Qing Tian used to spend her time analyzing the interaction among bits and bytes as a software engineer. Now, her interest has shifted dramatically - to the interactions between humans and their surrounding natural environment. And NASA has taken note.

Tian, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, has been chosen to receive a NASA Earth and Science Fellowship. She will use the award to study China's Poyang Lake Region and how its rural poor are adapting to the changing environment.

"With this funding, I want to further my research into the coupling of human and environmental systems," said Tian, who collected data this summer while living in Poyang Lake villages with rural farming families. "Most importantly, I hope the research improves the lives of the people living there."

NASA selected Tian and 78 other recipients nationally after evaluating the scientific merit of their proposed research;í‚   the relevance of that research to NASA's objectives in Earth or space science; and the application'sí‚   academic excellence, based upon transcripts and a letter of recommendation by the student's academic adviser.

The $30,000 fellowship covers a range of expenses, including travel and tuition, and can be extended for two years (for a total of three years). Sidharth Misra, a U-M graduate student research assistant in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences within the College of Engineering, also received a NASA Earth and Science Fellowship.

In her research, Tian is using a range of methods (spatial, statistical and qualitative analysis as well as agent-based modeling) to study the vulnerability of rural populations and sustainable development at multiple space and time scales. The Poyang Lake Region is largely poor and rural and has been subjected to flooding from the largest freshwater lake in China. It also is experiencing rapid and dramatic social, economic and political changes.

Through her work, she wants to provide a scientific basis for government policy-making and intervention regarding vulnerability mitigation and development. She also hopes to generate insights into how farming households can better respond to the uncertainty of flood dynamics and societal changes in order to enhance their quality of life.

Her doctoral program adviser is SNRE Professor Dan Brown, who is conducting his own research in the Poyang Lake Region. Her research is actually an extension of Brown's own NASA-funded project, which is focused more on land-use.

Her dissertation topic, as well as the focus of her NASA application, is "From Vulnerability to Sustainability: A Study of Vulnerability and Sustainable Development in the Context of Climatic and Institutional Changes in Rural China." Tian entered the SNRE doctoral program in 2006, and expects to finish within the next two years.

Earlier this year, her research drew the interest of the U-M Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, which awarded her a two-year fellowship.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in computer science from Beijing University and a master of science in cartography and remote sensing from Chinese Academy of Sciences.

For more on the NASA fellowship program, visit http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={1B84FEE4-89A8-C156-1E75-A841044A0007}&path=closed

About the School of Natural Resources and Environment
The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.
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