Di Yang
AST PROF
LS-GEOGRAPHY
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Remote sensing and Earth observation: multi-sensor satellite and airborne imagery (Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS, CORONA, GEDI, NEON AOP lidar and hyperspectral), image processing, time-series analysis, land cover and land use mapping, and Earth observation for environmental monitoring across local to continental scales.
- GeoAI and geospatial foundation models: deep learning for land-use classification, cloud removal and image reconstruction, spatiotemporal fusion, hyperspectral analysis, and uncertainty-aware prediction; embedding models such as AlphaEarth; edge computing and cloud platforms (Google Earth Engine, AWS, Azure, NCAR HPC).
- Historical Earth observation and land-use legacy: georeferencing and classifying declassified CORONA imagery (1960s) to extend the satellite record by 60 years; linking six decades of land change to wildfire regimes, forest productivity, and the wildland-urban interface in western U.S. forests.
- Land change and climate interactions: coupling satellite-derived land cover with Earth system models (CESM2, WRF) to quantify effects on temperature and precipitation extremes, surface energy balance, and photosynthesis in Arctic-Boreal, western North American, and East Asian regions.
- Forest health and fire: mapping standing dead trees and wildfire vulnerability with NEON airborne (AOP) lidar and hyperspectral data, GEDI, and Landsat; fire risk assessment for national parks and protected areas.
- Citizen science and crowdsourced geospatial data: quality assessment of volunteer observations (NASA GLOBE Observer, iNaturalist) as machine learning training data; protocol design that pairs volunteer observations with satellite overpasses; crowdsourcing reviews and open participatory-science curricula (EMERGE).
- Environmental health and One Health: forecasting mosquito-borne disease risk from citizen habitat reports, Earth observations, and climate projections; wildlife mortality events; environmental drivers of disease in Florida, the Americas, and globally.
- Human-environment interactions and land systems science: land-use transitions, forest management, conservation, telecoupling, and hurricane and flood impacts, with field and community partnerships in Florida, the U.S. West, Mexico, Guatemala, and Latin America.
GRANTS
- GRANTExpanding Participatory Science with Geospatial AI and Educational ResourcesMultiple Federal Agencies6 Jan 2026 - 30 Sep 2026
- GRANTForecasting Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk in a Changing Climate: Integrating GLOBE Citizen Science and NASA Earth System ModelingNASA14 Mar 2025 - 31 Dec 2027
- GRANTEvaluating Long-term Impacts of Land-use Transformation on Fire Regimes: A Comprehensive 60-Year Analysis Utilizing Declassified Image, GEDI, and GLOBE Observer over Western U.S. ForestNASA14 Jun 2024 - 31 Jul 2027