CV (the short version)

EDUCATION

PhD in Environmental Engineering, USC, 2022
Advisors: Dr. Kelly Sanders (2021 - 2022), Dr. George Ban-Weiss* (2017 - 2021)
* Dr. George Ban-Weiss sadly passed away in October 2021.
MS in Computer Science, USC, 2022
MS in Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2014
BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2013

PAPERS

Ko, J., Hu, H., Li, Y., Schlaerth, H., Mayes, S., Peplinski, M., et al. (2026). Modeling the distribution, impacts, and mitigation of anthropogenic heat in Los Angeles. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 131, e2026JD046326. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JD046326

Ko, J., Govindarajan, H., Lindsten, F., Przybylo, V., Sulia, K., van Lier-Walqui, M., and Lamb, K.D. (2025). Understanding Ice Crystal Habit Diversity with Self-Supervised Learning. Neurips 2025 Workshop: Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.07688

Ko, J., Harrington, J. Y., Sulia, K. J., Przybylo, V., van Lier-Walqui, M., and Lamb, K. D. (2025). A machine learning framework for predicting microphysical properties of ice crystals from cloud particle imagery. Journal of Geophysical Research: Machine Learning and Computation, 2, e2025JH000905. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JH000905

Ko, J., Schlaerth, H., Bruce, A., Sanders, K., and Ban-Weiss, G. (2022). Measuring the temperature impacts and albedo change of neighborhood-scale cool pavement deployments in the Los Angeles area, Environ. Res. Lett., 17, 044027. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac58a8

Ko, J., Krasowsky, T., and Ban-Weiss, G. (2020). Measurements to determine the mixing state of black carbon emitted from the 2017–2018 California wildfires and urban Los Angeles, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15635–15664, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15635-2020

Schimke, C., Eckel, S. P., Chen, F., Schlaerth, H., Ko, J., Reyes-Sanchez, J., ... & Garcia, E. (2026). Best-fit heat stress metric for modelling the heat-mortality relation across climatically distinct subregions of Southern California. Environmental Research, 124987, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2026.124987

Lamb, K.D., Singer, C.E., Loftus, K., Morrison, H., Powell, M., Ko, J., Buch, J., Hu, A.Z., Walqui, M.V.L. and Gentine, P. (2025). Perspectives on systematic cloud microphysics scheme development with machine learning. Journal of advances in modeling earth systems. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025MS005341

Azzouz, M., Hasan, Z., Rahman, Md. M., Gauderman, W. J., Lorenzo, M., Lurmann, F. W., Eckel, S. P., Palinkas, L., Johnston, J., Hurlburt, M., Silva, S. J., Schlaerth, H., Ko, J, Ban-Weiss, G., McConnell, R., Stockfelt, L., and Garcia, E. (2024). Does socioeconomic and environmental burden affect vulnerability to extreme air pollution and heat? - A case-crossover study of mortality in California. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00676-9

Rahman, M.M., Lorenzo, M, Ban-Weiss, G., Hasan, Z, Azzouz, M, Eckel, S.P., Conti, D.V., Lurmann, F.W., Schlaerth, H., Johnston, J., Ko, J., Palinkas, L., Hurlburt, M., Silva, S., Gauderman, J., McConnell, R. (2023). Ambient temperature and air pollution associations with suicide and homicide mortality in California: A Statewide Case-Crossover Study. Science of the Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162462

Rahman, M.M., McConnell, R., Schlaerth, H., Ko, J., Silva, S., Lurmann, F.W., Palinkas, L., Johnston, J., Hurlburt, M., Yin, H. and Ban-Weiss, G. (2022). The Effects of Co-Exposure to Extremes of Heat and Particulate Air Pollution on Mortality in California: Implications for Climate Change. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202204-0657OC

Schlaerth, H., Ko, J., Sugrue, R., Preble, C. and Ban-Weiss, G. (2021). Determining black carbon emissions and activity from in-use harbor craft in Southern California, Atmos. Environ., 256(March), 118382, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118382

EXPERIENCE

Postdoctoral Research Scientist, LEAP STC, Columbia University (2023 - present)
Doctoral Researcher, University of Southern California (2017 - 2022)
Researcher, Frontier Development Lab (Summer 2022)
Air Quality Engineer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2015 - 2017)
Staff Consultant, Iris Environmental, (2014 - 2015)
Energy Engineering Intern, UC Berkeley Physical Plant (2013 - 2014)

AWARDS

15th AMS Student Presentation Award, 2020
USC Viterbi Graduate School Fellowship, 2017

CV (the long version) <- click to download