Yang Yang

Yang Yang is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Arizona’s College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) and a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering. Trained in architecture and systems engineering, she works at the intersection of computational design, built-environment modeling, and human–environment systems. She holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Cornell University, with concentrations in City and Regional Planning and Transportation Systems Engineering, and professional degrees in architecture from Tongji University in Shanghai.

Dr. Yang’s research integrates computational modeling, simulation, artificial intelligence, and data analytics into building and urban design. Her work develops human-centered computational methods that connect spatial form, environmental conditions, and human behavior with performance analysis and design decision-making. A central goal of her research is to move beyond representations of buildings and cities as primarily physical systems by explicitly modeling how people experience, use, and respond to the built environment. Her work spans agent-based modeling, machine learning, spatial and behavioral simulation, urban digital twins, and computational decision support, with applications in mobility, building performance, environmental resilience, and human-centered design.

Dr. Yang also develops computational tools that translate research methods into workflows for designers, engineers, and planners. She developed URBANO, a Rhino and Grasshopper platform for urban data modeling and agent-based mobility simulation, with an associated U.S. patent application and international adoption in architectural practice, research, and education. Her broader work includes computational decision-support and design-analysis projects in collaboration with industry partners and public agencies. Through the Environment–Behavior Systems Lab, she investigates new ways of measuring, modeling, and simulating interactions between people and the built environment and translating those models into actionable knowledge for building and urban design.

Dr. Yang teaches computational design, digital modeling, simulation, and performance-driven design across undergraduate and graduate curricula. Her teaching emphasizes both the development of rigorous computational skills and the ability to critically interpret models, data, and simulations as tools for design reasoning and decision-making.