Rate My Professor Yujie Zheng

Yujie Zheng is an Assistant Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas since 2023. She specializes in geophysics, with a focus on radar remote sensing techniques, particularly Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), to study crustal deformation, active tectonics, hydrology, geodesy, and volcanology. Prior to joining UT Dallas, Zheng served as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the California Institute of Technology from 2019 to 2023. She earned her Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University in 2020, where her thesis addressed imaging Cascadia slow slip events using modern InSAR datasets. She also holds a B.S. in Geophysics and a B.S. in Economics from Peking University in 2014.

Zheng's research develops and applies methods to analyze geodetic observations for insights into natural processes like tectonic movements and volcanic activity, as well as anthropogenic impacts such as groundwater extraction. Key publications include "Depth-dependent seismic sensing of groundwater recovery from the atmospheric-river storms of 2023" published in Science (2025, co-authored with Shujuan Mao et al.), "Integrating Long-Term InSAR Monitoring Into Local Groundwater Management: Insights From the Hollywood Basin, California" in Water Resources Research (2025, with Mark Simons), "Mapping Spatiotemporal Variations of Near-Surface Seismic Velocity to Monitor Groundwater in Central Oklahoma" in Geophysical Research Letters (2025), and "On closure phase and Systematic Bias in Multi-looked SAR Interferometry" in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (2022). Her contributions have been recognized with the 2017 American Geophysical Union Outstanding Student Paper Award in the Geodesy session, the 2014 Joshua L. Soske Fellowship from Stanford's School of Earth Sciences, the 2012 Peking University Principal’s Award for undergraduate research, the 2012 Chinese Universities Study Award, and the 2010 May 4th Fellowship from Peking University. Additionally, she has presented public lectures on InSAR applications at events such as the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting, NISAR Community Science Workshop, and Fringe 2023. Zheng serves as a reviewer for journals including IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing and Remote Sensing of Environment, and is a member of the American Geophysical Union and IEEE. At Stanford, she served as teaching assistant for courses including Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Man versus Nature: Coping with Disasters Using Space Technology, and Imaging Radar and Applications. She also mentored participants in the Clean Water Science Network Mentorship Program from 2021 to 2022.