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Chuixiang (Tree) Yi

Fulbright Visiting Professor 2022-2023

Professor & Fulbright Scholar

PhD Faculty in EES Program at GC/CUNY

PhD Faculty in Physics Program at GC/CUNY

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY)

Phone: (718) 997-3366         E-mail: cyi@qc.cuny.edu

    

  @cyi12

 

CV

 

Professor Chuixiang (Tree) Yi 

Principal Investigator

 

     

Chuixiang Yi is Professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. Previously, he was Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University. Yi holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from Nanjing University and held post-doctoral positions in boundary-layer meteorology, micrometeorology, and biosphere-atmosphere interactions at the UC-Berkeley, U -Minnesota, Penn-State U, and U -Colorado.  His research has focused on canopy fluid mechanics including developing theoretical formulations, designing observations, and performing numerical simulations to understand the physical, biological, and chemical processes that control the exchange of trace gas between the vegetation and the atmosphere. Yi was a leading recipient of World Meteorological Organization Norbert-Gerbier-MUMM International Award in 2012. Yi was a Rossby Fellow from International Meteorological Institute at Stockholm University during 2014 – 2015. Yi is currently a Fulbright Visiting Professor at University of Innsbruck in 2022. His Lab has a broad spectrum of research projects across Forest Ecology, Remote Sensing, Micrometeorology, Climate Change, Paleoclimate, and Hydrology. The overall goal of his team is to use nonlinear system theory, stability analysis approach, resilience, and tipping point concepts to predict potential critical transitions of nature and society in facing extremes induced by the warming climate.

      

 

     

Distinguished Professor George Hendrey

Principal Investigator

 

        Forest-atmosphere CO2 exchange: Estimating net primary production via the eddy covariance flux method does not work well in hilly to mountainous terrain. Chuixiang Yi and I are setting up an experiment in the Black Rock Forest where we intend to develop methods to improve the use of eddy-flux to estimate NPP in complex terrain. We are establishing a suite of instrumented eddy-flux towers over a single hill for micrometeorological research on advective flux.

       CO2 absorption: An expanding area of interest for me is how inorganic substances react with atmospheric CO2. I have established an apparatus for studying such reactions and their associated kinetics.

       Plant responses to CO2 enrichment: Much of what is known about global ecosystem responses to future increases in atmospheric CO2 has been gained through Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments of my design. All FACE experiments exhibit rapid variations in CO2 concentrations on the order of seconds to minutes. I have shown that long-term photosynthesis can be reduced as a consequence of this variability. Because of this, all FACE experiments tend to underestimate ecosystem net primary production (NPP) associated with a presumed increased concentration of CO2. I am working on development of a NPP correction based on photosynthesis experiments in which CO2 is oscillated in a controlled way in a leaf chamber while measuring photosynthetic fluorescence and/or CO2 assimilation.

     

Professor Nir Krakauer

Collaborator

https://nirkrakauer.net/

 

I study the earth's water and carbon cycles, particularly the effects of global warming and other human impacts. My projects involve monitoring water resources, droughts and floods from earth-observing satellites as well as using ground observations, computer models, and geospatial and statistics tools to learn about hazards and obtain new insights.

 

     

Professor Wei Fang

Collaborator

Pace University

  My long-term research interests lie in the understanding of organismal and ecosystem resilience and responses to anthropogenic changes, including urbanization, warming, and biological invasion.  The global dominance of humans in almost all ecosystems not only makes the research of practical importance, but also necessitates paradigm shifts in how we conduct research to maximize societal benefits.  Specifically, I am studying the distribution, diversity, and impact of exotic invasive species in urban forests and the Hudson River estuarine of New York, and the resilience of forest communities in southwest US and the Mediterranean area to warming and drought. I am also studying the adaptive plasticity of African cichlids in Lake Tanganyika in response to urbanization and algal blooms, integrating molecular biology, field ecology and GIS approaches. My overall objective is to develop an understanding of adaptive responses of organisms and ecosystems under global anthropogenic changes across spatial and temporal scales for better sustainability.
     

Professor Zhenkun Tian

Collaborator

 

I am interested in understanding carbon cycle in regional/global scale by using statistical models, process models, or machine learning models based on the observed/remote sensed data in the context of climate change. I am also interested in exploring LUCC, land surface parameters estimation, vegetation growth, etc. to learn about the anthropogenic impact on earth environment by using GIS, RS, and data mining technology.

     

Dr. Eric Kutter

Collaborator

 

I continue analyzing observed data for recirculation by two-tower system in Black-Rock Forest and writing a book chapter together with Dr. Tree about mountain winds.

     

Former PhD Students
 

Dr. Xiyan Xu

Received PhD in 2014

Dissertation Title: Numerical Study of Canopy Flows in Complex Terrain

Currently Research Scientist at Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

 

Dr. Suhua (Sue) Wei

Received Ph. D. in 2018

Dissertation Title: Impacts of Climate Extremes on Terrestrial Productivity

Currently working for the Amazon

 

Dr. Christine Ramadhin
Received Ph. D. in 2019

Dissertation Title: Abrupt Climate Transitions

 

Dr. Eric Kutter

Received Ph.D. in 2019

Dissertation Title:  Wind Flow Dynamics over Complex Terrain

 
Former visiting PhD Students
 

Qin Zhang

Visiting Ph.D. Candidate

 

Hui Luo

Visiting Ph.D. Candidate

 

Dr. Kaicheng Huang

Visiting Ph.D. Student (2013-2014)

Huang, K., C. Yi, D. Wu, T. Zhou, X. Zhao, W. J. Blanford, S. Wei, H. Wu, D. Ling, and Z. Li, Tipping point of a conifer forest ecosystem under severe drought, Environ. Res. Lett. 10 024011 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024011 (2015). Perspective  Highlights

 

Dr. Shan Gao

Visiting Ph.D. Student (2016-2017)

Gao, S., R. Liu, T. Zhou, W. Fang, C. Yi, R. Lu, X. Zhao, H. Luo, Dynamic responses of tree-ring growth to multiple dimensions of drought, Global Change Biology, DOI:10.1111/gcb.14367 (2018). PDF

 

Gao, S., T. Zhou, C. Yi, P. Shi, W. Fang, R. Liu, E. Liang, J. J. Camareroh, Asymmetric impacts of dryness and wetness on tree growth and forest coverage, Agric. Forest Meteorol., 288–289, 2020, 107980, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107980. PDF

 

Dr. Peipei (Peter) Xu

Visiting Ph.D. Student (2017-2018)

Xu, P., T. Zhou, C. Yi, W. Fang, G. Hendrey, and X. Zhao, Forest drought resistance distinguished by canopy height, Environ. Res. Lett. 13 (2018) 075003 (2018). PDF News

 

Xu, P., T. Zhou, C. Yi, H. Luo, X. Zhao, W. Fang, S. Gao, X. Liu, Impacts of Water Stress on Forest Recovery and Its Interaction with Canopy Height, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 15, 1257; doi:10.3390/ijerph15061257 (2018). PDF

 

Dr. Zhiwen Luo

Visiting Ph.D. Student (2009)

Currently faculty member at University of Reading in U.K.

 
Former visiting Professors
 

Dr. Zhenkun Tian

Visiting Professor (2018-2019)

 

Dr. Shoichi (Show) Furuyama

Visiting Professor (2014)

 
Former Postdoctoral Researchers
 

Dr. Wei (Francina) Fang

Research Associate (2016-2020)

Currently Assistant Professor at Pace University

 

Dr. Hongbin Chen

Postdoctoral Fellow (2010-2011)

Currently Associate Professor at Huaqiao University in China

 
Former Master Students
 

Derek Mu

Master Student (2014-2017)

 

Dr. Caroline Farkas

Master Student ( 2009 - 2011)

Currently Research Scientist at EPA

 

Former Undergraduate Students

& Research Assistants

 

Michelle Park

Undergraduate Student (2019-2020)

 

Jacqueline Singer

Undergraduate Student (2020-2021)

 

Lexi Christensen

Undergraduate Student (2019-2020)

 

 

Natascha Hey

Undergraduate Student (2019-2020)

 

Silvio Aldebot

Undergraduate Student (2017-2018)

 

Xue (Shirley) Weng

Graduate student (2020)

 

Francesca King

Graduate Student (2020)

 

Alex Andronikides

Undergraduate Student (2019-2020)

 

Joel Dhaness

Undergraduate Student (2019)

 

Spencer Gould

Graduate Student (2019)

 

 

Ayo Andra J. Deas

Research Assistant Volunteer (2017-2018)

Currently Ph.D. Student in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center

 

Sara Abedi

Ph.D. Student in Physics (Lab rotation in 2018)

 
 

Daniel Matt Wiener

Graduate Student (2017)

 

Ashley Isaccs

Undergraduate Student (2017-2018)

 

Yunmee Han

Undergraduate Student (2017)

 

Jessica Rosenberg

Ph.D. Student in physics (Lab rotation in 2018)

 

Qianyu Zhang

Research Technician (2012-2013)

 

Alan Mason

Graduate Student (2011-2012)

Staff Scientist in

Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc.

 

David Kim  

Undergraduate Student

 

Daniel Baruch

Undergraduate Student (2016)

 

Mike Taubman

Undergraduate Student (2013-2014)

 

 

Anand Dookie

Undergraduate Student (2010-2013)

 

Max Trukhin

Undergraduate Student (2013)

 

 

Lili Ye

Undergraduate Student (2013)

 

Kevin Clinton

Undergraduate Student (2012-2013)

 

 

Kailin (Pepper) Kuo

Undergraduate Student (2010)

 
Former High School Students
 

Nathan Jackson (2018 summer and 2019 summer)

High School Student

 

Max Wang
High School Student (2010-2012)

 

Chun Wu

High School Student (2011-2012)

 

Hugh Han

High School Student (2013)

 
 

Einstein and Bohr

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