Faculty
Yingjie Hu is an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Geography at the
University at Buffalo (UB). He is also an affiliated faculty with the
UB AI and Data Science Institute. His major research area is in GIScience and more specifically GeoAI. He holds a PhD from the
Department of Geography at
UC Santa Barbara. He received his MS and BS degrees from
East China Normal University. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals and conferences. He and his work received awards at international, national, and university levels, including Waldo-Tobler Young Researcher Award, GIScience 2018 Best Full Paper Award, UB Exceptional Scholar: Young Investigator Award, Jack and Laura Dangermond GIS Graduate Fellow Award, Doctoral Scholarship from the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, National Award for Outstanding Chinese PhD Students Studying Abroad, AAG International Geographic Information Fund Award, and UCSB Geography Excellence in Research Award. His research was also covered by major media such as CNN, NPR, Reuters, and VOA News. He is passionate about doing GIScience research, training the next generation’s GIS leaders, and serving the GIS community.
Current Students
Gaurish Lakhanpal is a student at
Stevenson High School (graduating in 2023). He works as a research intern in the GeoAI Lab. He’s interested in exploring the world of GeoAI, specifically looking at spatial bias in data. In his free time he enjoys programming, writing poetry, and collecting fountain pens.
Ryan Zhenqi Zhou is a PhD student in the
Department of Geography at the
University at Buffalo (UB). His research focuses on health outcome prediction and understanding, by integrating human mobility data, geospatial image data, and existing AI models. He is interested in GeoAI, Public Health, Urban Analytics, Social Media, and Big Data.
Aleema H Arastu is a master student in the
Department of Geography at the
University at Buffalo. She previously completed her undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo, receiving a B.S. in Geographic Information Science as well as a B.A. in International Studies with a focus on Asia and a minor in Korean language and culture. Before her undergraduate studies, she received certification in veterinary science. She is interested in applications of GIS to climate science, ecosystem biodiversity, and sustainable communities.
Alumni
Dale Sherman completed his B.S. in GIScience in Summer 2017. He worked with Dr. Hu during his undergraduate study on GIS.
Dylan Witucki completed his B.S. in GIScience in Summer 2017. He worked with Dr. Hu during his undergraduate study on GIS.