sciences at the University of Florida and worked with Dr. Chang-Yu Wu (currently working at the University of Miami).
Currently, I have been focusing on a variety of research initiatives that connect air pollutants to their chemical composition, origins and fates, and health outcomes. I am enthusiastic about improving awareness in understanding the mechanisms of the effect of ambient pollution on the human body, measuring the toxicological term of ambient pollutants, and predicting their exposure outcomes directly by their toxicological effect.
Introduction to my instrument "Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS-activity Analyzer (SAMERA)"
Video abstract for "Spatiotemporal Variability in the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Midwestern United States"
June 2016 - May 2022: Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Advisor: Dr. Vishal Verma
Major academic course highlights: Air Quality Modeling, Aerosol Sampling and Measurements, Public Health Engineering, Atmospheric Chemistry, Indoor Environmental Control, Indoor Air Quality Engineering (GPA: 3.91/4.0)
Thesis title: Connecting Acellular Oxidative Potential (OP) with Chemical Composition and Emission Sources of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in the Midwestern US
August 2014 - August 2016: M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Advisor: Dr. Chang-Yu Wu
Major academic course highlights: Air Pollution Control Design, Foundation of Air Pollution, Aerosol Mechanics, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, General Virology, Statistical Methods in Research (GPA: 3.96/4.0)
Thesis title: Performance Evaluation of a Novel Device for Virus Aerosol Sampling - Batch Adiabatic-Expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC)
September 2009 - June 2013: B.S. in Applied Chemistry, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Advisor: Dr. Huiyu Song
Major academic course highlights: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Principle of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Design (Total GPA: 3.13/4.0, Upper-division GPA: 3.70/4.0)
1. Yu, H., Wang, Y., Puthussery, J. V., & Verma, V., 2024. Sources of Acellular Oxidative Potential of Water-soluble Fine Ambient Particulate Matter in the Midwestern United States. Journal of Hazardous Materials. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134763.
2. Salana, S., Yu, H., Dai, Z., Subramanian, P. G., Puthussery, J. V., Wang, Y., ... & Verma, V., 2024. Inter-continental variability in the relationship of oxidative potential and cytotoxicity with PM2.5 mass. Nature Communications. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49649-4.
3. Zhang, W., Yu, H., Verma, V., and Laskin, A., 2022. Field Evidence for Enhanced Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species in Atmospheric Aerosol Containing Quinoline Components. Atmospheric Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119406.
4. Wang, Y., Salana, S., Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., and Verma, V., 2022. On the Relative Contributions of Iron and Organic Compounds and their Interaction in Cellular Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5. Environmental Science and Technology Letters. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00316.
5. Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., Wang, Y., and Verma, V., 2021. Spatiotemporal Variability in the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Midwestern United States. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. DOI: 10.5194/acp-2021-376.
6. Wang, Y., Puthussery, J.V., Yu, H., Liu, Y., Salana, S., and Verma, V., 2021. Sources of Cellular Oxidative Potential of Water-soluble Fine Ambient Particulate Matter in the Midwestern United States. Journal of Hazardous Materials. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127777.
7. Zeng, Y., Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., 2021. Influence of Environmental Conditions on the Dithiothreitol (DTT)-based Oxidative Potential of Size-resolved Indoor Particulate Matter of Ambient Origin. Atmospheric Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118429.
8. Wang, Y., Puthussery, J.V., Yu, H., and Verma, V., 2020. Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions Among Organic and Metallic Components of the Ambient Particulate Matter (PM) for the Cytotoxicity Measured by Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. Science of the Total Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139511.
9. Yu, H., Puthussery, J.V., and Verma, V., 2019. A Semi-automated Multi-endpoint Reactive Oxygen Species Activity Analyzer (SAMERA) for Measuring the Oxidative Potential of ambient PM2.5 aqueous extracts. Aerosol Science and Technology. DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2019.1693492.
10. Wei, J., Yu, H., Wang, Y., and Verma, V., 2018. Complexation of Iron and Copper in Ambient Particulate Matter and Its Effect on the Oxidative Potential Measured in a Surrogate Lung Fluid. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05731.
11. Yu, H., Wei, J., Cheng, Y., Subedi, K. and Verma, V., 2018. Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions among the Particulate Matter Components in generating Reactive Oxygen Species based on the Dithiothreitol Assay. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04261.
12. Yu, H., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Theodore, A.D., Lednicky, J.A., Fan, Z.H. and Wu, C.Y., 2018. An Efficient Virus Aerosol Sampler Enabled by Adiabatic Expansion. Journal of Aerosol Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2018.01.001.
13. Xiong, Q., Yu, H., Wang, R., Wei, J., & Verma, V., 2017. Rethinking Dithiothreitol-Based Particulate Matter Oxidative Potential: Measuring Dithiothreitol Consumption versus Reactive Oxygen Species Generation. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b01272.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., & Verma, V., Spatiotemporal Variability in the Oxidative Potential of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Midwestern United States. American Association for Aerosol Research 38th Annual Conference (virtual), October 18-22, 2021.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., & Verma, V., Development of a Semi-automated Multi-endpoint ROS Activity Analyzer (SAMERA) and its Application in Assessing Spatiotemporal Variability of PM2.5 Oxidative Potential in Midwest USA. American Chemical Society Fall 2021 Conference, Atlanta, GA, August 22-25, 2021.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., Wang, Y., Liu, Y., & Verma, V., Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential (OP) of Water-Soluble PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. American Association for Aerosol Research 38th Annual Conference (virtual), October 5-9, 2020.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Zhang, W., Hettiyadura, A., Verma, V., & Laskin, A., Synergistic Effect of Quinoline Constituents on Oxidative Potential of Ambient Humic-like Substances (HULIS). Pittcon Conference & Expo, Chicago, IL, March 1-5, 2020.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Comprehensive Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. using a Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS-Activity Analyzer (SAMERA). American Geophysical Union 100 Fall Meeting 2019, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Comprehensive Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Variability of Oxidative Potential of Ambient PM2.5 in Midwest U.S. using a Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS-Activity Analyzer (SAMERA). American Association for Aerosol Research 37th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 14-18, 2019 (student poster award).
Poster presenter: Zhang, W., Yu, H., Hettiyadura, A., Verma, V., & Laskin, A., Synergistic Effect of Quinoline Constituents on Oxidative Potential of Ambient Humic-like Substances (HULIS). Turkey Run Analytical Chemistry Conference 2019, Marshall, IN, September 27-28, 2019.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Puthussery, J., & Verma, V., A Semi-Automated Multi-Endpoint ROS Analyzer (SAMERA). International Aerosol Conference 2018, St. Louis, MO, September 2-7, 2018.
Platform presenter (by Dr. Vishal Verma): Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., Comparison of the Oxidative Potential of Size-segregated Aerosols of Ambient Origin in Indoor and Outdoor Environments. Indoor Air 2018, Philadelphia, PA, July 22-27, 2018.
Platform presenter: Yu, H., Wei, J., Cheng, Y., Subedi, K., & Verma, V., Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions among the Particulate Matter (PM) Components in generating Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). American Association for Aerosol Research 36th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC, October 16-20, 2017.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Zhao, H., Stephens, B., & Verma, V., Comparison of the Oxidative Potential of Size-segregated Aerosols of Ambient Origin in Indoor and Outdoor Environments. American Association for Aerosol Research 36th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC, October 16-20, 2017.
Platform presenter (presented by Dr. Chang-Yu Wu): Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., & Dong, L., Size Amplification and Viability Preservation of Aerosolized Virus by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC): Thesis Report. American Association for Aerosol Research 35th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 17-21, 2016.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., Size Amplification of Virus Aerosol by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC). Florida Air and Waste Management Association, Tallahassee, FL, October 24-25, 2015.
Poster presenter: Yu, H., Wu, C., Afshar-Mohajer, N., Lednicky, J., Fan, H., Theodore, A., Size Amplification of Virus Aerosol by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC). American Association for Aerosol Research 34th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, October 12-18, 2015.
Verma, V., Yu, H., & Puthussery, J. Device and Method for Assessing Oxidative Potential of Ambient Particulate Matter. U.S. Patent Application No. 17/204,158, 2021. (Get its introduction from the video on my home page!)
September 2021: American Association for Aerosol Research Registration Waiver Grant
March 2020: Chester P. Siess Award
October 2019: American Association for Aerosol Research Outstanding Student Poster Award
September 2018: International Aerosol Conference 2018 Travel Grant
October 2017: American Association for Aerosol Research Student Assistantship
August 2015: Dale Lundgren Air Resource Scholarship
May 2015: Florida Air & Waste Management Association Scholarship
Introduction to Git and GitHub (Authorized by Google; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 100%)
Neural Networks and Deep Learning (Authorized by DeepLearning.AI; Offered through Coursera: Grade Achieved: 98%)
Applied Machine Learning in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 98.56%)
Applied Plotting, Charting, and Data Representation in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 100%)
Introduction to Data Science in Python (Authorized by University of Michigan; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 92.75%)
Crash Course on Python (Authorized by Google; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 98.50%)
The Raspberry Pi Platform and Python Programming for the Raspberry Pi (Authorized by University of California Irvine; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 99.37%)
Interfacing with the Raspberry Pi (Authorized by University of California Irvine; Offered through Coursera; Grade Achieved: 99.37%)
September 2024 - Present: Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), Engineer-in-Training (E.I.T)
January 2023 - Present: Member of The Association of Chinese Canadian Professors at the University of Alberta (ACCP)
March 2023 - Present: Active Reviewer of American Chemical Society Journals (Field: Environmental Engineering and Sciences, Environmental Chemistry, Atmospheric Science, and Public Health)
July 2023 - Present: Member of Chinese Chemical Society
January 2023 - July 2023: Organizer of UC Davis Air Quality Chemistry & Physics Seminar Series 2023 (AQSS2023)
January 2023 - Present: Member of Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES) and CAPEES Student Chapter
May 2021 - March 2022: Founding President of UIUC AAAR Student Chapter
December 2019 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Geophysical Union
October 2019 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Chemical Society
December 2018 - Present: Active Reviewer of Environmental Science & Technology Letters
August 2015 - Present: Student/Early Career Member of American Association for Aerosol Research
August 2015 - August 2016: Student Member of Air & Waste Management Association
May 2015 - Present: Air & Waste Management Association Scholarship
