Yuk L. Yung

Yuk L. Yung is a professor in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS) at the California Institute of Technology, working on planetary atmospheric physics and atmospheric retrieval methodology. His research spans solar-system planetary atmospheres, exoplanet atmospheric characterization, radiative transfer theory, and single-pixel atmospheric retrieval methods relevant to Earth observation.

His public faculty profile is available through the Caltech GPS website.

I collaborated with Professor Yung’s group as an undergraduate (2021–2022) on a DSCOVR-oriented single-pixel atmospheric retrieval study lasting roughly one year. The work involved retrieval methodology, regularization ideas, and cross-disciplinary literature review, organized around a weekly reading and presentation cadence that provided rigorous early-stage research training.

The collaboration gave me a systematic exposure to retrieval methodology across planetary and Earth atmospheres and seeded my continuing interest in radiative transfer and atmospheric physics. I subsequently moved to UC Berkeley to pursue climate physics, but the methodological training from this period continues to shape my research orientation.