Curriculum Vitae
Education
Cornell University
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering (2027, expected)
- Concentration: Energy and Water Resource Systems
- Minors: Atmospheric Sciences, Public Policy
- Committee: Dr. Vivek Srikrishnan (Chair), Dr. Flavio Lehner, Dr. Sheila Olmstead, Dr. Danielle Grogan
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering (2025)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
M.S., Environment and Sustainability (2022)
- Specializations: Ecosystem Science and Management, Geospatial Data Sciences
- Advisors: Dr. Andrew Gronewold, Dr. Derek van Berkel
University of British Columbia
B.S., Forest Sciences (2020)
- Specialization: Forest Ecology
Beijing Forestry University
B.S., Biotechnology (2020)
- Minor: Japanese
Research Experience
Srikrishnan Research Group, Cornell University
Graduate Research Assistant (Aug. 2023 – present)
- Developed a deep learning emulator of the University of New Hampshire Water Balance Model (WBM) to quantify natural and human contributions to water shortages across the western U.S.
- Applied multiple explainable AI (XAI) methods to the emulator and combined their results into consensus-strength maps showing where methods agree on the main drivers of water shortage
- Quantified uncertainty in XAI attributions, separating disagreement among explanation methods from numerical instability caused by the emulator’s training seed
Hydrologic Science & Uncertainty Assessment Lab, University of Michigan
Graduate Student Research Assistant (Mar. 2021 – May 2023)
- Led three research projects on Great Lakes hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling within a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo framework
- Conducted statistical research on water balance model optimization and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data
- Delivered research presentations and wrote technical reports to communicate findings
Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan
GIS Specialist (May 2022 – Sept. 2022)
- Analyzed potential carbon storage in energy crops, agricultural production, and forest resources at the county level
- Mapped distances from heavy-duty vehicle charging stations to the nearest existing transmission line in each capacity class to compare transmission expansion costs with wholesale purchase costs
Environmental Spatial Analysis Lab, University of Michigan
Research Assistant (May 2021 – Dec. 2021)
- Managed the geodatabase, map composites, and related metadata on land-cover and land-use change for University of Michigan properties
- Created a user manual for MField, a comprehensive data repository and information management system for field-based research on University of Michigan-owned properties
- Validated and cleaned up geospatial datasets and data products from recent research projects to ensure data integrity
Institute of Applied Ecology, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Science
Lab Intern (June 2018 – Aug. 2018)
- Conducted field experiments on precipitation runoff, nitrogen transition, soil evaporation, and plant transpiration
- Collaborated with research investigators to design experiments and review experimental data
- Performed routine calibration and function checks on laboratory equipment to ensure accuracy, and managed laboratory inventory, including organizing supplies, placing orders, and scheduling equipment use
Environmental Functional Nanomaterials Lab, Beijing Forestry University
Research Assistant (Sept. 2017 – May 2018)
- Coded and analyzed quantitative data on carbon capture and utilization in Excel
- Supported research on the synthesis and design of multifunctional nanomaterials by creating research posters, delivering presentations, and writing annotated bibliographies
- Attended and organized weekly professional seminars, networking with other research students and faculty
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, Tongji University
Laboratory Technician (Jan. 2018 – Feb. 2018)
- Assisted graduate researchers with sample preparation and laboratory analyses for water and wastewater treatment experiments
- Prepared reagents and maintained and calibrated laboratory instruments in accordance with laboratory safety protocols
- Recorded, organized, and checked experimental data for the research team
Publications
Manuscripts in Preparation
- Sources of Explanation Uncertainty in Spatiotemporal Deep Learning Emulators of the Fire Weather Index in the Western United States Luo, Y. and Srikrishnan, V. 2026. “Sources of Explanation Uncertainty in Spatiotemporal Deep Learning Emulators of the Fire Weather Index in the Western United States.” Earth’s Future. In preparation.
- Who Gains When Water Runs Out? Welfare from Agriculture-to-Urban Water Rights Trading in the Western United States Luo, Y., Zheng, J., Lisk, M. D., Fisher-Vanden, K., Olmstead, S. M., and Srikrishnan, V. 2026. “Who Gains When Water Runs Out? Welfare from Agriculture-to-Urban Water Rights Trading in the Western United States.” Environmental Research Letters. In preparation.
- Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) Attributions of Water Scarcity in the Western United States Are Unstable and Uncertain Luo, Y., Grogan, D. S., Zuidema, S., Lammers, R. B., Zheng, J., Lisk, M. D., Fisher-Vanden, K., Olmstead, S. M., and Srikrishnan, V. 2026. “Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) Attributions of Water Scarcity in the Western United States Are Unstable and Uncertain.” Nature Water. In preparation.
Reports
- Cumulative Impact Assessment (2016-2020) of Withdrawals, Consumptive Uses and Diversions Paulson, H., Luo, Y., Muir, M., Huber, J., and Gronewold, A. 2023. “Cumulative Impact Assessment (2016-2020) of Withdrawals, Consumptive Uses and Diversions.” Great Lakes-St Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council.
Theses
- Gelman Site 1,4-Dioxane Groundwater Contamination Plume Modeling and Forecasting Luo, Y. 2022. “Gelman Site 1,4-Dioxane Groundwater Contamination Plume Modeling and Forecasting.” Master’s practicum, University of Michigan.
Presentations
Talks
- Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) Attributions of Water Scarcity in the Western United States Are Unstable and Uncertain
- Quantifying Explanation Uncertainty in XAI Emulators for Water Shortage Attribution in the Western U.S.
- Water Shortage Attribution in the Western U.S. Using eXplainable Artificial Intelligence Emulators of Process-Based Hydrologic Models
- Designing Statistical Prediction Systems to Capture Seasonal Lake Water Balance Dynamics
- Holistic Water Balance Modeling: A Large Lake Perspective on Combining Bayesian Inference, In Situ Data, Model Simulations and Remote Sensing
- Analysis of Great Lakes Water Balance Components: Uncertainty Reduction, Trend Detection, and Projections for the Future
- Gelman Site 1,4-Dioxane Groundwater Contamination Plume Modeling and Prediction
Posters
- Water Market Responses and Adaptation to Drought in the Western United States
- Quantifying Explanation Uncertainty in eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) Emulators for Water Shortage Attribution in the Western U.S.
- Quantifying Explanation Uncertainty in eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) Emulators for Water Shortage Attribution in the Western U.S.
- Water Scarcity Attribution in the Western U.S. Using Interpretable Machine Learning Emulators of Process-Based Hydrologic Models
- Disentangling Climate and Socioeconomic Contributions to Water Shortage in the Western US
- Disentangling Climate and Socioeconomic Contributions to Water Shortage in the Western US 3rd Place, Poster Presentation Sessions
- Disentangling Climate and Socioeconomic Contributions to Water Shortage in the Western US
- A Comparative Analysis of Lake-to-Lake Connecting Channel Discharge Computation Methods
- Applying the Large Lake Statistical Water Balance Model (L2SWBM) to Reduce Uncertainty in Great Lakes Water Balance Components
- Climate Change and Great Lakes Basin Water Management
- Developing a Spatio-Temporal Modeling and Forecasting Tool for a Subsurface Water-Borne Toxin (1,4-Dioxane)
Teaching
Workshops and Professional Training
- Deep Learning for Science (DL4Sci) Summer School. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. June 2025
- Community Earth System Model (CESM) Workshop. National Center for Atmospheric Research (virtual). June 2025
- Workshop & Hackathon on Climate Risk, Insurance, and Reinsurance. Cornell University. May 2025
- Groundwater & Society Workshop. Pennsylvania State University. May 2024
- Wilderness First Aid CPR/AED Certification. Cornell Wilderness & Environmental Medicine Program. Oct. 2023
- Water Balance Model (WBM) User Community Meeting & Workshop. University of New Hampshire. July 2023
- Great Lakes Groundwater Workshop. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) John Wesley Powell Center. May 2023
- Large Lake Statistical Water Balance Model (L2SWBM) & Copula Workshop. University of Michigan. July 2022
Outreach and Science Communication
- “One Model, Many Stories: Why Your AI’s Explanation Might Be Misleading You” blog post, Water Programming: A Collaborative Research Blog, Blog contributor. Oct. 28, 2025
- “People of PCHES: Yifan Luo Spotlight” research profile, Program on Coupled Human and Earth Systems (PCHES), Pennsylvania State University, Featured researcher. July 2025
- “EPA Considers Ann Arbor’s Gelman Plume for List of Nation’s Most Serious Contamination Sites” news article, The Michigan Daily, Featured research. Mar. 2025
Service
- Committee Member, Cornell Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Research Symposium. 2024–2025
Skills
- Programming & Computing: Python, R, Julia, Jupyter, Bash/Shell scripting, Git/GitHub, conda, LaTeX, HPC (Slurm)
- Geospatial & Modeling Tools: ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, Google Earth Engine, NetLogo, QGIS
- Statistical & Analytical Methods: Bayesian inference, regression & multivariate analysis, time-series & spatial statistics, uncertainty quantification and characterization, data visualization
- Languages: English (Fluent), Mandarin Chinese (Native), Japanese (Conversational), German (Conversational)