Jiyue Zhao

About

Environmental Designer
& Geospatial Researcher

I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Georgia's College of Environment and Design, working with Dr. Rosanna Rivero. My research sits at the intersection of environmental change, coastal ecology, and geospatial science — investigating how sea level rise reshapes coastal forests, wetlands, and urban landscapes across the southeastern United States.

My background spans urban planning, landscape architecture, and multimedia design, giving me a multidisciplinary lens on questions of ecological resilience, connectivity, and spatial justice. I work extensively with LiDAR, remote sensing, and GIS to model environmental futures.

Off the map: I play tennis competitively, collect video game completions the way others collect publications, and find that strategic thinking — whether on a court or in an RPG — sharpens the rigor I bring to science.

Sea Level Rise Coastal Connectivity GIS & Remote Sensing LiDAR Analysis Wildfire Modeling Urban Planning Landscape Ecology 🎾 Tennis 🎮 Video Games

tools & methods

tools = ["ArcGIS", "QGIS", "CityEngine"]

data = ["LiDAR", "InSAR", "Remote Sensing"]

study_area = "SE USA Coastal Regions"

status = "Dissertation Completion 2025–26"

# Student Employee of the Year · UGA 2025

8+

Peer-reviewed publicationsand conference proceedings

7

Conference presentationsinternational & national

20+

Planning & design projectsChina and USA

6

Academic honors & awardsnational & international

2019–

Ph.D. research at UGAAthens, Georgia

Research

Areas of Focus

🌊

Sea Level Rise & Coastal Ecosystems

Quantifying urban and landscape transformation under varying sea level rise scenarios in the southeastern U.S. Assessing omnidirectional connectivity changes in coastal forests and wetlands, and measuring long-term habitat fragmentation through landscape metric analysis.

Landscape Metrics Remote Sensing SE USA Coasts Connectivity Modeling

📡

LiDAR-Derived Coastal Hazard Assessment

Building multi-temporal LiDAR geospatial datasets for high-resolution coastal hazard evaluation. Generating terrain models that track coastal change, erosion dynamics, and inundation risk over time — forming a foundation for resilience planning.

LiDAR Point Cloud Multi-temporal GIS Hazard Mapping

🔥

Wildfire Impact & Susceptibility Modeling

Geospatial analysis of wildfire burn extent and predictive susceptibility modeling in high-risk regions including Maui, Hawaii and California. Integrating satellite imagery, terrain data, and environmental variables to anticipate future risk landscapes.

Susceptibility Modeling Satellite Imagery California · Hawaii

🏙️

Urban Planning & Landscape Ecology

Bridging urban design and ecological network science — from ecological connectivity analysis in Zhengzhou to rural village revitalization strategies in post-boom China. Investigating how spatial planning can reinforce ecological resilience in rapidly urbanizing regions.

Ecological Networks Urban-Rural Design Rural Revitalization

🤖

AI & Human–Environment Interaction

Exploring how large language models and AI systems shape human well-being and environmental awareness. Research includes LLM-driven anxiety symptom alleviation benchmarked against human agents — using multi-modal wearable sensing to bridge physiological signals and AI behavioral insights.

LLMs Wearable Sensing Mental Health HCI

📡

AI-Enabled Ubiquitous Sensing

Leveraging AI with novel sensing modalities — radar, audio, and wearables — for continuous monitoring of human physiology, environment, and wildlife. From non-intrusive body composition via UWB radar to cocktail-party-effect authentication, this research embeds intelligence into everyday spaces.

UWB Radar Continuous Monitoring Wildlife Sensing IoT

Scholarship

Publications

01

Do LLMs Outperform Human Agents in Anxiety Symptom Alleviation? A Multi-Modal Wearable Sensing Study

Jiyue Zhao et al.