Current people

Wenjuan Huang

Lu Yang

Lu Yang is a postdoctoral researcher in Soil Biogeochemistry group and joined the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University in 2024. She earned her PhD in Ecology from Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and her BS from Shandong University. She develops research interest in soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. Beyond the academic pursuits, she enjoys hiking, flower arranging, and board games.

Jinyang Zheng

Jinyang Zheng is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Huang’s group at Iowa State University in 2025.8. His research focuses on soil carbon decomposition, the coupled nutrient cycling, and their responses to environmental changes, using both experimental and modeling approaches.
He received Ph.D. from Zhejiang University, M.S. from Huazhong Agricultural University, and B.S. from Northeast Normal University. Beyond research, he enjoys running, hiking, and documenting life experiences.
If you love soil, he loves you.

Xinying Pei

Xinying is a Ph.D. student in the Environmental Science program at ISU. She received M.S. from Zhejiang University, B.S. from Huazhong Agricultural University. Her research focuses on water resources and nutrient cycling, using data-model integration and machine learning to analyze and predict ecosystem processes.

Mia Waid

Mia Waid is a master’s student in the Soil Biogeochemistry Lab. She joined the lab as a graduate student in 2024 after obtaining her BS in Environmental Science from Iowa State University. Her research interests surround soil and water nutrient cycling. Outside of her research, she enjoys hiking, travel, and playing with her dog.

Ella Gocken

Ella Gocken is an undergraduate student in the Soil Biogeochemistry Lab. She joined the lab in 2025 as a first-year studying Environmental Science. Her research focus is soil phosphorus cycling. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys reading, games with friends, camping, and gardening.

Luke Bradshaw

Luke is an undergraduate student majoring in Environmental Sciences. He is expected to graduate 2025 Fall and intends to continue his studies by pursuing a master’s degree. Outside of his research he likes combat sports, traveling, and being with his people.  

Rounds, Jabe D

Jabe is an undergraduate student majoring in Biology. He is expected to graduate in the spring of 2028 and hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in Ecology. When not in the lab, Jabe enjoys hiking, spending time with friends, gardening, and collecting comics.