CV

Curriculum vitae for Yu Zhou.

Contact Information

Name Yu Zhou, Ph.D.
Professional Title Research Associate, Lecturer
Email yu.zhou at usys.ethz.ch; zhouy.work at gmail.com
Location LFW A 7, Universitätstrasse 2, Zürich, Switzerland 8092
Website https://yuzhoubiogeo.github.io

Experience

  • 2024 - present

    Zürich, Switzerland

    Research Associate
    ETH Zurich
    Advised by Prof. Nina Buchmann, Department of Environmental Systems Science.
    • SNSF CERES: Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Extremes on the Resilience of European Forests
    • COST Action CLEANFOREST: Joint effects of climate extremes and atmospheric deposition on European forests
  • 2022 - 2024

    Ithaca, NY, USA

    Schmidt AI for Science Postdoctoral Fellow
    Cornell University
    Advised by Prof. Yiqi Luo and Prof. Carla Gomes.
    • Schmidt Sciences: AI for Interpreting Dryland Carbon Dynamics
  • 2021 - 2022

    Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Postdoctoral Fellow
    Northern Arizona University
    Advised by Prof. Yiqi Luo, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society.
    • DOE LTER: Trait Adaptations to Atmospheric and Soil Aridity Across Dryland Species
  • 2016 - 2020

    Worcester, MA, USA

    Research Assistant
    Clark University
    Advised by Prof. Christopher Williams, School of Geography.
    • NASA EVS2 ACT-America: Advancing Terrestrial Carbon Cycle Models with Atmospheric Carbon Data
    • NASA Carbon Monitoring System: Translating Forest Change to Carbon Emissions/Removals

Education

  • 2015 - 2021

    Worcester, MA, USA

    Ph.D.
    Clark University
    Geography
    • Dissertation: Improving Carbon Cycle Modeling with Flux Measurements, Forest Inventories, and Satellite Observations
  • 2012 - 2015

    Beijing, China

    M.S., with Honors
    Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth
    Geographic Information System and Cartography
    • Thesis: Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Water Use Efficiency in Central Asia
  • 2008 - 2012

    Qingdao, China

    B.E., with Honors
    Shandong University of Science and Technology
    Remote Sensing

Research Interests

  • Carbon cycle science; nature-based climate solutions; ecosystem ecology; climate change impacts; process-based modeling; machine learning/artificial intelligence; remote sensing.

Grants

  • 2023 - 2024
    Schmidt AI for Science Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cornell University
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Funding source: Schmidt Sciences
    Amount: USD 150,000
  • 2017 - 2017
    Sussman Research Grant
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Funding source: Edna-Bailey Sussman Foundation
    Amount: USD 7,275

Awards

  • 2026
    Grant for Young Researcher and Innovator Conference

    funded by EU COST Action CA21138, Joint effects of CLimate Extremes and Atmospheric depositioN on European FORESTs (CLEANFOREST). Disentangling the Roles of Atmospheric Deposition and Hydroclimate in Shaping European Forest Productivity.

  • 2020
    Group Achievement Award for ACT-America project of NASA
  • 2019
    Purser Dissertation Enhancement Grant, Clark University
  • 2017
    Travel Award of Max Planck Institute, Jena, Germany
  • 2012
    Excellent Thesis Award of Shandong University of Science and Technology
  • 2016
    Libbey Graduate Fellowship, Clark University
  • 2014
    National Scholarship for Graduate Student, Ministry of Education, China
  • 2008
    First Class Scholarship of Shandong University of Science and Technology

Languages

Mandarin : Native
English : Proficient
German : Beginner

Skills

Programming: MATLAB, R, Python, FORTRAN