Eric Xueyuan Gao
Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University and Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
Technical Expert Panel member, Verra.
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University and Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture. My research focuses on nature-based climate solutions and the development of voluntary carbon and nature markets. My work has been recognized with 2026 American Geophysical Union “Impactful Dataset” award, 2025 Ecological Society of America Early Career Ecologists Outstanding Paper Award, and 2023 American Association of Geographers Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper. I serve as a Technical Expert Panel member for Verra, a registry in the carbon market, and a member of the SHIFT-CM network hosted by The Nature Conservancy and Yale University.
Positions
Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University and Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, July 2026 - now
Postdoctoral researcher, Princeton University, US, October 2024 - June 2026
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Research with the Carbon Mitigation Initiative, associated with the High Meadows Environmental Institute and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Visiting Student, Cambridge Center for Carbon Credits (4C), University of Cambridge, UK, May - June 2024
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Hosts: Andrew Balmford, David Coomes, Thomas Swinfield
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Supported by 2024 UMD Graduate Fellowship for International Collaboration
Education
Ph.D., University of Maryland (UMD), College Park, U.S., Aug 2019-Aug 2024
Thesis: Exploring and assessing land-based climate solutions using Earth observations, Earth system models, and integrated assessment models
Selected Awards
Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture Postdoctoral Fellowship, Yale University, 2026
American Geophysical Union “Impactful Dataset” award, AGU, 2026
Ecological Society of America Early Career Ecologists Outstanding Paper Award, 2025
NOAA Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship (selected as alternate), 2024
Dean's Research Initiative Grant, UMD, 2024
Graduate Fellowship for International Collaboration (at University of Cambridge, UK), UMD, 2024
Graduate School Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship, UMD, 2023
American Association of Geographers Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, AAG, 2023
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, UMD, 2022
National Center for Atmospheric Research Graduate Student Small-Allocation Computing Award, NCAR, 2021
Graduate School Summer Research Fellowship, UMD, 2021
Geographical Science Summer Research Fellowship, UMD, 2020
Graduate School Jacob K. Goldhaber Award, UMD, 2024, 2019
Graduate School Dean's Fellowship, UMD, 2019
Geography Graduate Student President, 2022-2023
Departmental representative in Graduate Student Government, 2020-2022