Qianqian Liu

Dr. Qianqian Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, as well as the Center for Marine Science, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a PhD degree in Physical Oceanography in 2015. Before joining the academic community in North Carolina, Dr. Liu honed her skills as a postdoctoral fellow at the NOAA Great Lake Environmental Research Laboratory, affiliated to the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State Unviersity. Her research is focused on coastal and estuarine hydrodynamics and biophysical processes (particularly how the physical processes influence biological processes) using numerical and machine learning modeling.

Education

Ph.D. in Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
M.S. in Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
B.S. in Marine Science, Ocean University of China

Specialization in Teaching

Course Taught:
PHY475 Physical Oceanography
PHY575 Physical Oceanography
PHY101-00X Elementary College Physics
PHY101-2XX Elementary College Physics Lab
PHY102-2XX Elementary College Physics II Lab

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in the research in oceanography with particular emphasis on the development of coupled physical-biogeochemical models that improve our understanding and management of complex aquatic environmental systems. In particular, my research interests are shaped by the increasingly common problems of hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen) and harmful algal blooms (HABs) in both freshwater and coastal ecosystems and the increasing public and political awareness. My research is focused on developing advanced numerical models and machine learning models to simulate the hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes in the coastal systems, to help understand how anthropogenic and natural stressors affect the coastal ecosystem, and how to improve their health.

Professional Service

o Served in review panels for DOE (2023) and NSF (2024)
o Served as a guest editor for the journal “Water: Special Issue: Coastal Water Quality Modelling” in 2024
o Reviewer for the journals of: Journal of Environmental Management, Frontier in Marine Science Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Progress in Oceanography, Toxins, Natural Hazards etc.
o Served as a proposal reviewer for DOE, NSF, and Maryland Sea Grant
o Chaired sessions in the 2024 Ocean Science Meeting in New Orleans titled “Application of Deep Learning for Ocean Data Science: Modeling, Prediction, Data
Analysis, Signal and Image Processing” with two oral sessions and one poster session
o Co-chaired a session (Success Story Session as a scriber) in the Cyberinfrastrure PI conferences in Houston, Texas in September 2023.