Lin YaoGraduate Student

Research Focus:

Tropical convection, explainable AI, fluid dynamics, and climate change

Email:

linyao@uchicago.edu

Biography

• PhD, 2020-2026 (expected)
• BS, Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, 2019

Research Interests

My research centers on moist convection. I study how large-scale tropical convection (e.g., convective self-aggregation and the MJO) forms and changes with climate. I combine theory, cloud-resolving models, and machine learning to uncover essential mechanisms and sources of predictability. I also investigate extreme weather events and polar vortex dynamics.

Publications

1. Yao, L., D. Yang, J. Duncan, A. Chattopadhyay, P. Hassanzadeh, W. Bhimji, and B. Yu (Submitted). Deep learning the sources of MJO predictability: a spectral view of learned features. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.03582
2. Yao, L., and D. Yang (In preparation). The Role of Equatorial Waves in MJO Predictability in Deep Convolutional Networks.
3. Yao, L., W. Kang, G. Flierl, C. Liu, A. Kan, and K. Burns (Submitted). Baroclinic instability as a driver of polar vortices on giant planets. WHOI GFD Proceedings Volume 2025. (Preview link)
4. Yang, D., L. Yao, and W. Hannah (2024). Vertically Resolved Analysis of the Madden-Julian Oscillation Highlights the Role of Convective Transport of Moist Static Energy. Geophysical Research Letters. doi:10.1029/2024GL109910
5. Yao, L., and D. Yang (2023). Convective Self-Aggregation Occurs Without Radiative Feedbacks in Warm Climates. Geophysical Research Letters. doi:10.1029/2023GL104624
6. Yao, L., D. Yang, and Z.-M. Tan (2022). A Vertically Resolved MSE Framework Highlights the Role of the Boundary Layer in Convective Self-Aggregation. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. doi:10.1175/JAS-D-20-0254.1

Awards

1. WHOI GFD fellow, 2025
2. Outstanding Student Oral Presentation at 24th Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics, 2024
3. Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, 2023
4. Outstanding Graduate, 2019
5. National Scholarship, 2017