Gabrielle "Bee" Leung

Biosketch

I grew up in Baguio City in the Philippines (so I'm still learning to think in Fahrenheit). I did my undergraduate degree at Ateneo de Manila University, where I majored in Physics and minored in Creative Writing. Before joining the van den Heever group in Fall 2020, I worked at the Manila Observatory and participated in the NASA CAMP²Ex field campaign. Broadly speaking, my work explores where and when human-driven changes are most important for clouds. My M.S. thesis focused on how variability in aerosol loading, chemical composition, and spatial distribution can modulate aerosol effects on shallow clouds. Currently, my Ph.D. research (funded by a NASA FINESST grant) looks at how simultaneous changes to the land surface and aerosol environment (like deforestation or urbanization) impact clouds and precipitation in Southeast Asia. In my research, I use a combination of satellite data, field observations, and clour-resolving models. When I'm not at work, I spend my time reading, doing pottery, cooking (and eating), biking, and travelling.

Education

M.S., Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 2022
B.S. (magna cum laude), Physics, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2019

Awards and Fellowships

JPL Center for Climate Sciences Summer School participant, 2023
Herbert Riehl Memorial Award, 2023
Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology Fellowship, 2022
David L. Dietrich Honorary Scholarship for Outstanding Aerosol Research, 2022
2^nd Place Student Oral Presentation at AMS 19^th Conference on Mesoscale Processes, 2022
Walter Scott Jr. Graduate Fellowship, 2020
NASA Group Achievement Award (CAMP²Ex), 2020
ADMU Award for Most Outstanding Scholar, 2019
ADMU Award for Excellent Basic Reserch in the Environmental Sciences, 2019
ADMU Department of Physics Program Award, 2019

Publications

Leung, G.R., L.D. Grant, and S.C. van den Heever, 2024: Deforestation-driven increases in shallow clouds are greatest in drier, low-aerosol regions of Southeast Asia. Accepted pending revision at Geophys. Res. Lett. [Link]
Sokolowsky, G.A.*, S.W. Freeman*, [and 13 others, including G.R. Leung], 2022: *these authors contributed equally to this work. tobac v1.5: Introducing Fast 3D Tracking, Splits and Mergers, and Other Enhancements for Identifying and Analysing Meteorological Phenomena. Accepted pending revision at Geo. Mod. Dev. [Link]
Collado, J.T., [and 15 others, including G.R. Leung], 2023: Spatiotemporal Assessment of PM2.5 Exposure of a High-risk Occupational Group in a Southeast Asian Megacity. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. [Link]
Leung, G.R., S.M. Saleeby, G.A. Sokolowsky, S.W. Freeman, and S.C. van den Heever, 2023: Aerosol-cloud impacts on aerosol detrainment and rainout in shallow maritime tropic clouds. Atmos. Chem. Phys. [Link]
Leung, G.R. and S.C. van den Heever, 2023: Aerosol breezes drive cloud and precipitation increases. Nat. Comm. [Link]
Leung, G.R. and S.C. van den Heever, 2022: Controls on the Development and Circulation of Terminal and Transient Congestus Clouds and Implications for Midlevel Aerosol Transport. J. Atmos. Sci. [Link]
Reid, J.S., [and 76 others, including G.R. Leung], 2023: The coupling between tropical meteorology, aerosol science, convection and the energy budget during the Clouds, Aerosol Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP²Ex). Bull. Amer. Soc. [Link]
Crosbie, E., [and 23 others, including G.R. Leung], 2022: Measurement report: Closure analysis of aerosol–cloud composition in tropical maritime warm convection. Atmos. Chem. Phys. [Link]
Stahl, C., [and 20 others, including G.R. Leung], 2021: Total organic carbon and the contribution from speciated organics in cloud water: airborne data analysis from the CAMP2Ex field campaign. Atmos. Chem. Phys.. [Link]
Lorenzo, G.R., [and 20 others, including G.R. Leung], 2021. Measurement report: Firework impacts on air quality in Metro Manila, Philippines, during the 2019 New Year revelry. Atmos. Chem. Phys.. [Link]

Invited Seminars and Talks

Climate Journal Club, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California – San Diego, CA, February 2024
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI, February 2024

Selected Conference Presentations

Leung, G.R., L.D. Grant and S.C. van den Heever, 2023: Deforestation-driven changes in clouds over Southeast Asia are modulated by moisture and aerosols. AGU Annual Fall Meeting San Francisco, CA. Poster.
Leung, G.R. and S.C. van den Heever, 2023: "Aerosol breezes" from mesoscale aerosol gradients drive precipitation increases. AMS 3^rd Symposium on Mesoscale Processes Denver, CO. Oral.
Leung, G.R. and S.C. van den Heever, 2022: Thermal circulations and precipitation increases driven by mesoscale aerosol gradients. AMS 16^th Conference on Cloud Physics Madison, WI. Oral.
Leung, G.R. and S.C. van den Heever, 2022: Updraft structure and detrainment in transient and terminal congestus clouds. AMS 19^th Conference on Mesoscale Processes Virtual. Oral.
Leung, G.R., S.C. van den Heever, and J.S. Reid, 2021: Convective transport and midlevel detrainment from congestus clouds. AGU Annual Fall Meeting New Orleans, LA. Oral.

Field Experience

Operations manager, NSF BioAerosols and Convective Storms (BACS-II) campaign, 2023
Drone pilot, radiosonde operator, NSF BioAerosols and Convective Storms (BACS-I) campaign, 2022
Flight scientist, flight planner, weather forecaster, NASA Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP²Ex), Summer 2019
Instrumentation set-up and maintenance, NASA CAMP²Ex Weather and Composition Monitoring (CHECSM), 2019-2020

Teaching Experience

CSU Graduate Teaching Certificate Program, 2023-Present
Drone and radiosonde instructor for van den Heever group, 2022-Present
GTA for ATS620: Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics

Service and Outreach

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, reviewer, 2023-Present
CSU/CIRA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Member, 2022-Present
Little Shop of Physics, Science Demo Volunteer, 2022-Present
CSU Atmospheric Science International Student and Scholar Association (ATSISSA), Board Member, 2022-2023
FAA Part 107 Licensed UAS Pilot
The Mind Museum, science communicator, 2018
Ateneo Mathematics Olympiad, tutor, 2015-2016

Last Updated: 3/24