Fellowship / Fellows

Hong Yang

  • 2022–2023
  • Physical Sciences
  • William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Fellow
  • Bryant University
Hong Yang
Photo by Tony Rinaldo

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.

Hong Yang is the Charles J. Smiley Chair Professor of Science and Technology and inaugural vice president for international affairs at Bryant University. His intellectual interests lie in global climate change, plant evolution, and international education. Yang’s interdisciplinary research is focused on investigations of modern and ancient organisms and their adaptations to environments and climate. This involves a range of approaches from fieldwork to laboratory experiments.

Yang’s Radcliffe project utilizes an interdisciplinary data set of ancient decadal-scale climate records to foster better understanding of dynamic causes, behaviors, and consequences of near-future climate change, including the likely hydrological and biological consequences under projected high atmospheric CO2 conditions. He will communicate his findings to support science-informed policymaking and develop a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary experiential learning program to facilitate broader public understanding and societal responses to mitigate the threat of climate change.

Yang has received more than 20 scientific awards and honors, including an award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and published broadly at the intersection of geology, biology, and climatology, including three edited books. Yang was named a National Committee on United States–China Relations Public Intellectual Program fellow and elected a fellow of Geological Society of America. His research has been supported by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and private foundations. Yang earned his PhD in geoscience from the University of Idaho and received postdoctoral trainings at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.

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