Fangzheng Lyu

Fangzheng Lyu

Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech

Fangzheng Lyu, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Virginia Tech. I received a Ph.D. in Geography, an M.S. in Geography from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a B.E. in Computer Engineering from the University of Hong Kong. I currently serve as Vice Chair for the Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group at the American Association of Geographers.

My research interests are centered around GIScience, Geospatial Data Science and Computational Science, aiming to tackle complex geospatial problems and understand multi-scale urban dynamics using heterogeneous geospatial big data. Specifically, my research work focuses on 1) geospatial data science for understanding multi-scale urban dynamics, where I integrate machine learning with cyberGIS to predict and analyze complex urban phenomena (e.g. Urban Heat Islands) and develop frameworks for extracting information from heterogenous spatiotemporal data (e.g. high-frequency sensor data, social media data); 2) scalable spatial algorithms for solving complex geospatial problems, including developing scalable algorithms and models for geospatial analysis (e.g. remote sensing image fusion) using high-performance computing; and 3) democratization of data-intensive geographic research, where I innovate geospatial middleware approaches to simplify access to advanced cyberinfrastructure and enable collaborative geographic research and education.

I am looking for a PhD student to join in Fall 2026 (fully funded by Research Assistantship) & multiple master’s students in Spring & Fall 2026 (fully funded by Teaching Assistantship). Please contact me at fangzheng@vt.edu if you are interested.

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