Hello there, I’m SHENG Dong (盛东), PhD student at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems & Engineering Lab, School of Engineering, Westlake University. My advisor is Dr. Thomas Cherico Wanger-Guerrero. I recieved my BSc degree at Zhejiang University in 2023.

I am enthusiastic about using cutting-edge techniques and models to understand the interactions between human and nature. My skills include programming languages such as Python, MATLAB, R, C/C++, etc., and various engineering software including CAD, SolidWorks, SketchUp, etc.

For more about my life and thoughts, check my blog.

Research interests

Pollinators (e.g., Apidae) are vital to terrestrial ecosystems and agricultural production. However, there has been a global decrease in pollinators due to a cocktail of environmental pollution and climate change.

bumblebee

I’m currently developing tools based on computer vision, artificial intelligence and miniature matrix code detection to monitor bumblebee behavioral changes under threated circumstances. I expect to conduct several lab/field experiments with such advanced tools to explore how environmental pressures alter pollination services provided by bumblebees, and thereby threaten the ecosystem and food security.

Modelling of complex environmental systems is of great importance to help us understanding interactive relations between the various natural and anthropogenic factors. In parallel with the above tool development works, I’m also working on cunstructing multi-scale models that involves pollutant transfer mechanisms and agent behaviors (such as bumblebee pollinators) to quantitatively assess agroecosystem risks brought by pollution as well as other threats.

Experiences

Education background

  • Sept 2023 - now | PhD student at Westlake University

    Sustainable Agricultural Systems & Engineering Lab, School of Engineering.

  • Sept 2019 - Jun 2023 | Bachelor student at Zhejiang University.

    Major in environmental sciences, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences.

    Minor in Advanced Class of Engineering Education, Chu Kochen Honors College.

    Overall GPA = 3.81/4.0.

  • Jun 2021 - Aug 2021 | Summer session at University of California, Berkeley. (Environmental Earth Sciences, A-)

Research experiences

  • May 2022 - Aug 2023 | Visiting student at Sustainable Agricultural Systems & Engineering Lab, Westlake University.
  • Nov 2021 - Sept 2022 | Bioinformatics analysis tutored by Dr. Yili Huang (黄益丽), Zhejiang University
  • Jul 2022 - Sept 2022 | Intern at the Department of Planning Researches, Zhejiang Ecology & Environment Design and Research Institute (浙江省环科院).

Publications

Sheng, D., Jing, S., He, X., Klein, A.-M., Köhler, H.-R., & Wanger, T. C. (2024). Nano/micro-plastics effects in agricultural landscapes: An overlooked threat to pollination, biological pest control, and food security. https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2403.04920

Darras, K. F. A., Balle, M., Xu, W., Yan, Y., Zakka, V. G., Toledo-Hernández, M., Sheng, D., Lin, W., Zhang, B., Lan, Z., Fupeng, L., & Wanger, T. C. (2023). Eyes on nature: Embedded vision cameras for multidisciplinary biodiversity monitoring [Preprint]. Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.26.550656

Sheng, D., Chen, M., Chen, Q., Huang, Y. (2022). Opposite selection effects of nZVI and PAHs on bacterial community composition revealed by universal and sphingomonads-specific 16SrRNA primers. Environmental Pollution, 311, 119893. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119893