Chen Zhu has been an active member of the geochemistry community. He was an Associate Editor for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2005-2021) and Chemical Geology (2017-2019).
He has given pro bono short courses on geochemical modeling at the International Association of Geochemistry’s Conference (2023), the University of Cambridge (2023), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (2022), online before the Goldschmidt Conference (2022), the National Groundwater Association’s continuing education program (2017), Szeged University (2014), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (2011), and University of the Witwatersrand (2005).
Chen Zhu led computer science undergraduate students Kevin Tu, Robert Hageboeck, and other students and developed the CyberPlatform https://models.earth.indiana.edu/, which hosts geochemical modeling software and thermodynamic and kinetic databases. These resources are extensively used by the geochemical community for research and teaching. The platform is available to all with no cost, reducing economic disparities and reaching out to the parts of the world where education and research resources are limited but environmental issues are more severe. Google Analytics recorded 7,400 users from 89 countries who conducted 13,000 sessions on the CyberPlatform between September 2020 and September 2023.