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Yujuan Chen ( Principal Investigator), Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Urban Forestry Dr. Yujuan Chen has a long-standing interest in urban ecosystems and her work is mainly focusing on urban forestry, urban soils, and stormwater management. She co-authored the first global Guidelines on Urban and Peri-urban Forestry, which aims to optimize the contribution of forests and trees to sustainable urban development. She also initiated and led the “Healthy Soils for Healthy Communities Initiative” to study the potential of healthy soils in building climate resilience and healthy communities in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Tennessee State University, Dr. Chen held a range of positions with TreePeople, University of Southern California, Virginia Tech, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and New Jersey State Forestry Services. |
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Xiaoyue Li
M.S. Student Xiaoyue is a graduate student in the Environment Science program with a concentration in Natural Resources in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Tennessee State University. She is currently working on the research project of "The Benefits of Urban Forestry to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change in the Southern United States'. Xiaoyue holds two bachelor’s degrees in Urban Management and Landscape Architecture from Shandong Agricultural University, and a master’s degree in Administration Management (public policy) from Nanjing Agricultural University. Prior to joining TSU, she worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome, Italy and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation in Beijing, China. |
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Diksha Tamang
M.S. Student Diksha is a graduate student in the Environment Science program with a concentration in Natural Resources in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Tennessee State University. She is driven by a profound enthusiasm for the subject of urban forestry. Currently, she is working on the research project entitled "Branching from the Ground Up: Increasing Urban Tree Canopy and Carbon Sequestration by Rebuilding Soils in the City". Diksha is from Kathmandu, Nepal and her research interests include urban forest ecology, urban forest inventories, urban soils, and functions of urban trees. |
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Aria McElroy
Dean's Scholar Aria McElroy is a rising senior at Tennessee State University. She has distinguished herself by being a part of the Dean Scholars Program, Environmental Science Club, 1890 Farm Bill Scholar, President of the Women’s Center for the 2022-2023 academic school year, and serving as the Events Chair of the Tennessee State University MANRRS chapter for the 2022-2023 academic school year. Aria also participated in the 2021 Tennessee Academy of Sciences research competition and won first place for the geographic and geology section of the competition for the research she conducted at Texas A&M University during the summer of 2021. |