About the Team

Create summary of researchers associated with the grant. Who was funding the project, where the researchers are based, and how they are connected with each other. Is there a singular mission or research interest that ties their work together. How is it culminating together to answer the questions the grant is hoping to answer?

Tokyo

Ms. Jelena Aleksejeva

University of Tokyo
Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science
Tokyo, Japan
Email
APN City Page

Jelena Aleksejeva is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative, The University of Tokyo. Between 2018 - 2021 she was a Research Assistant at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, Center for Global Environmental research, Climate Risk Assessment Section. Jelena holds an MSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Tsukuba, with certificates from the Environmental Diplomatic Leader program (EDL) and the International Collaborative Environmental Program (ICEP). Her broad research interests are in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in urban settings, smart cities, and green technologies. Her current PhD research focuses on the deployment of green roofs and solar panels in urban areas as a strategy for climate change mitigation.

Dr. Alexandros Gasparatos

University of Tokyo
Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI)
Tokyo, Japan
Email
APN City Page

Alexandros is Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). Before joining the University of Tokyo I conducted research at the University of Oxford (2011-2013), UNU-IAS (2008-2011) and the University of Dundee (2006-2008). As an ecological economist he is interested in the development, refinement and application of sustainability assessment and ecosystem services valuation tools. He has applied such tools in different topics such as food/energy security, energy policy, green economy, and urban metabolism, in geographical contexts as diverse as Brazil, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Philippines, Swaziland and the UK. He is an Editor for Sustainability Science, an Associate Editor for People and Nature, and an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. He also served as a Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) for the Asia-Pacific Assessment Report and a Scoping Expert of the Nexus Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Beijing

Professor Xiangzheng Deng

Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research
Beijing, China
Email
APN City Page

Prof. Deng is a Geographer and an Environmental Economist. He is also an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented sustainability scientist. Trained in Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing technologies, and environmental economics as well, he is currently a member of the Urban Knowledge-Action Network, Future Earth Initiative. He is also one of the Members and observers of the Science-Policy Interface, UNCCD. He is also one member and observer of the Science-Policy Interface, United Nation Conversion to Combat Desertification. He was a member of the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change, IHDP from 2010 to 2017. He has worked for and coordinated the international collaborative research projects. He has worked as a national reviewer of the IPCC reports and he is also the deputy editor and member of the editorial board of many well-known journals.

Dr. Zhihui Li

Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research
Beijing, China
Email
APN City Page

Current appointment: Assistant Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS Education: PhD in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Chinese Academy of Sciences Areas of specialization: Environmental and Natural Resources Management; Land Use Modeling; Land Ecology; Ecosystem Services; Water Issues Professional snapshot: She has published more than 50 academic papers, including more than 40 SCI/SSCI papers (more than 10 as the first or corresponding author), and participated in the writing of 5 monographs/edits.

Bangkok

Professor Shobhakar Dhakal

Asian Institute of Technology
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change
Bangkok, Thailand
Email
APN City Page

Prof. Shobhakar Dhakal is Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Asian Institute of Technology. He is also a Professor of Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change. His areas of expertise are on cities and climate change, energy policy, energy-economy-environment modelling, and climate change mitigation. Prof. Dhakal is also a Coordinating Lead Author of IPCC’s Sixth and Fifth Assessment Reports. He serves in the Steering Committee of the Global Carbon Project - a premier scientific program under the Future Earth.

Ms. Subina Shrestha

Asian Institute of Technology
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change
Bangkok, Thailand
Email
APN City Page

Ms. Shrestha holds a Masters degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Between 2017- 2021, she has worked as a researcher on different projects related to energy and climate change in Nepal and Thailand.

Taipei

Dr. Po Ju Huang

National Taipei University
Center for Global Change and Sustainability Science
Taipei, Taiwan
Email
APN City Page

PoJu Huang completing PhD at the Graduate Institute of Urban Planning, National Taipei University. His main research interests are how urban spatial and temporal development forget the relationships between urban form, energy use, and CO2 emission, focusing on the sub-city scale at Taipei City.

Professor Shu-Li Huang

National Taipei University
Center for Global Change and Sustainability Science
Taipei, Taiwan
Email
APN City Page

Shu-Li Huang is Distinguished Professor of the Graduate Institute of Urban Planning at National Taipei University (NTPU). His recent research focus includes spatial planning and climate change, peri-urbanization and environmental change, and ecological energetic analysis of urbanization. From 2010-2017, Professor Huang was a member of the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Project (UGEC) of the International Human Dimension Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). Currently, he is also the committee member of Taiwan’s National Committee on Future Earth. Shu-Li Huang received Outstanding Research Award from National Science Council of Taiwan (1991, 2012), Resident Scholar of Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Rockefeller Foundation (1998), Planning Medal of Taiwan Institute of Urban Planning (2005), etc.

New York City

Professor Peter Marcotullio

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC)
New York City, USA
Email
APN City Page

Peter Marcotullio is Professor in the Department of Geography, Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). He also holds the Directorship of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC) and is faculty member in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Marcotullio moved into the Department of Geography from a Distinguished Lectureship (2007 – 2009), where he taught in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, the Department of Geography and in the CUNY Macaulay Honors College. Over the last decade, Professor Marcotullio has also been an Adjunct in the Urban Planning program, Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation.

Mr. Allan Lu

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC)
New York City, USA
Email
APN City Page

Allan Lu received a MS in Geoinformatics at Hunter College and is currently GIS Program Manager at New York City Emergency Management.

Ms. Jessica Stratton

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC)
New York City, USA
Email
APN City Page

Jessica Stretton is a master’s student in the Geography and Environmental Sciences program at Hunter College. Prior to entering the master’s program in fall 2017, Jessica worked in development for international conservation and development organizations, writing grants and reports for a variety of donors. She currently works as a consultant for an organization based in the UK that convenes voluntary sustainability standards working on human rights and environmental issues across a variety of sectors, including agriculture, forestry and mining. Her interests are in environmental sustainability, land use (particularly as related to renewable energy and agriculture) and the balance between community identity and larger societal needs, especially in the context of the changes that society will need to make in response to climate change. She is currently completing her thesis, which looks at the drivers and distribution of solar photovoltaic installations in New York State. A native of New Jersey, she holds a BA in English from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and participated in a study abroad program in India.

Mr. Nicholas Rio

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC)
New York City, USA
Email
APN City Page

Nicholas Rio earned a BA in Statistics from Columbia University, where he developed US residential energy consumption models for Prof. Marcotullio through the APN Project. Upon completion of his studies, Nicholas turned to work in the international and sustainable development sector, designing and operationalizing educational programs throughout Southeast Asia. Now based in San Francisco, he supports strategic and financial planning, analysis and reporting for Room to Read, an international NGO focusing on literacy and gender equality through educational initiatives in 20+ countries worldwide.

Ms. Gowri Anand

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC)
New York City, USA
Email
APN City Page

Gowri Anand is currently a graduate student in the MS Geoinformatics program at Hunter College, with a bachelor’s in environmental biology from New York University. Her previous research ranges from studying spatial dynamics of infected nymphal prevalence and tick-borne diseases in Dutchess County to trends in greenhouse gas emissions in Asian cities. Her current research involves investigating spatial trends of heat and flooding in New York City that are exacerbated by climate change and identifying which communities are disproportionately affected by these issues. Her research interests include spatial dynamics of disease and environment and how rapid climate change affects these dynamics.

Seoul

Dr. Kwang Ik Wang

Global Green City Research Institute
Global Agency for Best Investigation
Seoul, South Korea
Email
APN City Page

Dr. Kwang Ik Wang is a Smart Green, Hydrogen and Carbon Neutral City Planner