Yan Zheng received her PhD degree in marine geochemistry from Columbia University in the City of New York, USA and is currently a chair professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology. Previous appointments include chair professor at Peking University, executive director of facilities professor and director of School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the City University of New York, Queens College, Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Professor of Public Health at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, as well as a water and sanitation specialist for the United Nations Children's Fund in Bangladesh. She served as principal investigators for many research projects funded by the government of the United States and China. With colleagues and students, she has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles in areas including marine geochemistry, hydrogeology, environmental analytical chemistry, drinking water safety, environmental health, and sustainable development. She has served or is serving as an Associate or a Guest Editor for Environmental Health Perspective, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Science of the Total Environment, and Science Bulletin. She was elected as a Fellow of Geological Society of America in 2010. 

Education
1994-1999: Ph.D., Columbia University Earth and Environ. Sci./marine geochemistry
1993-1994: M. Phil., Columbia University, Geol. Sci./chemical oceanography
1991-1993: M.A., Columbia University, Geol. Sci./isotope geochemistry
1983-1988: B.S., University of Science and Technology of China, Geochemistry

Employment History
2016-present: Chair Professor, SUSTC School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
2014-2016: Chair Professor, Peking University Institute of Water Sciences
2014-2016: Professor, School of Public Health, City University of New York (CUNY)
2012-2016: Executive Director of Facilities Professor, CUNY Queens College
2009-2011: Specialist, UNICEF Bangladesh, Water and Environmental Sanitation
2007-2009: Director, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUNY Queens College
2006-2007: Professor with tenure, CUNY Queens College,
2002-2006: Associate Professor with tenure, CUNY Queens College
1998-2002: Assistant Professor, CUNY Queens College
1988-1991: Research Assistant, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Other Experience
2005 Consultant, UNICEF China, Water and Sanitation
2012 Consultant, World Bank

Awards and Honors
2010: Geological Society of America, Fellow