Prof. ZHUANG, Yizhou
(庄一洲)
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Assistant Professor at HKBU
Atmosphere, Climate & Environmental Extremes
ABOUT ME
ABOUT ME
I am currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). My main research interests are extreme weather and climate (wildfire, drought, flood, etc.), attribution of internal variability and anthropogenic warming, land-atmosphere coupling, shallow-to-deep convection transition, remote sensing of cloud, and application of statistical and machine learning methods.
I am currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). My main research interests are extreme weather and climate (wildfire, drought, flood, etc.), attribution of internal variability and anthropogenic warming, land-atmosphere coupling, shallow-to-deep convection transition, remote sensing of cloud, and application of statistical and machine learning methods.
I received my B.S. degree from Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) in 2013, followed by a Ph.D. degree from Peking University (PKU) in 2019. From 2019 to 2024, I was a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Rong Fu in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
I received my B.S. degree from Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) in 2013, followed by a Ph.D. degree from Peking University (PKU) in 2019. From 2019 to 2024, I was a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Rong Fu in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
I have authored and co-authored 19 publications in top peer-reviewed journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Science Advances, Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP), Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (JAS), etc. I am also a reviewer for >20 peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS, Nature Communications, Environmental Research Letters (ERL), etc., and a proposal reviewer for US NSF and NASA.
I have authored and co-authored 19 publications in top peer-reviewed journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Science Advances, Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP), Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (JAS), etc. I am also a reviewer for >20 peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS, Nature Communications, Environmental Research Letters (ERL), etc., and a proposal reviewer for US NSF and NASA.
Three of my works (Zhuang et al. 2021; Turco et al. 2023; Zhuang et al. 2024) that quantify climate change's impact on the increasing fire weather risk and changing drought dynamics over the Western US were published and highlighted in PNAS and Science Advances, receiving extensive coverage by various news outlets. Zhuang et al. 2021 was also ESI Highly Cited Paper, recognized as University of California’s 10 Best Research Stories of 2021, and referenced by Congressman Casten from Illinois at the House Science Committee Hearing to support his amendment to H.R.5781 "National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act".
Three of my works (Zhuang et al. 2021; Turco et al. 2023; Zhuang et al. 2024) that quantify climate change's impact on the increasing fire weather risk and changing drought dynamics over the Western US were published and highlighted in PNAS and Science Advances, receiving extensive coverage by various news outlets. Zhuang et al. 2021 was also ESI Highly Cited Paper, recognized as University of California’s 10 Best Research Stories of 2021, and referenced by Congressman Casten from Illinois at the House Science Committee Hearing to support his amendment to H.R.5781 "National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act".
My CV | Departmental Webpage | Google Scholar | ResearchGate
▪ Jan 21, 2026: Check out our new paper, Zhuang & Fu (2026), published in Geophysical Research Letters. Our study reveals that wildfires in the Western US are expanding into regions with historically lower fire weather risk (vapor pressure deficit, VPD) and the increased background aridity due to anthropogenic warming now allows weaker circulation patterns to trigger wildfires.
▪ Feb 10, 2025: Atmosphere Special Issue "Fire Weather and Drought: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives" is now open for submission.
▪ Jan 10, 2025: Start my new job at HKBU.
▪ Nov 25, 2024: Our work Zhuang et al. 2024 (Sci. Adv.) is selected as "Featured Image" by NOAA Climate.gov. (Link)
▪ Nov 6, 2024: Check out our new paper, Zhuang et al. 2024, published in Science Advances. Our study reveals that in the western US, high evaporative demand—primarily driven by anthropogenic warming—has overtaken precipitation deficits as the leading contributor to drought severity and coverage.
▪ Oct 2, 2024: Congratulations to my student Annie Rosen, co-mentored by myself, Prof. Rong Fu at UCLA, and Dr. Longtao Wu at JPL, for winning the Best JSIP Presentation Award at the UCLA JIFRESSE Summer Internship Program (JSIP). (Link)
▪ Mar 28, 2024: Check out our new paper, Wang et al. 2024 (as corresponding author), published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. It highlights the role of lower-tropospheric humidity in land-atmosphere coupling under dry soil conditions in the US Southern Great Plains.
▪ Mar 14, 2024: Invited talk at UCLA AOS 271 Seminar: Atmospheric Dynamics. "Impacts of Atmospheric Circulation and Anthropogenic Warming on Drought and Wildfire Risk in the Western US". (Recording)
▪ Jan/Feb, 2024: Zhuang et al. 2021 (PNAS) received the "ESI Highly Cited Paper" rating.
▪ Feb 06, 2024: Check out my new paper, Zhuang & Fu 2024, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. It proposes a "Self-Organizing Map - Analogue" approach to quantify circulation influence on precipitation anomalies and investigates the role of PDO in precipitation changes in the US Southwest and Great Plains.
▪ Feb 06, 2024: Heartfelt congratulations to my postdoc advisor, Prof. Rong Fu, on the distinguished honor of being elected as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). (UCLA News)
Y. Zhuang* and R. Fu, 2026: Wildfire Associated Vapor Pressure Deficit Trend and Its Weakening Atmospheric Circulation Control over the Western United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 53(2), e2025GL119159. (Link)
Y. Zhuang, R. Fu*, J. Lisonbee, A. M. Sheffield, B. A. Parker, and G. Deheza, 2024: Anthropogenic warming has ushered in an era of temperature-dominated droughts in the western United States. Science Advances, 10(45), eadn9389. (Article highlighted in “ScienceAdvisor”) (Link; PDF)
G. Wang, R. Fu, Y. Zhuang*, et al., 2024: Influence of Lower Tropospheric Moisture on Local Soil Moisture-Precipitation Feedback over the US Southern Great Plain. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 24(6), 3857-3868. (Link; PDF)
Y. Zhuang* and R. Fu 2024: Quantifying the Contribution of Atmospheric Circulation to Precipitation Variability and Changes in the US Great Plains and Southwest Using Self-Organizing Map–Analogue. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 24(3), 1641-1657. (Link; PDF)
Questions?
Questions?
Contact zhuangyz AT hkbu.edu.hk (replace AT with @) for collaboration inquiries and additional information about my research.
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