Yuean Qiu awarded NASA FINESST Graduate Fellowship

July 11, 2025

Congratulations to Yuean Qiu on being awarded a prestigious Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) Fellowship award. Qiu is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University, advised by Professor David Roy, Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations and a member of the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences. 

Each year, NASA accepts proposals for graduate student-designed research projects that contribute to NASA science, technology, and exploration goals. Qiu’s proposal, A Global Digital Twin for Forecasting Future Fire, was one of 54 proposals selected from 539 submitted in response to the 2024 NASA FINESST Earth Science call. His project is designed to enhance the accuracy of forecasting future fire occurrences, which is crucial for developing effective fire management and land-use policies, creating better physical models, and improving scientific understanding. 

The award includes nearly $150,000 in total funding and is expected to begin in November 2025. 

For further details of Qiu’s proposal and those of other awardees, visit the NASA FINESST website.  

Congratulations to Qiu on this achievement. We look forward to the impact of his research as part of NASA’s Earth Science Early Career Research team.