2023.2-present, Associate Professor, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
2020.12-2023.2, Postdoctoral Scholar, Dept. of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, China
2020.4-2020.12, Postdoctoral Scholar, Depts. of Energy Resources Engineering & Earth System Science, Stanford University, USA
2015.6-2020.4, PhD in Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, USA
2013.9-2015.6, MS in Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University, USA
2009.9-2013.7, BS in Mineral Processing Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), China

1. Microbial community tracing technique for subsurface flowpath characterization
2. Groundwater microbial community assembly mechanism
3. Transport mechanisms of chemical, DNA and nanoparticle tracers through porous/fractured media

1. Henry J. Ramey Jr. Fellowship Award for Outstanding Research, Stanford University, USA (2019)
2. Geothermal Resources Council Graduate Scholarship Award, USA (2018)
3. Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting Best Presentation Award, USA (2015)

1. Chinese International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program (Talent-Introduction Program)
2. Shuimu Tsinghua Scholar Program at Tsinghua University
3. TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy (Stanford University) Seed Grant
4. US Department of Energy Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Collab Project, Microbial Tracing Subcontract

[Google Scholar] [ResearchGate] [ORCID]
Journal Papers (*corresponding author):
2022

1. Yuran Zhang*, Roland N. Horne*, Adam J. Hawkins, John Carlo Primo, Oxana Gorbatenko, Anne E. Dekas*: "Geological activity shapes the microbiome in deep-subsurface aquifers by advection", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 2022, 119(25), e2113985119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113985119（Scientific American Feature）
2. Yuran Zhang*, Anne E. Dekas*, Adam J. Hawkins, John Carlo Primo, Oxana Gorbatenko, Roland N. Horne*: "Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities", Water, 2022, 14(18), 2921, https://doi.org/10.3390/w14182921
3. Yuran Zhang*, Tianming Huang*: "DNA-Based Tracers for the Characterization of Hydrogeological Systems —Recent Advances and New Frontiers", Water, 2022, 14(21), 3545, https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213545

2021

1. Yuran Zhang*, Marshall B. Hartung, Adam J. Hawkins, Anne E. Dekas, Kewen Li, Roland N. Horne: "DNA tracer transport through porous media —The effect of DNA length and adsorption", Water Resources Research, 2021, 57(2), e2020WR028382, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR028382
2. Hui Wu, Pengcheng Fu*, Joseph P. Morris, Earl D. Mattson, Ghanashyam Neupane, Megan M. Smith, Adam J. Hawkins, Yuran Zhang, Timothy Kneafsey, EGS Collab Team: "Characterization of flow and transport in a fracture network at the EGS Collab field experiment through stochastic modeling of tracer recovery", Journal of Hydrology, 2021, 593, 125888, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125888

2020

1. Yuran Zhang*, Anne E. Dekas, Adam J. Hawkins, Alma E. Parada, Oxana Gorbatenko, Kewen Li, Roland N. Horne: "Microbial community composition in deep-subsurface reservoir fluids reveals natural interwell connectivity", Water Resources Research, 2020, 56(2), e2019WR025916, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR025916
2. Anna Suzuki*, Junzhe Cui, Yuran Zhang, Satoshi Uehara, Kewen Li, Roland N. Horne, Takatoshi Ito: "Experimental study on nano-/microparticles transport to characterize structures in fractured porous media." Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2020, 53, 4357-4365，https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00603-020-02081-8

Selected Conference Papers：

1. Kneafsey, T. J., Blankenship, D., Dobson, P. F., Morris, J. P., White, M. D., Fu, P., Schwering, P. C., Ajo-Franklin, J. B., Huang, L., Schoenball, M., Johnson, T. C., Knox, H. A., Neupane, G., Weers, J., Horne, R. N., Zhang, Y., Roggenthen, W., Doe, T., Mattson, E., Valladao, C., EGS Collab Team: "The EGS Collab Project -Learnings from Experiment 1", Proceedings of the 45th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2020
2. White, M., Johnson, T., Kneafsey, T., Blankenship, D., Fu, P., Wu, H., Ghassemi, A., Lu, J., Huang, H., Neupane, G., Oldenburg, C., Doughty, C., Johnston, B., Winterfeld, P., Pollyea, R., Jayne, R., Hawkins, A., Zhang, Y.: "The Necessity for Iteration in the Application of Numerical Simulation to EGS: Examples from the EGS Collab Test Bed 1", Proceedings of the 44th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2019
3. Mattson, E. D., Neupane, G. H., Plummer, M. A., Hawkins, A.J., Zhang, Y.: "Preliminary Collab Fracture Characterization Results from Flow and Tracer Testing Efforts", Proceedings of the 44th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2019
4. Zhang Y., Zeng Z., Li K., Horne R.N.: "DNA Barcoding for Fractured Reservoir Analysis -An Initial Investigation", Proceedings of the 42nd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2017
5. Plummer, M. A., Mattson, E., Zhang, Y., Xia, Y.: "Methods for Selective Plugging of Geothermal ‘Short Circuits'", Proceedings of the 42nd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2017
6. Zhang, Y., Manley, T. S., Li, K., Horne, R. N.: "Uniquely Identifiable DNA-Embedded Silica Nanotracer for Fractured Reservoir Characterization", Proceedings of the 41st Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering (Stanford, CA, USA), 2016
7. Zhang Y., Manley T.S., Li K., Horne R.N.: "DNA-Encapsulated Silica Nanoparticle Tracers for Fracture Characterization", Geothermal Resources Council Transactions, 2015, Vol. 39, 967-974