Hi, I’m Yifan! I’m a Ph.D. candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, where I work with Dr. Vivek Srikrishnan in the Srikrishnan Research Group. My path here has been a winding one: I started out in biotechnology at Beijing Forestry University and forest sciences at the University of British Columbia, then found my way to water during my M.S. at the University of Michigan, modeling the Great Lakes and a groundwater contamination plume with Dr. Andrew Gronewold.

Research Interests

I am interested in the interactions between human and Earth systems and what they mean for managing environmental change: how climate variability and change, institutions, infrastructure, and human behavior jointly shape risks to communities, economies, and ecosystems. Two interrelated questions motivate my work. How do environmental processes and societal choices shape vulnerability, resilience, and the distribution of risk? And how can that understanding inform policies and governance that support human well-being and environmental sustainability under uncertainty?

I am especially interested in how institutions and decision-making mediate environmental impacts, and how societal responses reshape the conditions that generate future risk: when adaptation delivers lasting benefits, when it shifts costs or risks onto other populations, sectors, or generations, and how coordination across sectors and regions can improve outcomes. My doctoral research applies these questions to water scarcity in the western United States, using explainable AI emulators of process-based hydrologic models to attribute shortages to climatic and socioeconomic drivers, and econometric analysis to test whether water markets work as an adaptation mechanism.

I draw on environmental modeling, empirical and statistical analysis, machine learning, and decision science, with particular interest in representing human–environment interactions such as water rights and markets in models, weighing competing objectives, and identifying strategies that perform well across plausible futures. Throughout, I pay close attention to how uncertainty, modeling assumptions, and societal values shape scientific conclusions and management choices.

Keywords: coupled human–Earth systems; climate impacts and adaptation; environmental institutions and governance; sustainable resource management; decision-making under uncertainty

Away from research, you’ll usually find me rock climbing, making ceramics, or snowboarding once winter comes around. I’m also learning photography, and my favorite way to unwind is hanging out with my cat, Boba. I’m always happy to connect, so feel free to reach out using the contact information on the left!