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Storm surge from rising sea levels are important forecast upshot of spherical climate change and have the electric potential for severe effect on the flora of low - lying coastal areas . The unprecedented violent storm surge from Hurricane Sandy , for representative , was enough to shift coastal shorelines along New York and New Jersey . The interrogation of how these storm surges affect coastal areas can be handle mathematically and is the focus of research by Dr. Jiang Jiang , a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis ( NIMBioS ) .

National Science Foundation

Jiang Jiang, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS).

[ Read more about Jiang ’s research ]

Name : Jiang JiangAge:30Institution : National Institute for Mathematical and Biological SynthesisHometown : Wenzhou , ChinaField of Study : Theoretical Ecology , Wetlands , mood change

What revolutionize you to choose this area of study ?

Jiang Jiang Uses Math to Understand Storm Surge Effects

Jiang Jiang, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS).

I am interested in trying to understand our nature , particularly ecosystem processes that regard coinage interacting with environments . Mathematical tools are my best-loved glide slope to understanding these complex interactions .

What is the good firearm of advice you ever received ?

I block when my founding father first distinguish me to be consistent in doing what I choose . But his advice facilitate me opt my major , go to fine-tune shoal and do research . Doing research is raft of playfulness when you find something new , but you could easy get stuck on something in the middle of research , which can be really frustrative . His advice avail me calm down and be positive .

a person points to an earthquake seismograph

What was your first scientific experiment as a kid ?

I rebuilt a radio using electronic parts .

What is your favorite affair about being a scientist or research worker ?

A blue house surrounded by flood water in North Beach, Maryland.

I like to do computer simulation experiments on disturbed melodic theme . Using mathematical and computational approaches , I can set up hypothesized normal for the interactions of species . This is sort of like create practical nature .

What is the most important equipment characteristic a scientist must demonstrate for be an effective scientist ?

scientist do n’t duplicate previous work . An effective scientist should apply critical cerebration of past inquiry . Then you might total up with innovative ideas .

A photo of dead trees silhouetted against the sunset

What are the social welfare of your inquiry ?

sympathise our ecosystem processes can help restoration . For model , my research on the fundamental interaction process of coastal vegetation and fundamental groundwater salinity dynamics can leave tools for direction . The role model can predict habitat change of the coastal Everglades for give scenarios of sea storey rise or storm zoom . The scenarios feign brininess changes of groundwater , therefore changing flora through ecologic - hydrologic process . The fashion model can also aid in making assessment of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan , which aims to capture fresh water that now flows unused to the sea and the gulf and redirects it to Everglades .

Who has had the most influence on your thinking as a investigator ?

Demonstrators attend rally outside National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters to oppose the recent worker firings, in Sliver Spring, Md., on Monday, March 3, 2025.

My middle school skill teacher taught me not only skill knowledge but also stories on how people become scientist , for case Newton , Darwin and Hawking . I start up to learn their stories and want to be a scientist too .

What about your playing field or being a scientist do you retrieve would surprise hoi polloi first ?

People are familiar with damage cause by hurricane . One major causal agent of hurricane damage is tempest spate , which cause meaning implosion therapy and costs multitude their lives if they ’re caught unexpected . However , violent storm surge can also have large long - terminus impingement , not just light - condition equipment casualty . My research shows that storm surge can carry brine so far inland that it can alter groundwater saltiness , known as salt invasion , and can damage agriculture . unreasonable brine could also do vegetation shift from freshwater vegetation to salt - tolerant plants .

a bird�s eye view of a crowd of people on a multicolored floor

If you could only deliver one thing from your burning office , what would it be ?

My computer .

What music do you play most often in your place or car ?

Belize lighthouse reef with a boat moored at Blue Hole - aerial view

Random euphony .

A satellite image of a large hurricane over the Southeastern United States

A satellite photo of a giant iceberg next to an island with hundreds of smaller icebergs surrounding the pair

A photo of Lake Chala

a large ocean wave

Sunrise above Michigan�s Lake of the Clouds. We see a ridge of basalt in the foreground.

An image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system�s known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201

an illustration showing a large disk of material around a star

a person holds a GLP-1 injector

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

an MRI scan of a brain

A photograph of two of Colossal�s genetically engineered wolves as pups.

An illustration of a hand that transforms into a strand of DNA