I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Climate and Environmental Studies at Vanderbilt University. I study the impact of climate change and human activities on terrestrial ecosystems. A central focus of my work is vegetation phenology, which serves as a key example of the temporal dimension of ecosystems. I employ an integrative approach that combines remote sensing, field observation, citizen science datasets, and Earth system modeling.

Research interests

• Terrestrial ecosystems and global change

• Phenology

• Wildfire

• Earth system models

I am a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University. I study the impacts of climate change and vegetation dynamics on global fire activity by using satellite observations. I’m also interested in changes in fuel moisture content and its relationship with wildfire. A central focus of my work is fire risk modeling in wildland-urban interface and assessing their threat to human communities. I received my Ph.D. in Geography at Nanjing University in China in 2025.

Research Interests

• Wildfire

• Fuel moisture content

• Climate change

• Vegetation ecology

I am a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University. I study global change and ecology, mainly focusing on the land surface freeze-thaw cycle and vegetation phenology, as well as their responses to climate change by using satellite observations. Current focus of my work is to expand the concept of phenology to Earth system and analyze their dynamics. I received my Ph.D. in Geography at Nanjing University in China in 2025.

Research Interests

• Phenology

• Freeze-thaw cycle

• Global change

• Vegetation ecology

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Enviromental Sciences at Vanderbilt University since 2024. My interesting research field lies in vegetation ecology, exploring the impacts of climate change and forest degradation on forest carbon cycling and flammability in the Amazon using Earth system models. I received a B.S. in Geographic Science in 2020, and a M.S. in Cartography and Geographic Information Systems in 2023 at the Nanjing Normal University, China.

Research Interests

• Vegetation Ecology

• Land Surfaces Models

• Landscape Ecology

I am a graduate student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University since 2024. My current study focuses on vegetation phenology using both remote sensing and ground-based observations at large scales to understand land surface changes in response to climate change. Before joining the Meng Lab, I studied remote sensing and spatial informatics at Wuhan University from 2020 to 2024. 

Research interests:

• Vegetation Phenology

• Remote Sensing

• Climate Change

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University since 2025. My research focuses on plant phenology under climate change and human-driven environmental change. I study how artificial light alters seasonal patterns of urban ecosystems, and I am also interested in pollen phenology under climate change. I received a Bachelor of Forestry from Northwest A&F University and pursued graduate studies at Zhejiang A&F University and the University of British Columbia. Before starting my Ph.D., I worked as a Research Assistant at Zhejiang University (2024–2025).

Research Interests

• Plant and Pollen Phenology

• Human-Driven Environmental Change 

• Climate Change 

• Landscape Architecture

I am a senior student major in Earth and Environmental Sciences and Public Policy Studies at Vanderbilt University. I am focused on global climate change and urban sustainability. My current research project investigates the role of green roofs in mitigating the urban heat island effect across different climate zones in the U.S. This research aims to provide data-driven insights into how cities can better adopt sustainable cooling strategies to combat rising temperatures and enhance climate resilience.

Research Interests

• Global climate change

• Environmental policy and urban planning

I am a Junior majoring in both Earth and Environmental Science and Climate Studies with a minor in Business. I am passionate about sustainability and how human-made environments impact natural systems. My current research focuses on how artificial light around campus affects plant phenology, studying how light pollution can disrupt seasonal patterns like flowering and leaf changes. Through my research, I aim to advocate for campus and community practices that support healthier ecological relationships and more sustainable urban design.

Research Interests

• Sustainability and climate advocacy 

• Plant phenology and ecological change 

• Artificial light and light pollution impacts 

• Climate change and urban ecosystems

I am an undergraduate student major in Earth and Environmental Science and Climate Studies at Vanderbilt University. I am studying the impact of parking lot greening design on surrounding thermal conditions.

Research interests

• Green infrastructure

• Global change ecology

• Anthropogenic climate change

• Hao Yin, Postdoc Researcher, 2023-2024.

• Brandt Geist, Master Student, 2023-2025.

• Lauren Bishop, Undergraduate Researcher, 2023-2025.

• Kameron Lloyd, Undergraduate Researcher, 2023-2024.