Professor, Environmental and Ocean Sciences
- PhD, University of Georgia
- MS, Peking University China
- BS, Peking University China
Zhi-Yong Yin, PhD, came to USD in 2003 after teaching at Georgia State University in Atlanta for 12 years. He offers classes in hydrology, climatology, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing. His research focus is hydroclimatology, with special interests in recent and past climate variations and the impact on hydrological systems and water resources.
Scholarly Work
Trained as a physical geographer, Yin has a broad spectrum of research interests. His past projects included studies of climatic variability of different time scales, impact of urbanization on water quality and quantity, climate change education, and a NASA-sponsored project to evaluate rainfall estimates based on satellite passive microwave remote sensing over the Tibetan Plateau. He is currently involved in projects using tree rings to reconstruct past climates in various regions in China and investigating variations of the Asian monsoon systems. He has authored and co-authored more than 80 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Climate, Journal of Geophysical Research, International Journal of Climatology, and Journal of Hydrometeorology. Yin has directed both graduate and undergraduate student research in areas of water resources and climate change.
Areas of Interest
Yin has taught introductory courses on earth systems and upper-division courses on hydrological processes and climate change. He encourages his students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills with hands-on experience using authentic scientific data. He also tries to cover current real-world problems in all his classes, with an emphasis on local and regional issues related to climate change and water resources.