Zhe(Sarina) Zhang
  • Associate Professor
Google Scholar Profile

Biography

Dr. Zhe Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University (TAMU), with joint appointments in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Texas A&M Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. She is also a voting member of the Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System. Dr. Zhang has served as Chair of the Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. She also serves as Chair of the Research Committee of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. Her research focuses on developing spatial decision support systems by integrating advanced cyberinfrastructure, geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI), and participatory design to address critical challenges in disaster management and sustainability. Her interdisciplinary work spans GIScience, disaster science, decision science, and cognitive science, and has developed strong collaborations across a wide range of organizations. These partnerships have led to competitive proposals funded by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Geographic Society. Dr. Zhang serves as the Co-Principal Investigator of the Texas A&M FASTER High-Performance Supercomputer (over $3 million) and as a Co-Investigator of the Texas A&M ACES Supercomputer (over $12 million), both supported by the NSF. In addition, she serves as Principal Investigator on eight externally funded grants, totaling over $3 million. She has published peer reviewed articles in several leading GIS-related journals, including the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Transactions in GIS, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, and the International Journal of Digital Earth. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Computational Urban Science. Dr. Zhang has been honored to receive both the Pathways Award from Texas A&M Faculty Affairs and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in recognition of her impactful research.

Dr. Zhang is actively recruiting undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD students to join the CIDI-Spatial research group. Dr. Zhang's team conducts research at the frontier of cyberinfrastructure-powered spatial data science, artificial intelligence, and participatory spatial decision-making, addressing complex real-world challenges with innovative solutions. By joining the group, you will have the opportunity to contribute to high-impact projects, gain advanced expertise in high-performance computing on world-class supercomputers, and develop leadership skills through active participation in leading GIScience and computer science conferences and professional organizations.

If you are interested in working with Dr. Zhang, please email your CV, a code sample (if available), and a writing sample to zhezhang@tamu.edu. 

Courses

GEOG 360 - Natural Hazards (in class)

GEOG 392/676 - GIS Programming (In class) 

GEOG 660 - Applications in GIS (online)

GEOG 665 - GIS Modeling (online)

GEOG 678 - Web GIS (online & in class)

GEOG 695 - Frontiers in Geographic Information Science (in class)

Research Interests

  • Geographic information science and system (GIS)
  • Cyberinfrastructure and CyberGIS
  • Geospatial Artificial Intelligence 
  • High-performance and distributed computing
  • Participatory GIS and spatial decision-making

Research Application Areas

  • Disaster Management
  • Critical Infrastructure Resilience, Transportation
  • Blue Economy (e.g., Fishery Management, Renewable Energy, and Maritime Transport)
  • Geosearch and Data Sharing

Educational Background

  • 2016 Doctor of Science (with distinction) in Geoinformatics, minored in applied mathematics, Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
  • 2009 Master of Science (Technology) in Geomatics, Department of Surveying, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
  • 2005 Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Tampere, Finland

Certifications & Memberships

  • 2025-Pres. Chair, Research Committee, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
  • 2025-Pres. Member of Board of Directors, Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS)
  • 2023-2024 Chair, Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers (AAG)
  • 2022-2023 Vice Chair, Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group, AAG
  • 2023-Pres. Affiliate Faculty, Electrical and Computer Engineering, TAMU
  • 2022-Pres Affiliate Faculty, Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System
  • 2019-Pres. Affiliate Faculty, Texas A&M Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center, TAMU

Awards & Honors

  • 2024 Best Paper Award, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
  • 2024 Pathways Award, TAMU Faculty Affairs
  • 2023 CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • 2021 I-GUIDE Community Champion, UCGIS and NSF
  • 2021 The LIGHTBULB education award, Texas Youth Action Network (TYAN) funded by Texas Department of State Health Services
  • 2019 Travel Award, NSF- Conceptualization: Geospatial Software Institute Workshop
  • 2016 Distinction Dissertation Award, Aalto University, Finland

Selected Publications

  • Asterisks (*) indicate publications authored by Dr. Zhang’s graduate students.
    • *Song, Z., Zhang, Z., Sussman, A., Xie, Y., Brenner, J. and Liu, J., 2025. Netcdfaster: Optimizing Netcdf Data Querying and Geo-Visualization Using High-Performance Machine Learning. Software X, 31, p. 102269
    • *Liu, J., Song, Z., Xie, Y. and Zhang, Z., 2025. Enhancing Management Strategy Evaluation: Implementation of a TOPSIS-Based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework for Harvest Control Rules. Fishes, 10(4), p.140.
    • *Li, D., Zhao, Y., Wang, Z., Jung, C. and Zhang, Z., 2024. Large language model-driven structured output: A comprehensive benchmark and spatial data generation framework. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 13(11), p.405.
    • *Song, Z., Chapman, P., Tao, J., Chang, P., Gao, H., Liu, H., Brannstrom, C. and Zhang, Z., 2024. Mapping the Unheard: Analyzing Tradeoffs Between Fisheries and Offshore Wind Farms Using Multicriteria Decision Analysis. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 114(3), pp.536-554.
    • *Li, D., Zhang, Z., Alizadeh, B., Zhang, Z., Duffield, N., Meyer, M.A., Thompson, C.M., Gao, H. and Behzadan, A.H., 2024. A reinforcement learning-based routing algorithm for large street networks. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 38(2), pp.183-215.
    • *Li, D. and Zhang, Z., 2023. MetaQA: Enhancing human-centered data search using Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) language model and artificial intelligence. Plos one, 18(11), p.e0293034.
    • Zhang, Z., Zou, L., Li, W., Usery, L., Albrecht, J. and Armstrong, M., 2021. Cyberinfrastructure and intelligent spatial decision support systems. Transactions in GIS, 25(4).
    • Zhang, Z., Hu, H., Yin, D., Kashem, S., Li, R., Cai, H., Perkins, D. and Wang, S., 2020. A cyberGIS-enabled multi-criteria spatial decision support system: A case study on flood emergency management. International Journal of Digital Earth, 2018, 12(11), pp. 1364-1381.
    • Zhang, Z., Demšar, U., Wang, S. and Virrantaus, K., 2018. A spatial fuzzy influence diagram for modelling spatial objects’ dependencies: A case study on tree-related electric outages. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 32(2), pp.349-366.
    • Zhang, Z., Demšar, U., Rantala, J. and Virrantaus, K., 2014. A fuzzy multiple-attribute decision-making modelling for vulnerability analysis on the basis of population information for disaster management. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 28(9), pp.1922-1939.

    Selected External Grants

    • 2025: PI, NSF, Collaborative Research: CyberTraining Implementation Medium: Broadening Adoption of Cyberinfrastructure and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Management, $999,991
    • 2024: PI, NSF, CAREER: A Cyberinfrastructure Enabled Hybrid Spatial Decision Support System for Improving Coastal Resilience to Flood Risks, $568,302
    • 2023: PI, NSF, Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Implementation: Small: Broadening Adoption of Cyberinfrastructure and Research Workforce Development for Disaster Management, $ 454,847
    • 2022: Texas A&M PI, NASA, Spatial Decision Support System for Identifying Heat Vulnerability in Oklahoma City, $149,163
    • 2021: PI, NSF, Convergence Accelerator Track E: Combining global high-resolution climate simulations with ocean biogeochemistry, fisheries and decision-making models to improve sustainable fisheries management, $749,548
    • 2021: Co-I, NSF, Category II: ACES - Accelerating Computing for Emerging Sciences, $12,374,786
    • 2021: PI, National Geographic Society, Texas Youth Geography Network: Spatial Learning Tools for Advancing Youth Geography Education, $42,978
    • 2020: Co-PI, NOAA Texas Sea Grant, A Hybrid Decision Support System for Driving Resiliency in Texas Coastal Communities, $299,995
    • 2020: Co-PI, NSF, MRI: Acquisition of A High-Performance Data Analysis and Computing System to Foster Accelerated Sciences Transformation in Education and Research, $3,090,000

Selected Media Coverage

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