江耀蘭博士
Dr. Nancy Y. Kiang
Important experience / 重要經歷
Physical Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)
美國國家航空暨太空總署戈達德太空研究所物質科學家
Research Areas / 研究範疇
Earth System Science, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, terrestrial ecosystem dynamics, biogeochemistry, biophysics, photosynthesis, astrobiology, climate modeling, computer modeling
地球系統科學、生物圈-大氣交互作用、陸生生態系動力學、生物地球化學、生物物理學、光合作用、天文生物學、氣候模式、電腦模式
Introduction / 簡介
Dr. Kiang is an Earth System scientist and astrobiologist. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at Stanford University in 1988, and after working at Hewlett-Packard, she obtained her PhD in Biometeorology at the University of California at Berkeley in 2002. At the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, she conducts research on the interactions between the biosphere and the atmosphere, focusing on life on land. Through photosynthesis and the evapotranspiration of water from plant leaves, seasonal cycles of growth and decay, and occasional big events like fires, the biosphere on Earth exchanges heat, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and many other compounds with the atmosphere. These exchanges result in the biosphere actively controlling the climate, chemistry, and spectral properties of the Earth. Dr. Kiang also relates this work to research in astrobiology, particularly with regard to how photosynthetic activity produces signs of life at the global scale (e.g., biogenic gases like oxygen and photosynthetic pigments like chlorophyll). She studies how these may exhibit adaptations to alternative environments on extrasolar planets, resulting in other “biosignatures” that might be detected by space telescopes. Her work includes computer simulation modeling of vegetation dynamics coupled to atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs), occasional fieldwork, and theoretical and lab studies on the thermodynamic efficiency of photon energy use in photosynthesis. For fun, Dr. Kiang also enjoys hiking, art, and filmmaking, and has directed some award-winning short films exploring the nature of personal identity.
江博士是地球系統科學家及天文生物學家。她於1988年獲得史丹佛大學 計算機科學理學學士，畢業後於惠普(Hewlett-Packard)工作。她於2002年獲得加利福尼亞大學柏克萊分校生物氣象學博士。她目前於美國國家航空暨太空總署戈達德太空研究所任職，致力研究生物圈與大氣的交互作用，並聚焦在陸上生命。透過植物葉子中的光合作用及蒸發散、生長及衰變的季節周期、偶發的大事件如大火，地球生物圈的熱能、水氣、二氧化碳、甲烷、氮等轉換成不同的形式及化合物，並控制著地球的氣候、化學及譜性質。 江博士把這些研究與太空生物學聯繫，特別是光合作用如何在全球尺度中產生生命跡象，及這些如何適應系外行星的替代環境，成為其他的生命印跡，並有可能被太空望遠鏡所偵測。她的研究包括連接植物交互作用的電腦模擬模型與大氣環流模式，進行光合作用中光子能的熱力效能的田野調查及理論研究。而作為興趣，江博士享受並喜愛遠足、藝術、影片製作，她曾製作幾部以探索個人認同的本質為主軸的得獎短片。
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