Yanli Zhang, Ph.D.
Yanli Zhang is a visiting assistant professor (geography) and research associate at the GeoTREE Center of University of Northern Iowa. He earned a Ph.D. (2006) in Forestry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has a bachelor's degree (1993) in engineering from the Beijing Forestry University. He also studied soil and water conservation at the post-graduate level at Beijing Forestry University. Dr. Zhang was a research assistant in the International Cooperation Department of Beijing Forestry University from 1993 to 2001.
Dr. Zhang's dissertation work at UMassAmherst included the development of the Watershed Forest Management Information System (WFMIS). He tested the prototype version on the Quabbin Reservoir watershed (metro-Boston water supply) in cooperation with the Massachusetts Division of Water Supply Protection and the Quabbin forestry staff. He also worked on the Trust for Public Land-UMassAmherst-US Forest Service Source Water Stewardship Project (2002-04).
Dr. Zhang's current research and software development interests include GIS techniques, GIS applications in natural resources management, and remote sensing. Yanli is working on a WebWMPI module along with other spatial decision support systems (SDSS) projects in conjunction with the GeoTREE center, UMassAmherst, and the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area.
