Yi Qiang

Dr. Yi Qiang is an Associate Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida, where he leads the Laboratory of Computational Spatial Science for Sustainability (COMPASS Lab). His research integrates GIScience, spatial data science, and geocomputation to address disaster resilience, environmental justice, and community vulnerability. He holds a Ph.D. from Ghent University, an M.S. from the University of Edinburgh, and a B.S. from Beijing Normal University.

Research interests focus on multi-scale spatio-temporal modeling, disaster management using geospatial analytics, and analyzing social disparities related to natural hazards. Key areas include:

• Developing spatial data models for resilience assessment
• AI/machine learning applications in geocomputation
• Nighttime light remote sensing for economic disturbance analysis

His publications demonstrate strong emphasis on geospatial analysis techniques applied to flood exposure, infrastructure resilience, and community recovery patterns following disasters. Recent work utilizes crowdsourced data and machine learning for urban flood mapping and transportation network analysis.

Dr. Qiang advises multiple graduate students and has secured significant research funding including NSF grants for projects on cross-scale spatiotemporal modeling and flood damage assessment. He directs the COMPASS Lab, focusing on computational approaches to sustainability challenges.