Connor Yuhao Wu

Connor Y.H. Wu, PhD

Assistant Professor

Department of Geospatial Informatics

Short Bio

Dr. Connor Wu joined Troy University in August 2018. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Virginia Tech between 2016 to 2018. His postdoctoral research focused on the Alabama heat and its effects on health outcomes (e.g., preterm birth, non-accidental death, and fatal traffic accidents) under an NIH funded project. Before that, he was a Research Associate at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) with the primary responsibilities to investigate the association between historical plague outbreaks and climate change from the GIS perspective. He earned a Ph.D. degree in Geography from HKU, an MSc in Geomatics (GIS) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a BEng in Computer Science from the Beijing Normal University. He has experience in data collection and mining, statistics, and spatiotemporal analysis with GIS and remote sensing skills, and his research interests include public health, epidemiology, climate change, and transportation safety.

Work Experience

Assistant Professor, Troy University

08/2018 - Present

Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Tech

02/2016-06/2018

Research Associate, The University of Hong Kong

01/2014-01/2016

Research Areas

  • Personal heat exposure measurement
  • Spatial analysis for estimating the effects of climate change on public health
  • Quantitative methods for examining the association between climate change and crime
  • GIS and statistical models for evaluating the contribution of climate change on plague outbreaks
  • Quantitative methods on transportation safety and behavior geography

Education

Ph.D in Geography, The University of Hong Kong, HK

January 2010 – July 2014

M.Sc. in Geomatics (GIS), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HK

September 2007 - March 2009

B.Sc. in Computer Science, Beijing Normal University, China

September 2003 - July 2007

Teaching

Undergraduate Courses

  • GEO 2210 World Regional Geography (&online course)
  • GEO 2299 Basic GIS (&online course)
  • GEO 3300 Principles of Physical Geography (&online course)
  • GEO 3301 Principles of Cultural Geography (&online course)
  • GEO 3306 Geography of Asia
  • GEO 3307 Geography of Europe
  • GEO 4411 Population and Society (&online course)
  • GIS 3320 GIS in the Social Science (&online course)
  • GIS 3391 Applications of Geospatial Information Science
  • GIS 4401 Spatial Database Design & Management (&online course)
  • GIS 4405 Spatial Modeling & Programming (&online course)
  • SS 3375 Introduction to Social Scientific Inquiry
  • SS 3377 Spatial Applications in Social Science Inquiry

Graduate Courses

  • GEO 5511 Demography
  • GIS 5530 Crime Mapping
  • BIO 6650/L650 Spatial Analysis Using GIS

Publications

Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Papers

  1. Wu, Connor Y. H. (2021). Heat waves and road traffic collisions in Alabama, United States. Annals of the American Association of Geographers. doi:10.1080/24694452.2021.1960145 (IF=4.683)
  2. Wu, Connor Y. H., Lee, H. F., & Liu, H. (2020). Effect of temperature and precipitation change on crime in the metropolitan area in Virginia, USA. Asian Geographer, 37(1), 17-31. doi:10.1080/10225706.2019.1678046 (IF=1.286)
  3. Wu, Connor Y. H., Bennett, M., Fox, K., Hubbard, A., Parkhurst, L., Sherrod, R., . . . Marmagas, S. W. (2019). Geological data and outreach methods for designing targeted home radon testing programs. Environmental Earth Sciences, 78(4), 120. doi:10.1007/s12665-019-8123-5 (IF=2.180)
  4. Wu, Connor Y. H., Zaitchik, B. F., Swarup, S., & Gohlke, J. M. (2019). Influence of the Spatial Resolution of the Exposure Estimate in Determining the Association between Heat Waves and Adverse Health Outcomes. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 109(3), 875-886. doi:10.1080/24694452.2018.1511411 (IF=3.302)
  5. Wu, Connor Y. H., Zaitchik, B. F., & Gohlke, J. M. (2018). Heat waves and fatal traffic crashes in the continental United States. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 119, 195-201. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2018.07.025 (IF=3.593)