CURRENT MEMBERS
Dr. Di Tian (Principal Investigator)
Associate Professor (CV)
Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
Earth System Science Program
STEM+Ag Complex Room 2218, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Phone: (334) 844-3819;
tiandi@auburn.edu
Dr. Fang Wang
Assistant Research Professor
Office: 240 Funchess Hall
Email:
fzw0024@auburn.edu
Fang received her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on hydrologic and hydrogeologic modeling, data science, and machine learning.
Sudhanshu Kumar
Ph.D. Student, 2022–present
Office: 253 Upchurch Hall
Email:
szk0237@auburn.edu
Sudhanshu received his M.Tech. in Earth System Science and Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT (BHU) Varanasi in India. His research focuses on understanding the drivers and predictability of flash drought using data-driven and machine learning approaches.
Armano Cibaric
Ph.D. Student, 2025–present
Office: 251 Upchurch Hall
Email:
tas0053@auburn.edu
Armano received his M.S. degree in Water and Sustainable Development from IHE Delft and his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Zagreb in Croatia. His research focuses on AI-enabled diagnosis, downscaling, and bias correction of Earth system model outputs for fine-scale hydroclimate assessment.
Ananya Sharma
Ph.D. Student, 2025–present
Office: 251 Upchurch Hall
Email:
azs0394@auburn.edu
Ananya received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from the University of Delhi in India. Her research focuses on remote sensing-based evapotranspiration observation and modeling for drought monitoring and water management.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Undergraduate researcher
Undergraduate student
Office: 251 Upchurch Hall
Email: smh0089@auburn.edu
Auburn undergraduate students interested in hydroclimate science, Earth observation, hydroclimate modeling, and hydroclimate data science and AI are encouraged to contact Dr. Tian about potential research opportunities. Opportunities may also be available through Auburn University's undergraduate research programs (link).
ALUMNI
Taufiq Rashid, Ph.D. 2025.
Ph.D. dissertation:
Combining Deep Learning with Physics-based Modeling for Improved Remote Sensing-based Evapotranspiration and Land Surface Temperature Estimates.
Publications from our group:
Paper-1,
Paper-2.
Current position:
Remote Sensing Scientist at Weyerhaeuser, Seattle, WA.
Kyle Lesinger, M.S. 2020, Ph.D. 2024.
Ph.D. dissertation:
A Hydrometeorological Data-Driven Study for Assessment and Subseasonal Prediction of Flash Drought.
M.S. thesis:
Impact of Climate Change on Storage Conditions for Major Agricultural Commodities across the Contiguous United States.
Publications from our group:
Paper-1,
Paper-2,
Paper-3,
Paper-4,
and
3-min Video.
Current position:
General Engineer (AST, Technical Manager) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.
Tayler Shillerberg, M.S. 2019, Ph.D. 2024.
Ph.D. dissertation:
A Study for Understanding Climate-Induced Crop Production Risk and Relevant Climate Hazards in a Changing Environment.
M.S. thesis:
Assessing Changes and Predictability of Crop Yields and Failure Risk in the United States: The Impact from Large-scale Climate Circulations.
Publications from our group:
Paper-1,
Paper-2,
Paper-3,
Paper-4,
Book Chapter,
and
3-min Video.
Current position:
Postdoctoral Researcher at Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Hanoi Medina, Ph.D. 2020.
Ph.D. dissertation:
Data-Driven Agroclimate Modeling and Forecasting Based on Earth Observations and Predictions: A Study of Evapotranspiration, Precipitation, and Crop Yields.
Publications from our group:
Paper-1,
Paper-2,
Paper-3,
Paper-4,
and
Paper-5.
Current position:
Data Scientist at Noble Corporation, Houston, TX.
Ajeeta Shretha, M.S. 2025.
M.S. thesis:
Explainable Deep Learning for Assessing Terrestrial Hydroclimate Impacts on Coastal River Discharge.
Publications from our group: Paper-1 in review.
Current position:
Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Marie Harris, Undergraduate Researcher, 2021.
Research outputs from our group:
Abstract-1
and
Abstract-2.
Current position:
Graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Yanzhong Li, Visiting Scholar, 2019–2020. Visiting scholar from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. Publications from our group: Paper-1.
Yizhuo Li, Visiting Student, 2018–2019. Visiting student from China Agricultural University. Publications from our group: Paper-1.
Parisa Asadi, Research Assistant, 2019–2020.
Publications from our group:
Paper-1.
Current position:
Data Scientist at Carl Zeiss in California.