Yanghui Kang

Yanghui Kang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has prior postdoctoral experience at UC Berkeley and USDA-ARS. His work integrates satellite remote sensing, machine learning, and process-based modeling to monitor terrestrial ecosystems and address climate mitigation through nature-based solutions.

• B.S. (2011): Geographic Information Science, Beijing Normal University
• M.S. (2013): Environment & Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• M.S. (2018): Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Ph.D. (2020): Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research focuses on remote sensing of vegetation dynamics, agroecosystem modeling, and nature-based climate solutions. He develops frameworks for quantifying carbon/water fluxes, leaf area index (LAI), and gross primary productivity (GPP) using satellite data. His work enables sustainable land/water management and climate policy support.

Recent publications span multi-sensor LAI validation, CO2 fertilization impacts on GPP, and deep learning for ecosystem monitoring. Key projects include OpenET satellite evapotranspiration and CEDAR-GPP datasets, with funding from NASA and prior fellowships from SCINet and NASA Earth Science.

• Scientific Awards: NASA Early Career Investigator (2024), SCINet Fellowship (2020-2021), IOP Top Cited Paper (2020)

He advises graduate students working on ecosystem-atmosphere fluxes, agricultural water use, and climate-adaptive remote sensing. The Kang Lab maintains open-source tools like the Landsat-LAI GitHub repository for global vegetation monitoring.