Astrophysics · Stanford, California
KIPAC Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University
Studying the interstellar medium, measuring 3D dust extinction with machine learning, and exploring how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shape the extinction curve across the Milky Way and its neighbours.
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A physics background, a passion for interstellar dust, and a toolbox full of machine-learning models.
I am a KIPAC Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. Before joining Stanford, I completed my PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and Heidelberg University in July 2025, then stayed at MPIA as a postdoctoral researcher.
Most of my work lives at the boundary between large stellar surveys and interstellar dust physics: I build data-driven models of Gaia XP spectra, then use them to measure stellar parameters, extinction, and the shape of the extinction curve — in 3D and for tens to hundreds of millions of stars at a time.
Beyond astronomy, I come from Baotou, “the city of deer”. I enjoy spending entire days in history museums learning random historical facts — for instance, how astronomers in the 16th century measured stellar coordinates.
Thanks for visiting!
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Featured projects — from spectra of 220 million stars to the physical origin of R(V).
Gaia DR3 provides low-resolution XP spectra for more than 220 million stars — a unique opportunity to measure dust extinction and its variation in 3D. We built a forward model that maps (Teff, [Fe/H], log g) to Gaia XP, and used it to determine stellar types, extinction and distances for the full sample of 220 million Gaia XP stars.
The shape of the extinction curve is set by the size distribution and chemical composition of interstellar dust, so R(V) (≡ A(V)/E(B−V)) traces the local physical and chemical environment — supernovae, star formation and molecular clouds. Using Gaia XP spectra, we determined R(V) for roughly 130 million high-extinction stars in the Milky Way, LMC and SMC: the largest R(V) catalogue of its kind up to 2024.
We find observational and theoretical evidence that PAH-driven growth shapes R(V) in the translucent interstellar medium, where R(V) anti-correlates with PAH abundance. Growing PAHs strengthen the 2175 Å feature; its red wing raises B-band extinction while barely affecting the V band — pulling R(V) down. If confirmed, this picture has implications well beyond extinction corrections, including the anomalously low R(V) values seen toward Type Ia supernovae.
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First-author work featured on this page. Everything else lives in my ADS library.
Science 387, 1209 · Cover article
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 979, L17
The Astrophysical Journal 988, 5 · Green, Zhang & Zhang
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 524, 1855
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A few seminars, conferences and institute science days from the last few years.
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Approved proposals where I am principal investigator.
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Questions about my work, collaborations or data products? I’d be happy to hear from you.