Aiyu Zheng
Postdoc · Co-advised with Mingzhen Lu
Research on urban vine canopies as a heat-adaptation solution (global meta-analysis of cooling performance).
CLUEs Lab
CLimate and Urban Environments · NYU Shanghai
The CLUEs (CLimate and Urban Environments) Lab at NYU Shanghai studies cities as complex socio-ecological systems, the outcome of interactions between human and natural systems. We combine satellite data, climate models and causal inference across thousands of cities to ask how the amount, height and arrangement of what we build shapes who overheats, who floods, and how much material a city consumes.
Current members
Mingya Zhang
Undergraduate · Class of 2026
Research on low-carbon transport time penalties in Shanghai.
Gabriel Fernandes
Undergraduate · Class of 2028
Research on urban slum heat mitigation in Rio de Janeiro.
Xi Bingxin
Undergraduate · Class of 2028
Dean's Undergraduate Research Fund project.
Where students have gone
- Erasmus Mundus International Master in Urban Studies
- Yale School of Public Health (M.S.)
- Penn Master of City Planning
- Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science (M.S.)
- Clinton Global Initiative University Fellow
- Two Millennium Fellows
- Pingan Youth Inspiration Plan funding
- Best presentation, NYU Shanghai symposium
- Most Popular Project, Undergraduate Symposium (Fall 2025)
Alumni
- Connie Hu’25Capstone extending urban scaling analysis with machine learning to identify factors explaining deviations from urban scaling patterns.
- Ziyun Xu’25Research on extreme heat exposure and urban mobility in Shanghai.
- Secured Pingan Youth Inspiration Plan funding
- Best presentation award at NYU Shanghai symposium
- Admitted to Yale School of Public Health (M.S.)
- Zihan Xu’25Capstone on pocket park accessibility and equitable green space distribution in Shanghai.
- Lihan Feng’25Developed rapid flood monitoring algorithm using Sentinel-1 SAR data on Google Earth Engine.
- Co-authored published paper in Remote Sensing: "Rapid Probabilistic Inundation Mapping Using Local Thresholds and Sentinel-1 SAR Data on Google Earth Engine"
- Admitted to Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science (M.S.)
- John Nabors’24Capstone replicating and extending the "Nested economies of scale in global city mass" analysis across four Chinese mega-cities.
- Zijie Huanglin’23Honors capstone on urban heat risks in Chongqing using remote sensing and spatial analysis.
- Admitted to Erasmus Mundus International Master in Urban Studies (University of Glasgow, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Kyoto University)
Full advisee list with projects and placements →
Join us
Who we look for
- You want to measure how cities grow, heat, flood, or consume materials, not only to describe them.
- You already use Google Earth Engine, Python, or causal inference, or you are ready to learn them on a real project.
How to apply
Email [email protected] with [Join CLUEs] in the subject line. Attach your CV, a short note on the research questions you want to work on, and one sample of your work (code, writing, or a map).
- Your CV.
- A short note on the research questions you want to work on.
- One sample of your work (code, writing, or a map).
Funded openings are not listed on this page. Email to ask what is open now.