Zhao invited to serves on AGU Union Fellows Committee

CEE Assistant Professor Lei Zhao has been invited to serve as a member of the AGU Union Fellows Committee, one of the most important governing bodies of the AGU.

Invitation to the Union Fellows Committee is an honor normally reserved for senior, long-standing Fellows. Zhao, who was only named a Fellow himself in 2025, was selected through a highly competitive process that involved evaluation by both volunteers and AGU staff. By accepting the invitation, Zhao joins a prestigious group of scientists responsible not only for selecting the next cohort of elected Fellows, but guiding the future of AGU’s scientific voice as an organization. 

In addition to his election as Fellow, Zhao was recognized by AGU as the 2025 James B. Macelwane Medal winner. Named for former AGU president James B. Macelwane, this award is given annually to three to five early career scientists in recognition of their significant contributions to Earth and space science. 

He was also recently named a 2025 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, highlighting the influence his work has had among his peers already in his career. 

Zhao joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering in 2018. He is additionally affiliated with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment, and the Department of Climate Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences all at the University of Illinois.