Staff information

Biography

I got my PhD at NORDITA and MISU in 2018 in Sweden, after which I came to US to continue my research. Life is short, stay hungry, stay foolish.

Research Interests

• Particle transport and clustering in atmospheric and geophysical turbulence;
• Effect of turbulence on cloud physics, moist convection, climate modeling;
• Quantum computing; Planet formation.

Education and Credentials

• 05/2016-09/2018 Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences and Oceanography, NORDITA & Department of Meteorology, KTH & Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, Ph.D. thesis:"Droplet growth in atmospheric turbulence: a direct numerical simulation study"(ISBN9789177973584).
• 08/2016-08/2018 Visiting Ph.D. candidate, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics & JILA, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA.
• 09/2014-05/2016 Lic.Phil. in Atmospheric Sciences and Oceanography,NORDITA & Department of Meteorology, KTH & Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, Licentiate thesis:"Numerical approaches to droplet growth in atmospheric turbulence"(ISBN:978-91-7649-440-0).
• 08/2012-08/2014 M.Phil. in Physics, Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, M.Phil. thesis:"An Experimental Study of Two-dimensional Con-vective Turbulence in a Soap Film".
• 08/2008-07/2012B.Sc. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics,School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

Affiliations and Professional Service

• 03/2020-present: Post-doctor, PNNL, Richland, USA
• 12/2019-02/2020: Researcher, NORDITA, Stockholm, Sweden
• 01/2019-11/2019: Postdoctoral research fellow (climate modeling), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
• 10/2018-12/2018: Scientific researcher (planet formation), NORDITA, Stockholm, Sweden
• 05/2016-09/2018: Ph.D. candidate (turbulence, cloud physics), NORDITA, Stockholm, Sweden
• 09/2014-05/2016: Ph.D. student (turbulence, cloud physics), NORDITA, Stockholm, Sweden08/2012-08/2014: Teaching assistant (experimental turbulence), Department of Physics, CUHK, Hong Kong

PNNL Publications

2025

• Li X., X. Yin, N.O. Wiebe, J. Chun, G.K. Schenter, M.S. Cheung, and J.H. Muelmenstaedt. 2025. "Potential quantum advantage for simulation of fluid dynamics." Physical Review Research 7, no. 1:Art. No. 013036. PNNL-SA-181572. doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013036

2024

• Li X., H. Wang, M. Christensen, J. Chen, S. Tang, S. Kirschler, and E. Crosbie, et al. 2024. "Process Modeling of Aerosol-cloud Interaction in Summertime Precipitating Shallow Cumulus over the Western North Atlantic." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 129, no. 7:Art. No. e2023JD039489. PNNL-SA-186592. doi:10.1029/2023JD039489
• Li X., H. Wang, T. Chakraborty, A. Sorooshian, L.D. Ziemba, C. Voigt, and K.L. Thornhill, et al. 2024. "On the Prediction of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions Within a Data-Driven Framework." Geophysical Research Letters 51, no. 24:e2024GL110757. PNNL-SA-196006. doi:10.1029/2024GL110757
• Tang S., H. Wang, X. Li, J. Chen, A. Sorooshian, X. Zeng, and E. Crosbie, et al. 2024. "Understanding aerosol-cloud interactions using a single-column model for a cold-air outbreak case during the ACTIVATE campaign." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 24, no. 17:10073-10092. PNNL-SA-193088. doi:10.5194/acp-24-10073-2024

2023

• Li X., H. Wang, J. Chen, S. Endo, S. Kirschler, C. Voigt, and E. Crosbie, et al. 2023. "Large-eddy simulations of marine boundary layer clouds associated with cold-air outbreaks during the ACTIVATE Campaign. Part II: aerosol-meteorology-cloud interaction." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 80, no. 4:1025-1045. PNNL-SA-169198. doi:10.1175/JAS-D-21-0324.1
• Painemal D., S. Chellappan, W.L. Smith Jr., D. Spangenberg, J. Park, A. Ackerman, and J. Chen, et al. 2023. "Wintertime synoptic patterns of variability of midlatitude boundary layer clouds over the western North Atlantic: Climatology and Insights From In Situ ACTIVATE Observations." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 128:e2022JD037725. PNNL-SA-177008. doi:10.1029/2022JD037725

2022

• Brunke M., L. Cutler, R. Urzua, A. Corral, E. Crosbie, J. Hair, and C.A. Hostetler, et al. 2022. "Aircraft Observations of Turbulence in Cloudy and Cloud-Free Boundary Layers Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean From ACTIVATE and Implications for the Earth System Model Evaluation and Development." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 127, no. 19:e2022JD036480. PNNL-SA-169729. doi:10.1029/2022JD036480
• Chen J., H. Wang, X. Li, D. Painemal, A. Sorooshian, K.L. Thornhill, and C. Robinson, et al. 2022. "Impact of Meteorological Factors on the Mesoscale Morphology of Cloud Streets during a Cold Air Outbreak over the western North Atlantic." Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 79, no. 11:2863-2879. PNNL-SA-171421. doi:10.1175/JAS-D-22-0034.1
• Li X., H. Wang, J. Chen, S. Endo, G. George, B. Cairns, and S. Chellappan, et al. 2022. "Large-Eddy Simulations of Marine Boundary Layer Clouds Associated with Cold-Air Outbreaks during the ACTIVATE Campaign. Part I: Case Setup and Sensitivities to Large-Scale Forcings." Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 79, no. 1:73-100. PNNL-SA-162328. doi:10.1175/JAS-D-21-0123.1

2021

• Seethala C., P. Zuidema, J. Edson, M. Brunke, G. Chen, X. Li, and D. Painemal, et al. 2021. "On assessing ERA5 and MERRA2 representations of cold-air outbreaks across the Gulf Stream." Geophysical Research Letters 48, no. 19:Art. No. e2021GL094364. PNNL-SA-162399. doi:10.1029/2021GL094364

2020

• Li X., and L. Mattsson. 2020. "Dust growth by accretion of molecules in supersonic interstellar turbulence." The Astrophysical Journal 903, no. 2:Article No. 148. PNNL-SA-153790. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abb9ad