Ying Fan Reinfelder

Ying Fan Reinfelder is a Chinese–American earth scientist who is a professor and researcher in the Rutgers University Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. She is interested in climate dynamics and the global water cycle. She was named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2022.

Early life and education
Reinfelder earned a B.S. in engineering from the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. She moved to the United States for graduate studies, earning a master's degree in geography at the University of Utah. She was a doctoral researcher at Utah State University, where her research considered density-driven ground water flow in desert basins. After earning her doctorate, Reinfelder joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University.

Research and career
Reinfelder is a professor in the Rutgers University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Her research considers hydrology, and how water impacts the function and structure of planet Earth.

In 2017, Reinfelder demonstrated that soil hydrology influenced global patterns of plant root depths.

Awards and honors

 * 2022 Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union
 * 2022 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science