Xiaojing Zhu

Xiaojing Zhu is an environmental analytical geochemist whose research focuses on the occurrence, fate, and risk of both synthetic and natural organic chemicals, including new contaminants and their transformation products across different environmental compartments. Her work integrates advanced analytical chemistry with environmental biogeochemistry to investigate chemical behavior in Earth systems under climate change, with particular emphasis on nonextractable residues (NER), which represent both a major analytical gap and a critical knowledge gap in understanding chemical fate.

She received her PhD from RWTH Aachen University in Germany, where her research addressed a unique and underexplored aspect of organic pollutants by focusing on NER. She is currently working at UFZ, where her research has expanded toward cutting-edge topics related to persistent and mobile chemicals, including ultra-short-chain PFAS, and the associated analytical challenges. Her work bridges these research lines within multidisciplinary frameworks, with a particular focus on climate-sensitive environments such as the cryosphere.