Dr. Eng Wanglin YAN

Dr. Wanglin YAN is a professor, Faculty of Environmental Information Studies, Keio University, Japan.
He graduated at Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping in 1982 with bachelor degree of Engineering. He received his Master Degree in 1989 and Doctor Degree in 1992 at the Department of Civil Engineering, the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo.　
His main research fields are Geo-informatics for urban and regional environment as well as planning for sustainable development.
He has participated in reconstruction conceptual planning project after Sichuan Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 with a joint team of Keio University, the University of Tokyo and the Southwestern Jiaotong University. The conceptual reconstruction plan harmonized with historical culture and ecological systems of Dujiangyan City was highly evaluated by expertise and local government.
He has published a series of papers on urban thermal environment with analysis of satellite sensed thermal images and ground based observations, clarified the statistical and spatial structure of surface temperature and air temperature of cities.　
He has worked with NPOs and local governments to combat desertification and ecosystem degradation in Inner Mongolia and Tibet Plateau in the past decade. Geographical information technology and methodology were successfully applied for planting trees and the management of land resources. It was applied for the implementation and the application of the small scale Afforest/Reforest Clean Development Mechanism (A/R CDM) of Kyoto Protocol in Kangping County, Shenyang City of China initiated by Keio University.
Geographical information technology has been widely applied for various topics at Dr. Yan's Lab, including location-based Internet broadcasting for local festivals, public participated community development with map mash up and location-based gaming systems etc. These applications contribute to the studies on exploring the possibility of Web Mapping 2.0 Technology for volunteered or business-based environmental and social innovation activities.
Recently, Dr. Yan is engaging in the evolution and transformation of industrial urban systems to adaptive and sustainable ones to climate change. This study requires us to understand cities as ecological and social ecosystems with the view of complexity. GIS is studied and applied for modeling and visualizing the processes and outcomes of the evolution and transformation of urban systems.
This study is a part of the five-year project called Strategic programs to foster environmental leaders for Asian and African countries granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. Dr. YAN is the executive leader of the project.
With the support of this project, Keio University will open up an “International Program on Environmental Innovators for Designing the Future Society” at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Shonan Fujisawa Campus from April 2011. This program aims to study the mitigation and adaptation of climate change based on a multi-disciplinary and strategic curriculum for ushering the transformation towards a low-carbon society and adaptation to inevitable global warming. Japanese and foreign students who finished the program will receive a master degree for a two-year course or a doctorate degree for a three-year course, as well as be issued with an “Environment Innovator” correspondent certificate at the end of the course. Foreign students who in interested in climate change issues are welcome to enter this program for building an innovative career.

Geographical Survey Institute, Ministry of National Land and Transportation
Environmental expertise committee of Fujisawa City
Academic member of Research Grant Program, the Asahi Glass Foundation