Oxford Martin School, Visiting Fellow Guangdong University of Technology, tenure-track professor
yuanchao.hu@biology.ox.ac.uk https://seer.gdut.edu.cn/info/1029/7342.htm%20

Yuanchao Hu

Background

I am passionate about the conservation of natural and human ecosystems. Agriculture and settlement are among the major activities that provide essential human well-being and affect the environment. Exploring alternative and more sustainable patterns for these activities is my main motivation for research and communication.

Research Interests

I am currently a visiting fellow at the Food Sustainability Programme of Oxford Martin School and a tenure-track professor at Guangdong University of Technology. My background includes ecology and environmental science and engineering. I use environmental sensing and modelling methods to articulate environmental processes and benchmark the environmental impacts of food systems across scales, from farm to global.

Current Research

My current research is concentrated in two areas:

  • Aquaculture sustainability together with the HESTIA team in Oxford. The broad goal is to supplement the data and model for the HESTIA platform. Specifically, my colleagues and I construct a dataset of environmental impacts and a mechanistic, parameterized model of nutrient flows for major aquaculture species and cultivation systems.
  • Synergies between Agricultural Emission Mitigation and Human Health through Dietary Transitions. This project aims to develop an integrated multi-model framework with enhanced spatial resolution and model performance to uncover the complex, interconnected socio-natural processes within agricultural and food systems. The project is expected to provide scientific evidence and decision support for region-specific agricultural mitigation strategies, dietary transitions, and the enhancement of health and welfare benefits.

Brief CV

Dr Yuanchao Hu is a Visting Fellow at Oxford Martin School and tenure-track Professor at Guangdong University of Technology. His research focuses on modelling environmental and health processes in agricultural and food systems, as well as urban ecological and environmental systems engineering. He has led or participated in more than ten research projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R&D Program of China, and others. Dr Hu received his PhD in Ecology from the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with visiting doctoral training at the University of Minnesota. He is also a Guest Scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He also serves as a Board Member of the International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) and holds editorial roles in international journals, including Sustainability and Beyond.

2025-now: Visiting Fellow at Oxford Martin School

2025-now: Professor (tenure-track) at Guangdong University of Technology

2024: Guest Scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

2021-2025: Assistant Professor at Wuhan University

2018-2021: Postdoc at Xi’an Jiaotong University

2017-2018: Joint PhD student at University of Minnesota

2012-2018: PhD student at Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Published papers

Please see Yuanchao’s Google Scholar profile

Links to related projects

https://www.hestia.earth/