Ryan Zhenqi Zhou

Ryan Zhenqi Zhou

Ph.D. Candidate, Research Assistant

Department of Geography

University at Buffalo - SUNY

Biography

Ryan Zhenqi Zhou (Zhenqi Zhou) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Geography at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), Research Assistant at GeoAI@UB Lab, guided by Dr. Yingjie Hu, Research Assistant at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, and Consultant at World Bank-IFC. He is interested in GeoAI, Human Mobility, Disaster Resilience, Public Health, and Urban Analytics. Apart from studying, he likes coffee, strength training, and soccer.

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Interests
  • GeoAI
  • Human Mobility
  • Disaster Resilience
  • Public Health
  • Urban Analytics
Education
  • Ph.D. in GIScience, 2026

    University at Buffalo - SUNY, USA

  • M.E. in Landscape Architecture, 2021

    Nanjing Forestry University, China

  • B.A. in Landscape Gardening, 2018

    Zhejiang A&F University, China

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
May 2024 – Present Washington, DC, USA
  • Geospatial Data Scientist | Consultant, Research Project: A geospatial analysis of SafeCare healthcare facilities characteristics, climate risks, and economic and demographic factors in Kenya and Tanzania
 
 
 
 
 
Aug 2021 – Present Buffalo, New York State, USA
  • Research Assistant, GeoAI Lab, May 2023 - Present
  • Teaching Assistant, GEO 481/506 Geographical Information Systems Lab, Aug 2022 - May 2023
  • Research Assistant, NSF Research Experience for Graduates (REG) Award, Student PI, May 2022 - Aug 2022
  • Research Assistant, GeoAI Lab, Aug 2021 - May 2022
 
 
 
 
 
Aug 2024 – Jun 2025 New York City, New York State, USA
  • Research Assistant, Research Project: Using machine learning to identify social risk factors of hypertension and diabetes in New York City: evidence to support the HealthyNYC initiative
 
 
 
 
 
Aug 2023 – Aug 2023 Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Research Fellow, Research Project: Improving the 3D representation of rivers in digital elevation models (DEM)
 
 
 
 
 
Aug 2020 – Sep 2020 Shanghai, China
  • Spatial Data Analyst (Intern), Project: Assessment of the land used for educational facilities in Pudong, Shanghai

Publications

24. Zhou R.Z., Hu Y., Zhang L., Muldoon R., Clark S., & Joseph K. (2026): Assessing spatial disparities of human mobility disruptions during the 2022 Buffalo blizzard through mobile phone location data and transformer model. Ongoing.
23. Kim, J., Hu, Y., Elhami-Khorasani, N., Sun, K., & Zhou, R. Z. (2025): Assessment of deep learning models integrated with weather and environmental variables for wildfire spread prediction and a case study of the 2023 Maui fires. Natural Hazards, 122(1), 10.
22. Chen, Y., Nelson, J. K., Zhou, B., Zhou, R. Z., Ye, S., Liu, H., Gu, Z., Kar, A., Kwon, H., Chen, P., Sun, M., & Kang, Y. (2025): Where are GIScience faculty hired from? Analyzing faculty mobility and research themes through hiring networks. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 1-25.
21. Zhou R.Z., Hu Y., Sun K., Muldoon R., Clark S., & Joseph K. (2025): Explainable GeoAI and statistical analysis reveal complementary insights about disparities of 311 help requests during the 2022 Buffalo blizzard. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 105635.
20. Sun K., Hu Y., Joseph K., & Zhou R.Z. (2025): GALLOC: a GeoAnnotator for Labeling LOCation descriptions from disaster-related text messages. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 1-31.
19. Sun K., Zhou R.Z., Kim J., & Hu Y. (2024): PyGRF: An improved Python Geographical Random Forest model and case studies in public health and natural disasters. Transactions in GIS, 28(7), 2476-2491.
18. Zhou R.Z., Hu Y., Zou L., Cai H., & Zhou B. (2024): Understanding the disparate impacts of the 2021 Texas winter storm and power outages through mobile phone location data and nighttime light images. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 103, 104339.
17. Tirabassi, J. N., Wang, J., Zhou, R. Z., & Hu, Y. (2024): Human mobility data demonstrates increase in park visitation since start of COVID-19 pandemic in Buffalo, New York. Preventive Medicine Reports, 102650.
16. Sun K., Hu Y., Lakhanpal, G., & Zhou, R.Z. (2023): Spatial cross-validation for GeoAI. Taylor & Francis Group.
15. Hu, Y., Mai, G., Cundy, C., Choi, K., Lao, N., Liu, W., Lakhanpal, G., Zhou, R. Z., & Joseph, K. (2023): Geo-knowledge-guided GPT models improve the extraction of location descriptions from disaster-related social media messages. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 1-30.
14. Sun, K., Hu, Y., Ma, Y., Zhou, R. Z., & Zhu, Y. (2023): Conflating point of interest (POI) data: A systematic review of matching methods. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 103, 101977.
13. Xu Z., Li M., Chen Y., & Zhou R.Z. (2023): Assessing the cycling accessibility of comprehensive parks with online maps: a case study of Nanjing City. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University Natural Science, 1-8 (in Chinese).
12. Zhou R.Z., Hu Y., Tirabassi J.N., Ma Y., & Xu Z. (2022): Deriving neighborhood-level diet and physical activity measurements from anonymized mobile phone location data for enhancing obesity estimation. International Journal of Health Geographics, 21, 22.
11. Zhang B., Dong Y., Kelobonye K., Zhou R.Z., & Xu Z. (2022): Delineating walking catchment of the existing and proposed public sports facilities with open-source data: a case study of Nanjing. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 16, 729-749.
10. Chen Y., Zhang B., Li M., Zhou R.Z., & Xu Z. (2022): Concatenating daily exercise routes with public sports facilities, bicycle lanes, and green spaces: a feasibility analysis in Nanjing, China. Land, 11, 2251.
9. Yue M., Hu Y., Moncrieff G.R., Slingsby J.A., Wilson A.M., Maitner B., & Zhou R.Z. (2022): Forecasting vegetation dynamics in an open ecosystem by integrating deep learning and environmental variables. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 114, 103060.
8. Dong Y., Zhang B., Zhou R.Z., & Xu Z. (2022): Assessing the accessibility of swimming pools in Nanjing by walking and cycling using Baidu Maps. International Journal of Geo-Information, 11(10), 515.
7. Zhou R.Z., Xu Z., Liu A., Zhou S., Mu L., & Zhang X. (2021): Mapping the accessibility of medical facilities of Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Geo-Information, 10(5), 318.
6. Xu Z., Zhou R.Z., Wang Y., Han L., & Xing J. (2021): Analysis on walking shed in comprehensive parks and urban form from a Park-City perspective. City Planning Review, 45(03), 81-90 (in Chinese).
5. Xu Z., Liu A., Zhou R.Z., & Han L. (2021): Analyzing and scenarioizing walking routes and urban context of middle school students with Baidu Map: a case study of Jianye District of Nanjing. Modern Urban Research, 2, 33-40+91 (in Chinese).
4. Xu Z., Gao Z., Zhou R.Z., & Zhang J. (2021): Research on campus sitting space: a case study of Nanjing Forestry University. Modern Urban Research, 4, 30-35 (in Chinese).
3. Zhou R.Z. & Xu Z. (2020): Detecting the pedestrian shed and walking route environment of urban parks with open-source data: a case study in Nanjing, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4826.
2. Liu A., Kelobonye K., Zhou R.Z., Xu Q., Xu Z., & Han L. (2020): School commuting mode shift: a scenario analysis for active school commuting using GIS and online map API. International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(9), 520.
1. Zhang J., Zhou R.Z., & Xu Z. (2020): Suitability evaluation of university facilities layout based on demand characteristics: taking several universities in Nanjing as examples. Modern Urban Research, 4, 43-51 (in Chinese).

Conference & Workshop Presentations

14. Oral presentation (2025): Explainable GeoAI and statistical analysis reveal complementary insights about disparities of 311 help requests during the 2022 Buffalo blizzard, in the 2025 AAG Annual Meeting, Mar. 26, 2025, Detroit, USA.
13. Poster presentation (2024): Understanding the disparate impacts of the 2021 Texas winter storm and power outages through mobile phone location data and nighttime light images, in the 31st International Conference on Geoinformatics, CPGIS, Aug. 15, 2024, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
12. Oral presentation (2023): Improving the 3D representation of rivers in digital elevation models (DEM), in the 2023 NSF I-GUIDE Summer School, Aug. 11, 2023, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
11. Oral presentation (2023): Understanding spatial impacts of the Texas winter storm in 2021 via mobile phone location data and nighttime light images, in the 2023 AAG Annual Meeting, Mar. 26, 2023, Denver, Colorado, USA.
10. Oral presentation (2022): Deriving neighborhood-level diet and physical activity measurements from anonymized mobile phone location data for enhancing obesity estimation, in the GEOMED 2022, Oct. 14, 2022, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
9. Poster presentation (2022): Human mobility data demonstrates increase in park visitation since start of COVID-19 pandemic in Buffalo, New York, in the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) 2022 annual meeting, Jun. 15-18, 2022, Denver, Colorado, USA (Co-Author).
8. Poster presentation (2022): Mapping the accessibility of medical facilities of Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Symposium 2022, Jun. 7-9, 2022, Syracuse, New York, USA.
7. Oral presentation (2022): The role of place visits related to diet and physical activity from mobile phone location data in enhancing obesity estimation at the neighborhood level, in the Graduate Student Lightning Talks, Spring 2022 Colloquium Speaker Series, UB Department of Geography, Feb. 18, 2022, Buffalo, New York, USA.
6. Poster presentation: Measuring the walkability around the urban parks: a case study of Nanjing, in the 16th International Conference on Urban Health, Nov. 4-8, 2019, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
5. Poster presentation: Mapping the service area and population of urban parks for park city initiative: a case study of Nanjing, in the 16th International Conference on Urban Health, Nov. 4-8, 2019, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
4. Oral presentation: Old community renovation based on data analysis, in the 9th Summer Workshop DigitalFUTURES YOUNG Forum 2019—Architectural Intelligence held at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University, Jun. 30 to Jul. 6, 2019, Shanghai, China.
3. Poster presentation: Intelligence and Strategy of Urban Deduction—Spark Planning (UrbanGAN), in the 9th Summer Workshop DigitalFUTURES SHANGHAI 2019—Architectural Intelligence held at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University, Jun. 30 - Jul. 6, 2019, Shanghai, China (Co-Author).
2. Oral presentation: Social Loop, loops to connect city and communities, in the International Digital Urban Design Week held by International Society of City & Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and Southeast University, Jun. 10-15, 2019, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
1. Poster presentation: The urban community agriculture practices in Chinese cities: case studies in Nanjing, in the 15th International Conference on Urban Health, Nov. 27-30, 2018, Kampala, Uganda, Africa (Co-Author).

Awards & Grants

15. CaGIS Student Scholarship, by Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS), 2025
14. Hugh W. Calkins Applied GIS Award, by Department of Geography at the University at Buffalo - SUNY, 2025
13. AAG SAM Student Travel Award, by AAG Spatial Analysis & Modeling Specialty Group (SAM), 2025
12. CESASC Scholarship, by Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California (CESASC), 2024
11. Michael Trapasso Climate Impacts Award, by Department of Geography at the University at Buffalo - SUNY, 2024
10. Hugh W. Calkins Applied GIS Award, by Department of Geography at the University at Buffalo - SUNY, 2024
9. Travel Award, by 2023 NSF I-GUIDE Summer School Program, 2023
8. Hugh W. Calkins Applied GIS Award, by Department of Geography at the University at Buffalo - SUNY, 2023
7. NSF Research Experience for Graduates (REG) Award, by Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences (HEGS) program in the National Science Foundation (NSF), Student PI, 2022
6. Outstanding Graduate Award, by Nanjing Forestry University, 2021
5. Funded student research project by Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX20_0893), Department of Education, Jiangsu, China, Student PI, 2020
4. National Scholarship Award, by Department of Education, China, 2020
3. Merit Student Award, by Nanjing Forestry University, 2020
2. First-class Scholarship Award, by Nanjing Forestry University, 2020
1. Best Project Award, International Digital Urban Design Week held by International Society of City & Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and Southeast University in Nanjing, 2019

Service

Peer Reviewer for Academic Journals

Volunteer Service

  • Co-host, GeoAI for Disaster Resilience session at AAG, Mar. 26, 2025, USA
  • Host, GISalon, GISphere (International Student Academic Organization), Oct. 2021-Jul. 2024, USA
  • Faculty Liaison for PhD, Geography GSA, University at Buffalo - SUNY, Sept. 2022-May. 2024, USA
  • Conference Assistant, 2024 CESASC 62nd Annual Convention, May 4, 2024, USA
  • Conference Assistant, 2023 AAG Annual Meeting, Mar. 23-27, 2023, USA