CV

Work experience

Academic positions

2024–Present: Associate Professor, Data Science Specialist
- Libraries and School of Information Studies, Purdue University
2019–2024: Assistant Professor, Data Science Specialist
- Libraries and School of Information Studies, Purdue University
2017–2019: Research Associate
- Forestry, Michigan State University

Education

Ph.D., Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 2016
M.S., Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 2012
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Northeastern University (CN), 2009

Honors and Awards

Honor College Faculty-Led Research 2022
Joanne J. Troutner Innovative Educators Award, 2021
IDEA institute on AI, IMLS Fellow 2021

Service and leadership

Faculty Lead in Research Data
Liasion in Statistics, Agriculture and Biological Engineering, Forestry and Natrual Resources

Teaching

ILS69500 Computational Text Analysis (Every Spring)

ILS59500 Geospatial Data Science with ArcGIS Pro and Python (Every Spring)

ILS59500 Geospatial Programming and Data Science (Spring 2021)

ILS29500 Intro to Data Lifecycle Management (Fall 2020)

ILS29000 Independent studies on AI applications/data science/information studies (Both Fall and Spring)

Publications

From pixels to policy: Eleven years of field-scale cover crop adoption and conservation program evaluation in an Indiana watershed

Chen, K., Paul, S. S., Shao, G., & Armstrong, S. (2026). "From pixels to policy: Eleven years of field-scale cover crop adoption and conservation program evaluation in an Indiana watershed." Journal of Environmental Management, 405, 129610.

Fire in a Central Amazon forest: Lingering top canopy loss and initial understory regrowth revealed by repeated LiDAR

Pontes-Lopes, A., Stark, S. C., Smith, M., Almeida, D. R. A., Shao, G., Sato, L., et al. (2026). "Fire in a Central Amazon forest: Lingering top canopy loss and initial understory regrowth revealed by repeated LiDAR." Forest Ecology and Management, 601, 123332.

Teaching data science workshops in academic libraries: Insights from attendance patterns and topic preferences

Shao, G. (2026). "Teaching data science workshops in academic libraries: Insights from attendance patterns and topic preferences." The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 52(1), 103188.

FocalSR: Revisiting image super-resolution transformers with Fourier-transform cross attention layers for remote sensing image enhancement

Ou, B., Shao, G., Yang, B., & Fei, S. (2025). "FocalSR: Revisiting image super-resolution transformers with Fourier-transform cross attention layers for remote sensing image enhancement." Geomatica, 77(1), 100042.

Multimodal Remote Sensing Scene Classification Using VLMs and Dual-Cross Attention Networks

Cai, J., Meng, K., Yang, B., & Shao, G. (2024). "Multimodal Remote Sensing Scene Classification Using VLMs and Dual-Cross Attention Networks." arXiv:2412.02531.

Integrating forest structural diversity measurement into ecological research

Atkins, J. W., et al. (2023). "Integrating forest structural diversity measurement into ecological research." Ecosphere, 14(9), e4633.

A Robust Stepwise Clustering Approach to Detect Individual Trees in Temperate Hardwood Plantations Using Airborne LiDAR Data

Shao, G., Fei, S., & Shao, G. (2023). "A Robust Stepwise Clustering Approach to Detect Individual Trees in Temperate Hardwood Plantations Using Airborne LiDAR Data." Remote Sensing, 15(5), 1241.

Diverse anthropogenic disturbances shift Amazon forests along a structural spectrum

Smith, M. N., et al. (2023). "Diverse anthropogenic disturbances shift Amazon forests along a structural spectrum." Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 21(1), 24–32.

Improving probabilistic monthly water quantity and quality predictions using a simplified residual-based modeling approach

Tian Guo, Yaoze Liu, Gang Shao, Bernard Engel, Ashish Sharma, Lucy Marshall, Dennis Flanagan, Raj Cibin, Carlington Wallace, Kaiguang Zhao, "Improving probabilistic monthly water quantity and quality predictions using a simplified residual-based modeling approach." Environmental Modelling & Software, 2022.

High-Resolution Canopy Height Model Generation and Validation Using USGS 3DEP LiDAR Data in Indiana, USA

Sungchan Oh, Jinha Jung, Guofan Shao, Gang Shao, Joey Gallion, Songlin Fei, "High-Resolution Canopy Height Model Generation and Validation Using USGS 3DEP LiDAR Data in Indiana, USA." Remote Sensing, 2022.

Mapping fine-scale human disturbances in a working landscape with Landsat time series on Google Earth Engine

Tongxi Hu, Elizabeth Toman, Gang Chen, Gang Shao, Yuyu Zhou, Yang Li, Kaiguang Zhao, Yinan Feng, "Mapping fine-scale human disturbances in a working landscape with Landsat time series on Google Earth Engine." ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 2021.

Improvement of simulating sub-daily hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns in the SWAT model

Siyu Li, Yaoze Liu, Younggu Her, Jingqiu Chen, Tian Guo, Gang Shao, "Improvement of simulating sub-daily hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns in the SWAT model." Science of The Total Environment, 2021.

Exploring potential roles of academic libraries in undergraduate data science education curriculum development

Gang Shao, Jenny Quintana, Wei Zakharov, Senay Purzer, Eunhye Kim, "Exploring potential roles of academic libraries in undergraduate data science education curriculum development." The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 2021.

Less agricultural phosphorus applied in 2019 led to less dissolved phosphorus transported to Lake Erie

Tian Guo, Laura Johnson, Greg LaBarge, Chad Penn, Richard Stumpf, David Baker, Gang Shao, "Less agricultural phosphorus applied in 2019 led to less dissolved phosphorus transported to Lake Erie." Environmental Science & Technology, 2020.

Towards high throughput assessment of canopy dynamics: The estimation of leaf area structure in Amazonian forests with multitemporal multi-sensor airborne lidar

Gang Shao, Scott Stark, Danilo Almeida, Marielle Smith, "Towards high throughput assessment of canopy dynamics: The estimation of leaf area structure in Amazonian forests with multitemporal multi-sensor airborne lidar." Remote Sensing of Environment, 2019.

Optimizing the remote detection of tropical rainforest structure with airborne lidar: Leaf area profile sensitivity to pulse density and spatial sampling

Danilo Almeida, Scott Stark, Gang Shao, Juliana Schietti, Bruce Nelson, Carlos Silva, Eric Gorgens, Ruben Valbuena, Daniel Papa, Pedro Brancalion, "Optimizing the remote detection of tropical rainforest structure with airborne lidar: Leaf area profile sensitivity to pulse density and spatial sampling." Remote Sensing, 2019.

Development and improvement of the simulation of woody bioenergy crops in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)

Tian Guo, Bernard Engel, Gang Shao, Jeffrey Arnold, Raghavan Srinivasan, James Kiniry, "Development and improvement of the simulation of woody bioenergy crops in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)." Environmental Modelling & Software, 2019.

Delineation of individual deciduous trees in plantations with low-density LiDAR data

Gang Shao, Guofan Shao, Songlin Fei, "Delineation of individual deciduous trees in plantations with low-density LiDAR data." International journal of remote sensing, 2019.

Improving Lidar-based aboveground biomass estimation of temperate hardwood forests with varying site productivity

Gang Shao, Guofan Shao, Joey Gallion, Michael Saunders, Jane Frankenberger, Songlin Fei, "Improving Lidar-based aboveground biomass estimation of temperate hardwood forests with varying site productivity." Remote Sensing of Environment, 2018.

Enhanced forest interior estimations utilizing lidar-assisted 3D forest cover map

Gang Shao, Basil Iannone, Songlin Fei, "Enhanced forest interior estimations utilizing lidar-assisted 3D forest cover map." Ecological Indicators, 2018.

The simulated effects of timber harvest on suitable habitat for Indiana and northern long-eared bats

BP Pauli, PA Zollner, GS Haulton, G Shao, G Shao, "The simulated effects of timber harvest on suitable habitat for Indiana and northern long-eared bats." Ecosphere, 2015.

Functional approach to simulating short-rotation woody crops in process-based models

Tian Guo, Bernard Engel, Gang Shao, Jeffrey Arnold, Raghavan Srinivasan, James Kiniry, "Functional approach to simulating short-rotation woody crops in process-based models." BioEnergy Research, 2015.

Mapping hardwood forests through a two-stage unsupervised classification by integrating Landsat Thematic Mapper and forest inventory data

Gang Shao, Benjamin Pauli, G Haulton, Patrick Zollner, Guofan Shao, "Mapping hardwood forests through a two-stage unsupervised classification by integrating Landsat Thematic Mapper and forest inventory data." Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 2014.