Ziyu Huang

News:

• 03/2026: Happy to share that our NASA Lunar Data Analysis Program proposal has been selected (PI: Brant Jones).

• 03/2026: Honored to be invited to give a seminar at California State University, Long Beach and to visit the local space industry.

• 03/2026: Pleased to present a seminar at Georgia Institute of Technology Planetary Science & Astrobiology Seminar Series: “From Apollo to Chang’e: Linking Returned Lunar Samples with Impact-Driven Space Weathering.”

• 02/2026: Honored to be invited as a keynote speaker at the workshop “Impacts in the Solar System and across Spatial Scales,” organized by the European Space Agency.

• 02/2026: Excited to co-organize the ExplOrigins Colloquium at Georgia Institute of Technology, bringing together the astrobiology and aerospace engineering community for discussion and collaboration.

• 12/2026: Happy to see my students participating in the Capstone Design Competition—excited to watch your hard work come to life and wishing you all the best! (Link)

• 05/2025: I am honored to be invited as a judge for NASA TechLeap Prize (Link)!

• 04/2025: Happy to give a seminar at the UGA Center for Simulational Physics—great to share my work and connect with computational physicist!

• 03/2025: I am honored to be awarded the Astrobiology Fellowship for the 2025–2026 academic year, supported by the Georgia Tech Astrobiology Program.

• 02/2025: Happy to give a seminar at Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in University of Central Florida!

• 02/2025: Our paper on "Machine Learning Heat Flux Closure for Multi-Moment Fluid Modeling of Nonlinear Landau Damping" Ziyu Huang, Chuanfei Dong and Liang Wang has been accepted to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). 

• 02/2025: Happy to give a seminar at Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering in Virgnia Tech!

Employment:

• Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, GA, USA

  • AE Post-Doc Fellow and Astribology Fellow (09/2024 - 08/2026)

• Center for Space Physics, Departments of Astronomy, Boston University, MA, USA

  • Postdoc Reseach Associate (08/2023 - 09/2024 )

• Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA,  USA

  • Visiting Research Specialist (05/2022-08/2022)

Education

• University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Ph.D. in Astronautical Engineering (2018-2023)

• Beihang University, Beijing, China (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Bachelor degree in Aerospace Engineering (2014-2018)

Research Interests (click links to the gallery):

My research connects planetary science and space technology to advance our understanding of space environments and enable sustainable exploration of the Moon and beyond. It lies at the intersection of lunar resource identification and utilization and AI-driven computational physics and chemistry. By integrating atomic-scale simulations, plasma physics, and planetary surface process modeling, I investigate how solar wind irradiation, micrometeoroid impacts, and volatile transport shape the evolution of lunar regolith and control the retention and distribution of key volatiles such as hydrogen and water. These insights directly support the development of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) strategies and digital twin frameworks for lunar exploration. In parallel, I apply machine learning to accelerate materials and plasma simulations, developing predictive models relevant to space propulsion, plasma–surface interactions, and hypersonic flow. Through collaborations in mission design, instrument development, and ground testing, my work bridges fundamental science and applied engineering, advancing the vision of safe, efficient, and sustainable exploration of the lunar surface and other planetary bodies.

• Planetary Science and Exploration

• Computational Plasma Physics for Space Propulsion and Geospace 

• AI4 Space Science & Exploration (!!NEW)

Publications

Published / Accepted

1. 1. Z. Huang and M. Hirabayashi. "Coupled Space Weathering: Nanophase Iron Formation by Micrometeoroid Impact and Solar Wind Sputtering" (https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.14839 In Press at Geophysical Research Letters) [Link]

   2. Z. Huang, and Masatoshi Hirabayashi. "Revealing Exotic Nanophase Iron in Lunar Samples through Impact-driven Spatial Fingerprints." The Planetary Science Journal 7.3 (2026): 62. [Link]

   3. L. S. Morrissey, D. S. Ebel, L. E. J. Eriksson, A. Georgiou, Z. Huang, J. Lewis Roy, M.-M. Mac Low, T. Pfeil "Dust Collisions in Protoplanetary Disks: Atomic Simulations of the Surface Free Energy" The Astronomical Journal 171.1 (2026): 42. [Link]

   4. Z. Huang, M. Hirabayashi and T. M. Orlando "Micrometeoroid Impacts: Dual Pathways for Iron Reduction and Oxidation on Lunar and Asteroidal Surfaces"  The Astrophysical Journal 994.2 (2025): 240. [Link]

   5. Roshan S. Trivedi, Advik D. Vira, Brant M. Jones, Katherine D. Burgess, Ziyu Huang, Honglin Liu, Pranav Rane, Mengkun Tian, Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Thomas M. Orlando, Zhigang Jiang, Phillip N. First "Creation of Lunar-Like Rims in Ilmenite using Synthetic Solar Wind " (https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.03334 Submitted to Nature Portfolio) [Link]

   6. Zeng, X., Jin, Z., Dong, C., Huang, Z., Zhu, M.-H., Xu, L., et al. (2025). Earth wind-driven formation of hematite on the lunar surface. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2025GL116170.  [Link]

   7. M. Gillon, E. Ducrot, T. Bell, Z. Huang, A. Maurel, A. Lincowski, X. Lyu, A. Revol, M. Turbet, F. Selsis, T. Fauchez, E. Agol, D. Koll, D. Berardo, É. Bolmont, B. Demory, A. Dyrek, J. de Wit, C. F. Dong, T. Greene, A. Householder, R. Hu, N. Iro, L. Kreidberg, P. Lagage, J. Lustig-Yaeger, V. Meadows, S. Zieba "First JWST thermal phase curves of temperate terrestrial exoplanets reveal no thick atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 b and c"  (In Press at Nature Astronomy https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02128) [Link]

   8. Santos, Leonardo A. Dos, et al. (including Ziyu Huang)  "Exoplanet Atmospheric Escape Observations with the Habitable Worlds Observatory." arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.07124 (2025). [Link]

   9. Shekarpaz, Simin, Chuanfei Dong, and Ziyu Huang. "Surrogate Modeling of Landau Damping with Deep Operator Networks." arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.16960 (2025). ( The Astrophysical Journal  990.161 (2025) ) [Link]

   10. Anastasis Pavlos Georgiou, Ziyu Huang, Li Hsia Yeo, William Farrell,  Sebastien Verkercke, Jesse R. Lewis, Chuanfei Dong, Liam S. Morrissey "Effect of Solar Wind and Micrometeoroid Impact on the Lunar Water Cycle: A Molecular Dynamics Study" In Press at Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (JGR-Planets) [Link]

   11. Huang, Z. Chuanfei Dong,and Liang Wang. "Machine Learning Heat Flux Closure for Multi-Moment Fluid Modeling of Nonlinear Landau Damping" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 122.11 (2025): e2419073122. [Link]

   12. Liam S. Morrissey, Jesse Lewis, Amanda Ricketts, Caixia Bu, Chuanfei Dong, Denton S. Ebel, George E. Harlow, Ziyu Huang, Francois Leblanc, Menelaos Sarantos, Daniel W. Savin, Sebastien Verkercke. "Theoretical Calculations on the Effect of Adsorbed Atom Coverage on the Sodium Exospheres of Airless Bodies" The Astrophysical Journal 981.1 (2025): 73. [Link]

   13. Liam S. Morrissey, Stefan Bringuier, Caixia Bu, Matthew H. Burger, Chuanfei Dong, Denton S. Ebel, George E. Harlow, Ziyu Huang, Rosemary M. Killen, Francois Leblanc, Orenthal J. Tucker, Daniel W. Savin  "Solar Wind Ion Sputtering from Airless Planetary Bodies: New Insights into the Surface Binding Energies for Elements in Plagioclase Feldspars." The Planetary Science Journal 5.12 (2024): 272. [Link]

   14. Huang, Ziyu, Xinting Yu, Shang-Min Tsai, Julianne I. Moses, Kazumasa Ohno, Joshua Krissansen-Totton, Xi Zhang, and Jonathan J. Fortney. "Probing Cold-to-Temperate Exoplanetary Atmospheres: The Role of Water Condensation on Surface Identification with JWST." The Astrophysical Journal 975, no. 1 (2024): 146. (Link) (Hear more about this work at 2024 AGU talk by Xinting Yu)

   15. TRAPPIST-1 JWST Community Initiative: Julien de Wit et al. (including Ziyu Huang) "A roadmap to the efficient and robust characterization of temperate terrestrial planet atmospheres with JWST" Nature Astronomy (2024) (Link) [Highlighted in MIT News]

   16. Jose P. Ferreira , Ziyu Huang , Ken-ichi Nomura , and Joseph Wang, "The Polluting Potential of Aluminum Demise during Atmospheric Re-entry in the Era of Mega-Constellations."  Geophysical Research Letters (2024)  (Link) [Highlighted in Science (doi: 10.1126/science.zub5l4y), AGU News Release]

   17. Huang, Z., Morrissey, L S., Orenthal Tucker, Nomura, K., Nakano, A., Wang, J., "The effects of the velocity distribution of impact generated water ice ejecta on exospheric escape from airless bodies." Icarus (2024): 115947. (Link)

   18. Huang, Z., Wang, J. "Modeling lunar surface charging under space weather conditions derived from the Artemis and OMNI data." IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (2023). (Link)

   19. Wang, J., Huang, Z. "Multiscale Numerical Simulations of Plasma Charging Effects for Astronaut at the Lunar Terminator." IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (2023). (Link)

   20. Huang, Z., Nomura, K., Morrissey, L.,Wang, J. (2022). "Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Solar Wind Implantation in the Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Lunar Surface."  Geophysical Research Letters, 2022, 49(18): e2022GL099333 [Link]

   21. Asher J, Huang Z, Cui C, et al. (2022) "Multi-scale modeling of ionic electrospray emission[J]." Journal of Applied Physics, 2022, 131(1): 014902.

   22. Huang, Z., Nomura, K., Wang, J. (2021). "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Water Formation and Retention by Micrometeoroid Impact on Lunar Surface."  Geophysical Research Letters, 2021, 48(15): e2021GL093509 [Link] 

   23. Huang, Z., Nomura, K., Nakano, A., Wang, J. (2021). "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Dielectric Breakdown of Lunar Regolith: Implications for Water Ice Formation on Lunar Surface." Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2020GL091681 [Link]

Under Review/In Revision:

• M. Hirabayashi and Z. Huang "Morphological characterizations of sub-$\mu$m scale micrometeoroid impact craters given impact incidence angles" (Under review at PSJ)

• Z. Huang, B. M. Jones, T.M. Orlando and M. Hirabayashi. "Tracking Hydrogen around Point Defects in lunar regolith: From Atomic Hops to Vibrational Spectra"

• Z. Huang, B. M. Jones, T.M. Orlando and M. Hirabayashi. "Diffusion of H, H₂, H₂O, and He in Pristine and Defective SiO₂: A Reactive Molecular Dynamics Study" (Companion paper to the letter) 

• Prabal Saxenal, Ziyu Huang, Stefano Boccelli, Eric Steinmetz "The Emergence of Artificial Permanently Shadowed Regions at the Lunar Poles: Opportunities for Experimental Studies"

• Ziyu Huang, Roshan S. Trivedi, Advik D. Vira, Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Thomas M. Orlando. Solar Wind-Induced Oxygen Vacancies Catalyze Nanophase Iron in Lunar Regolith : A DFT Investigation (Under Review at AGU Advances)

• Verkercke S., Morrissey L., Hayes D. C., Huang Z. Sulfur and Sulfur Dioxide Capture by Iron Clusters : Effect of Oxidation State on the Adsorption of Sulfur Compounds (Submitted)

• Anastasis Georgiou, Benjamin Alan Clouter-Gergen, Liam S. Morrissey, Flyura Djurabekova and Kai Nordlund,  Noah Jaggi, Sebastien Verkercke,  Ziyu Huang, Catherine A. Dukes. Ion-induced atomic and cluster sputtering from wollastonite: A comparison of empirical and machine-learning interatomic potentials with BCA models and experiments (Submitted)

• Isaac Malsky, Xi Zhang , Tiffany Kataria , Matthew Graham , Ziyu Huang, Boris Bonev , Shang-Min Tsai , Elspeth K.H. Lee"Accelerating Chemical Kinetics for Exoplanet Atmospheres using Neural Networks" (Submitted) 

Honors and Awards:

• Early Career Travel Award, Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG 2025 at JHU/APL [postponded])

• Astrobiology Fellowship supported by Georgia Tech Astrobiology (2025-2026)

• Early Career Travel Award, Small Body Analysis Group (SBAG 2025 at Orlando)

• Early Career Travel Award, Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG 2024 at Houston)

• Gatech AE Fellowship, Georgia Institute of Technology (2024)

• Hartmann Travel Grant, American Astronomical Society (DPS 2024 at Boise)

• Early Career Travel Award, NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF 2024 at WUSTL)

• Early Career Travel Award, Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG 2024 at Cornell University)

• Early Career Travel Award, Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG 2023 at CU Boulder)

• Early Career Travel Award, Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG 2023 at Albuquerque)

• Early Career Travel Award, NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF 2023 at UMD)

• Best Research Assistant, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California (2023)

• Early Career Travel Award, Exoplanets in Our Backyard 2 Workshop (EIB2 at Albuquerque )

• Student Travel Award, NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF 2022 at CU Boulder)

• Student Travel Award, 16th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference (SCTC 2019)

• Viterbi Fellowship from Graduate School, University of Southern California (2018)