members
Joseph App, Francisco Aguilera-Benavente, Yuxin (Ann) Cai, Kexin Chen, Dong Gai, Yuqi Gao, Kyler Hudson, Yuhan Ji, Yuhao Kang, Jake Kruse, Ayush Kumar, Mingxiao Li, Yunlei Liang, Yu-Ning Liu, Brody Manquen, Kyle McNair, Joe Marks, Ying Nie, Eli Samuelson, Timothy Prestby, Jinmeng Rao, Yuxuan Wang, Chen Wei, Yichen Xin, Yichen Xu, Wen (Wendy) Ye, Qianheng Zhang, Yibo Zhao, Jiawei Zhu, Sijia Zhu.
Faculty
Song Gao
Dr. Song Gao, is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in GIScience at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he leads the Geospatial Data Science Lab (GeoDS@UW). He holds a Ph.D. in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara and alumni of the STKO Lab, a M.S. degree at the Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS, Peking University and alumni of the S3 Lab, and a B.S. degree with Honors at the School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, China. His main research interests include Geospatial Big Data Analytics, Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI), GIScience theory, Human Mobility and Spatial Networks. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals (e.g., PNAS) and conference proceedings, including 12 Web of Science Core Collection highly cited papers. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in 2024. He is the recipient for various fellowships, grants, and awards at the university and national/international levels, including the ‘Waldo Tobler Young Researcher Award’ in GIScience selected by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the UCGIS ‘Early-Mid Career Research Award’, the AAG Spatial Analysis and Modeling (SAM) Specialty Group Emerging Scholar Award, The U.S. Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS) Doctoral Scholarship, the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Scholarship, The Jack & Laura Dangermond Graduate Fellow, UCSB Geography Excellence in Research, AAG International Geographic Informational Fund, UW-Madison Undergraduate/Faculty HILLDALE FELLOW Award, UW-Madison H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, NSF Grant, Microsoft AI for Earth Grant, and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Grant, etc. He is an Associate Editor of Annals of GIS (2018-2022) and International Journal of Geographical Information Science (2023 – Now), and International Encyclopedia of Geography (2022-Now). Editor Board Members of Scientific Reports (Nature), Scientific Data (Nature), Plos One (2018-2022), Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Transactions in GIS, Geoinformatica, and serves as a peer reviewer and guest editors for a couple of high-impact academic journals. He has co-organized several workshops, symposiums, and paper sessions in AAG, ACM SIGSPATIAL, and GIScience. He is on the board of directors in the AAG GI Science & Systems, CyberInfrastructure specialty groups and CPGIS. He also had several software engineering summer internships including Esri Inc. (Applications Prototype Lab) and Apple Inc. (Maps Team) in California headquarters, and Esri Beijing R&D center. He has a passion for connecting theoretical research to advancements in GIScience to geospatial industry for solving real-world challenges. Publications and citations can be found in his Google Scholar page.
Current Students
Jake Kruse
My name is Jake Kruse. I’m a PhD student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison, supervised by Prof. Song Gao. I’m interested in providing actionable insights for sustainable cities, agriculture, redistricting, public health, and transportation through Geo-AI and data fusion. I studied Soil Science for my B.S. and M.S. in Soil Science at UW Madison. In my free time, I like to play jazz and Latin music on the guitar.”
Yuhan Ji
My name is Yuhan Ji. I’m a Ph.D. student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. My primary research interest is interdisciplinary research in transportation and GIS. My current research focuses on mobility knowledge discovery from trajectory data. I enjoy employing the lens of GeoAI and Geospatial Data Science to understand the drive for urban dynamics. I majored in Transportation Engineering for my bachelor’s and Master’s Degree at Tongji University .
Qianheng Zhang
My name is Qianheng (“Joshua”) Zhang. I’m a Master/PhD student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. I majored in Geography-Data Science for my Bachelor’s Degree at University of Washington, Seattle and was a member of The Humanistic GIS Lab. My current research interest focuses on applying Geo-visualization and GeoAI skills to the marginalized communities in urban transportation system as well as the research on animal ecology using AI technologies.
Chen Wei
My name is Chen Wei. I’m a Master/PhD student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. I am interested in developing related methods and applications of GeoAI and Geospatial Data Science. My current research interest focuses on foundational model with its geospatial understanding abilities and potential for downstream tasks. I got my bachelor’s degree with majoring in Geographic Information Science and minoring in Computer Science at Zhejiang University.
Yuxuan Wang
My name is Yuxuan Wang. I am an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Economics with a BS degree. I transferred from East Stroudsburg University to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a member of the GIS Lab at East Stroudsburg University. My primary research interest is in the interdisciplinary study of economics and GIS. My current research focuses on the role of social networks in influencing changes in mobility and close contact patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ying Nie
My name is Ying Nie, and I am an undergraduate student majoring in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I transferred from China Agricultural University and had an extension program at the University of California, San Diego. My current research interest is in the field of GeoAI for spatial analysis workflow generation with large language models.
Visiting Scholars and Students
Yibo Zhao
My name is Yibo Zhao. I’m a Ph.D. student in Cartography/GIS at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a visiting PhD student at the GeoDS lab, UW-Madison. My research interests include human mobility, transportation, spatiotemporal data mining, and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI). My current work focuses on utilizing billions of truck trajectory records to model urban dynamics based on multidisciplinary approaches. The work aims to manage the demand for urban sustainability in terms of transportation and environment. I got my bachelor’s degree at the School of Computer Science, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan).
Francisco Aguilera-Benavente
Dr. Aguilera-Benavente is associate professor in human geography at the University of Alcalá (2019), Spain. He holds a PhD in Geographical Information Technologies (2008, University of Granada) and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on GIS, PostGIS, spatial analysis and urban future scenario simulation. His research is focused on future scenarios urban land use simulation using cellular automata models, and urban analysis through spatial metrics. He has led several national and regional R&D projects and published more than 60 scientific contributions, many of them on top international journals (Landscape and Urban Planning, Applied Geography, Computers Environment and Urban Systems, Journal of Transport Geography, Environmental Modelling and Software, Futures, Transportation Research A, Journal of Maps…).
Yichen Xu
My name is Yichen Xu. I’m a PhD student at Zhejiang University and a visiting student at the GeoDS lab, UW-Madison. I got my bachelor’s degree at Zhejiang University. Previously I worked in disaster response, damage extraction and urban population. My current research interests are GeoAI and spatial temporal data mining.
Alumni
Yunlei Liang, Principal Data Scientist, Capital One Bank.
My name is Yunlei Liang. I’m a M.S./Ph.D. student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. My research interest mainly lies in GIS, spatial analysis and transportation. My recent research focuses on optimizing the bus system and providing better planning strategies for the local transit authority. In addition, I am working on location business intelligence modeling. Before studying at UW-Madison, I earned my bachelor degrees at the University of Waterloo and at Wuhan University.
Yuhao Kang, Assistant professor, University of Texas at Austin.
I am Yuhao Kang (康雨豪), a M.S./Ph.D. student at the Department of Geography, UW-Madison, supervised by Prof. Song Gao. I got my bachelor’s degree at the Department of Geo-Information Science, School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University. I was a Research Associate at the Google X, visiting student at the MIT Senseable City Lab and at the Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS, Peking University, and an algorithm engineer intern at the MoBike. My major research field is spatio-temporal data mining, geo-AI, social sensing, and urban computing. I am interested in technologies that are innovative and life-changing. You can also visit my personal website and contact me if you are interested in my projects.
Jinmeng Rao, AI research scientist at Google X and DeepMind.
My name is Jinmeng Rao. I am a Ph.D. student in Cartography/GIS (also in Computer Science M.S. Program) at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison, supervised by Prof. Song Gao. My research interests include Geo-AI, Privacy-Preserving AI, Computer Vision, Trajectory Data Mining, etc. I am currently an AI Resident at Google[X]. I was also a Geospatial Vision Intern at Sturfee. I earned both my B.S. degree and M.S. degree at School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University. You can find more information about me and my projects in here.
Kyler Hudson, Senior Data Analyst at Vera Bradley
My name is Kyler Hudson and I am a Master’s student in the Geography Department’s Cartography and GIS program. I am also a PhD student in the Political Science Department. My research interests lie at the intersection of these two disciplines, specifically geographic political polarization, federalism, and rural politics. I apply geospatial data science techniques, such as spatial autocorrelation and spatial clustering, to answer political science questions.
Jiawei Zhu, Assistant professor, Central South University
My name is Jiawei Zhu. I’m a visiting PhD student at the GeoDS lab, UW-Madison. I recently received my Ph.D. degree in Surveying and Mapping from Central South University. My research interest mainly lies in spatio-temporal data mining, geospatial artificial intelligence, and topological data analysis. I majored in Geographic Information System for my B.S. and M.S. degrees at Central South University.
Wen Ye, PhD Student in Computer Science at University of Southern California
My name is Wen (Wendy) Ye and I’m an undergraduate student majoring in computer science, data science, and statistics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. My main research interests are GeoAI, data analysis and geospatial applications of machine learning techniques. Previously, I conducted geospatial analysis related to city-level infrastructure. My current research focuses on community detection algorithms that ensure spatial contiguity.
Yichen Xin, Master Student in Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University
My name is Yichen Xin, an undergraduate student majoring in Data Science and Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin Madison. My research interests include GeoAI, spatial analysis and transportation. My current research focuses on applying place-oriented health measures to evaluate county health in the US.
Timothy Prestby, PhD Student in Geography at Penn State
My name is Tim Prestby. I am an undergraduate student in the GIS/Cartography program in the Geography Department of UW-Madison. I have two years of environmental studies under my belt before deciding to pursue Cartography and GIS. My main interests of GIS are data visualization and geo-computing. I have studied abroad in Nicaragua and Netherlands. I am excited about the huge growth of potential applications GIS and Cartography offer to promote sustainability.
Mingxiao Li, Assistant professor, Shenzhen University
My name is Mingxiao Li. I am a PhD student at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and a visiting student at UW-Madison. I hold a B.S. degree at the Wuhan University. My major is Catography and Geography Information Science and my areas of specialization include trajectory data mining, human mobility, and urban computing.
Joe Marks, Software Developer at Epic
My name is Joe Marks. I am a student in the Accelerated Master’s program for Cartography and GIS at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Before beginning the program, I completed my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, also at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I am interested in how geospatial data and GIS as a field interact with computer sciences.
Joseph App, Data Engineer at University of Wisconsin-Madison
My name is Joe App, I am a student in the Accelerated Master’s in Cartography and GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. Before committing to a life of geospatial science I studied conservation biology and geography, with an emphasis in human-environmental interaction, here at UW – Madison. My interests are many including human mobility, peace studies, environmental remote sensing and how we can use the ever-growing bag of tools available in geospatial sciences to understand these processes and better know our world.
Brody Manquen, Master Student in Geography at UT-Austin
My name is Brody Manquen. I am an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Cartography and GIS and in Classical Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have prior experience in the study of human geography of the past through archaeology. My areas of interest include human connectivity and mobility patterns, social media data, and the conflict between political borders and naturally-occurring human borders.
Sijia Zhu, Master Student in Data Science at Columbia University
My name is Sijia Zhu. I am an undergraduate student double majoring in Statistics, Economics, and pursuing a CS Certificate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am interested in applied data science tools and algorithms to solve social science problems. My research interests include GeoAI, deep learning, autonomous driving, privacy protection, and computer vision. My current research project focuses on developing deep learning methods on trajectory data simulation for user privacy protection.
Eli Samuelson, Senior Data Analyst at Wisconsin Department of Agriculture
My name is Eli Samuelson. I’m a Masters student in Cartography/GIS at the Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin – Madison. My primary research interest is in GIS and Cartography uses for visualizing and mapping data. My current research focuses on examining data as a time series and being able to predict daily COVID data. I enjoy employing Statistical and Geospatial Data Science Methods to understand and vizualize data. I majored in Mathematics for my bachelor’s at The College of Wooster.
Ayush Kumar, Software Developer at Epic
My name is Ayush Kumar. I’m an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have prior experience in high performance parallel and distributed computing systems as well as Human-Computer Interaction. My areas of interest include geo-AI, machine learning in a geospatial context and understanding human geography by exploring spatial networks.
Yuqi Gao
My name is Yuqi Gao. I am a student in the accelerated Master’s program in Cartography and GIS at the Geography Department of UW-Madison. Before turning to the dark side of geospatial data science, I obtained my Master’s degree (MRes) in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain and studied Economics as an undergrad at University of the Pacific.