Positive environmental change requires both passion and science—a philosophy that drives Ziqi Guo, an incoming Ph.D. student in UConn’s Environmental Engineering program. Guo has been named an Impact Scholars Fellow, a prestigious award granted to incoming doctoral students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, and a commitment to creating positive societal change.

Guo’s research focuses on developing AI and process-based models to assess and mitigate the impacts of climate extremes and ecological degradation. His past work examined how natural disasters like landslides, wildfires, and floods disrupt sediment transport pathways around the globe. At UConn, he will expand on this research in the Hydroclimatology and Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions lab of Professor Guiling Wang, whose group specializes in climate modeling, land-atmosphere interactions, and hydrological extremes.

 “We hope to develop tools that inform climate adaptation, hazard mitigation, and sustainable land management at both regional and global scales,” Guo explains.

Professor Wang emphasizes Guo’s exceptional potential: “Ziqi is a highly accomplished young scholar, having already published three journal articles with more under review. He is extremely self-driven and passionate about research. We are very grateful to the Impact Scholars Fellowship that affords us the opportunity to recruit a student of Ziqi’s caliber.”

Beyond research, Guo is also passionate about mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration. He views the fellowship not only as support for his dissertation but as an opportunity to give back to the UConn community by fostering academic initiatives and cross-disciplinary learning.

The Impact Scholars Fellowship provides Guo with the crucial resources to pursue societally impactful research at UConn and beyond.

Click here to read the full article in UConn Today.