Research interests
Alfvén-wave physics. The nonlinear physics of Alfvén waves in space and astrophysical plasmas: where they originate in the solar atmosphere, how they evolve as the solar wind expands, and what they are as nonlinear objects. Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter and Ulysses observations, MHD theory, and three-dimensional simulations.
RL environments for science that grow with frontier AI. Research tasks cut from the public code and data of physics and astronomy, each with a program that checks the result, so that AI models learn to do research and are measured honestly; open-source research agents; and what passing a check actually shows.
The two connect: research supplies the environments with ground truth, and the environments show where AI can be trusted in research.
Appointments
Jun 2024–present
Postdoctoral Researcher · Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA
Sep 2019–Jun 2024
Graduate Student Researcher · Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA
Mar–May 2019
Jul–Sep 2018
Jul–Sep 2018
Visiting Undergraduate Researcher · Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley
Education
2024
Ph.D., Geophysics and Space Physics · University of California, Los Angeles
Dissertation: Tracing Alfvén Waves, Turbulence, and Gaussian Structures in the Upper Corona and Inner Heliosphere with in-situ Measurements, Statistical Analyses, and Modeling
Dissertation: Tracing Alfvén Waves, Turbulence, and Gaussian Structures in the Upper Corona and Inner Heliosphere with in-situ Measurements, Statistical Analyses, and Modeling
2022
M.S., Geophysics and Space Physics · University of California, Los Angeles
2019
B.S. with Honors, Geophysics (Space Physics) · School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China
Ranked 1st of 17 in the class
Ranked 1st of 17 in the class
Honors and awards
2025
IAU PhD Prize, Division E (Sun and Heliosphere), for 2024 · International Astronomical Union
2019
UCLA EPSS Department Fellowship
2019
Bachelor Honor Grade (top 4%) · University of Science and Technology of China
Research funding and computing
2026–2027
Co-Investigator · NASA ROSES-2024 Artificial Intelligence Applications in Heliophysics (AIAH), “Solar Wind Structures Identified Via Shannon Information Entropy,” award 80NSSC26K0128 (PI M. Velli); $197,436. Wrote and led the proposal's science.
Jul–Oct 2026
Principal Investigator · NAIRR Pilot Start-Up project NAIRR260297, “GPU-Accelerated PLUTO MHD Simulations of Alfvén-Wave Collisions”; 2,000 GPU hours on SDSC Expanse
2024–2025
Principal Investigator, computing allocation · NSF ACCESS, “Gaussianization of Magnetic Magnitude in MHD Turbulence”
Physics: Alfvén waves in space and astrophysical plasmas
2025–present
The Alfvénon · a three-dimensional solitary Alfvén wave with open field lines and nearly constant |B|, which propagates coherently for a finite time in ideal-MHD simulations (ApJL 1006, L20). Crossings of Alfvénons with embedded rotational discontinuities give switchback-like field reversals (arXiv:2512.12585). In progress: simulations of Alfvénon collisions.
2024–2026
Where the fluctuations come from · two-minute oscillations dominate the magnetic fluctuations near the Alfvén surface and match a two-minute coronal peak seen by SDO/AIA (ApJL 977, L12); in situ evidence of five-minute oscillations at 9.9 solar radii (ApJL 999, L4); the Gaussianity scalogram finds possible remnants of solar structures in Parker Solar Probe and Ulysses data (ApJL 973, L26).
2022–2025
How they evolve as the wind expands · spectra shallower than 1/f near the Sun evolve toward 1/f (ApJL 950, L8); there are two physically distinct types of 1/f range (ApJL 990, L34); total wave action is conserved across interacting modes in expanding-box MHD (ApJ 935, 60).
Collaborations
Co-author of 14 refereed papers on switchbacks, intermittency, anisotropy, heating and turbulence, including Nature Astronomy 10, 1467 (2026).
AI for science: environments, agents and software
Oct 2026–present
Lead, astronomy track, Agent Last Exam · a benchmark of research-level tasks for AI agents. Building the astronomy part: a taxonomy of research directions across the astro-ph categories and space physics, open problems, and tasks with verifiable answers.
2026
ScienceIDE · co-first author; co-led the generation of scientific environments. Infrastructure that turns scientific codebases into executable environments for training and evaluating agents. github.com/aitofound/ScienceIDE
2026–present
LingTai · lead contributor. Open-source (Apache-2.0) multi-agent framework for research: persistent specialized agents with memory and skills, working under human approval gates. github.com/Lingtai-AI/lingtai
2025–present
Gaussianity and Jensen–Shannon scalograms · information-theoretic methods for non-stationary spacecraft time series (ApJL 973, L26), now being developed into open-source software under NASA AIAH funding.
2026
Research tasks from simulation codes · executable benchmark tasks cut from research codes (MHD and plasma simulations), with difficulty ladders and numerical and physical checks.
Publications
Complete list: ORCID 0000-0001-9570-5975 and NASA ADS. 7 first-author and 14 co-authored refereed articles.
Refereed articles, first author
- 2026Solitary Alfvén Waves
Huang, Z., Velli, M., Shi, C., & Ding, Y.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 1006, L20 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae82f5 - 2026Evidence of 5 minute Oscillations from Parker Solar Probe
Huang, Z., Velli, M., Panasenco, O., et al. (22 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 999, L4 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae43ec - 2025Two Types of 1/f Range in Solar Wind Turbulence
Huang, Z., Velli, M., Chandran, B. D. G., et al. (7 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 990, L34 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adfa13 - 2024Dominance of 2 Minute Oscillations near the Alfvén Surface
Huang, Z., Velli, M., Shi, C., et al. (14 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 977, L12 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad9271 - 2024Solar Wind Structures from the Gaussianity of Magnetic Magnitude
Huang, Z., Shi, C., Velli, M., et al. (12 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 973, L26 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad72f1 - 2023New Observations of Solar Wind 1/f Turbulence Spectrum from Parker Solar Probe
Huang, Z., Sioulas, N., Shi, C., et al. (26 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 950, L8 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acd7f2 - 2022Conservation of Total Wave Action in the Expanding Solar Wind
Huang, Z., Shi, C., Sioulas, N., & Velli, M.
The Astrophysical Journal 935, 60 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac74c5
Refereed articles, co-author
- 2026Non-adiabatic entropy increase in the solar wind governed by velocity spikes
Hou, C., He, J., Rouillard, A. P., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 9th of 11)
Nature Astronomy 10, 1467-1477 · doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02923-5 - 2025Turbulence Properties of Corotating Interaction Regions at 1 au: A Comprehensive Superposed Epoch Analysis
Ding, Y., Shi, C., Velli, M., Huang, Z., & Sioulas, N.
The Astrophysical Journal 996, 89 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2025 - 2025The Temperature Anisotropy and Helium Abundance Features of Alfvénic Slow Solar Wind Observed by Parker Solar Probe, Helios, and Wind Missions
Huang, J., Larson, D. E., Ervin, T., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 11th of 23)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 986, L28 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ade0ac - 2025Evolution of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in the Expanding Solar Wind: Residual Energy and Intermittency
Shi, C., Sioulas, N., Huang, Z., Velli, M., Tenerani, A., & Réville, V.
The Astrophysical Journal 979, 152 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad9f38 - 2024Metis Observation of the Onset of Fully Developed Turbulence in the Solar Corona
Telloni, D., Sorriso-Valvo, L., Zank, G. P., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 16th of 73)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 973, L48 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad5a8c - 2024Analytic Model and Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Three-dimensional Magnetic Switchbacks
Shi, C., Velli, M., Toth, G., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 6th of 8)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 964, L28 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad335a - 2023On the Evolution of the Anisotropic Scaling of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in the Inner Heliosphere
Sioulas, N., Velli, M., Huang, Z., et al. (23 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal 951, 141 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acc658 - 2023The Evolution of the 1/f Range within a Single Fast-solar-wind Stream between 17.4 and 45.7 Solar Radii
Davis, N., Chandran, B. D. G., Bowen, T. A., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 8th of 10)
The Astrophysical Journal 950, 154 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acd177 - 2023Proton and Electron Temperatures in the Solar Wind and Their Correlations with the Solar Wind Speed
Shi, C., Velli, M., Lionello, R., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 5th of 11)
The Astrophysical Journal 944, 82 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acb341 - 2023Magnetic Field Spectral Evolution in the Inner Heliosphere
Sioulas, N., Huang, Z., Shi, C., et al. (27 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 943, L8 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acaeff - 2022Patches of Magnetic Switchbacks and Their Origins
Shi, C., Panasenco, O., Velli, M., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 7th of 21)
The Astrophysical Journal 934, 152 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac7c11 - 2022Preferential Heating of Protons over Electrons from Coherent Structures during the First Perihelion of the Parker Solar Probe
Sioulas, N., Shi, C., Huang, Z., & Velli, M.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters 935, L29 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac85de - 2022Magnetic Field Intermittency in the Solar Wind: Parker Solar Probe and SolO Observations Ranging from the Alfvén Region up to 1 AU
Sioulas, N., Huang, Z., Velli, M., et al. (22 authors)
The Astrophysical Journal 934, 143 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac7aa2 - 2022A Comparative Study of Magnetic Flux Ropes in the Nightside Induced Magnetosphere of Mars and Venus
Hara, T., Huang, Z., Mitchell, D. L., et al. (7 authors)
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 127, e2021JA029867 · doi:10.1029/2021ja029867
Preprints
- 2026ScienceIDE: Turning World's Scientific Codebase into Agent Learnable Environments
Geng, H.*, Huang, Z.*, Li, H., et al. (45 authors; * equal contribution)
Preprint · arXiv:2609.19134 - 2026Spherically Polarized Alfvén Waves and the Gosling Boost
Ding, Y., Velli, M., Huang, Z., et al. (9 authors)
Preprint · arXiv:2608.05091 - 2026A Magneto-Convective Origin for Solar-Wind Alfvénic Fluctuations
Morton, R., Huang, Z., Schad, T., & Velli, M.
Preprint (Research Square) · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9657704/v1 - 2025What are Switchbacks?
Huang, Z., Velli, M., & Ding, Y.
Preprint · arXiv:2512.12585 - 2023In situ Remnants of Solar Surface Structures from Jensen-Shannon Scalogram
Huang, Z., et al. (12 authors)
Preprint (Research Square) · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3597425/v1
Workshop papers and chapters
- 2026What Git Does Not Record: Provenance Legibility in Two AI-Assisted Research Repositories
Wu, K., Huang, Z., & Geng, H.
NeurIPS 2026 Workshop on AI-Native Academia (accepted) · arXiv:2610.28655 - 2026Probing the Solar Corona and the Solar Wind Using Angular Broadening Observations with the SKA
Zhang, P., Morgan, J., Oberoi, D., et al. (incl. Huang, Z., 7th of 12)
In Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II · arXiv:2603.25421
Talks
Seminars
Oct 7, 2026
UNH Space Science Center seminar · “New Physics of Alfvén Waves: Parker Solar Probe and Agentic, Wish-Driven Research”
Oct 6, 2026
Dartmouth College, Space and Plasma Seminar · “New Physics of Alfvén Waves Discovered by Parker Solar Probe”
Oct 1, 2026
Boston University, Center for Space Physics seminar · “New Physics of Alfvén Waves Discovered by Parker Solar Probe”
Aug 10, 2026
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, AstroAI lunch seminar · “AI Agents as Genies: Can Wish-Driven Research Really Work?”
Mar 26, 2026
Parker Solar Probe Theory telecon · “Solitary Alfvén Waves”
Feb 6, 2026
Parker Solar Probe Science Working Group telecon · “New Physics of Alfvén Waves from Parker Solar Probe”
Sep 2025
Parker Solar Probe Science Working Group monthly seminar (invited) · “In situ Evidence of 5-minute Oscillations from Parker Solar Probe”
Feb 2025
UCLA Space Physics Seminar (invited) · “1/f Range in Solar Wind Turbulence: Insight from Parker Solar Probe”
Jul 2024
Parker Solar Probe Theory telecon · “3-Minute Oscillations in the Upper Corona: Evidence from Parker Solar Probe”
Conferences
Jun 2026
2026 AstroAI Workshop, Center for Astrophysics (contributed talk) · “Democratizing Astrophysical Research with AI Agents: Lessons from Heliophysics”
May 2025
Parker Four Conference · “Two Types of 1/f Range in Solar Wind Turbulence”
Apr 2024
Triennial Earth–Sun Summit (TESS), Dallas · “Prediction and Verification of Parker Solar Probe Encounter 12 Solar Wind Sources with Jensen–Shannon Scalogram”
Apr 2024
EclipseSA, San Antonio (poster) · “Solar Wind Turbulence, Leakage from Photosphere 5-min Oscillations?”
Dec 2023
AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco (poster) · “Natural Contextualization of Solar Wind Time Series with Jensen–Shannon Scalogram”
Oct 2023
Parker Heliophysics Scholars, 6th meeting · “In situ Remnants of Solar Surface Structures from Parker Solar Probe and Ulysses”
Jun 2023
Solar Wind 16, Monterey · “New Observations of Solar Wind 1/f Turbulence Spectrum from Parker Solar Probe”
Dec 2022
AGU Fall Meeting, Chicago · “Evolution of Lower Frequency Breaks of Alfvénic Turbulence in the Inner Heliosphere, Observed by Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter”
Jul 2022
44th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Athens · “Conservation of Total Wave Action and Magnetosonic Resonance Broadening in Expanding Solar Wind”
Teaching and mentoring
Fall 2026
Organizer and lecturer, AI in Research series · UCLA EPSS 254 / SPHINX. Weekly sessions on using and evaluating AI agents in research; students build benchmark tasks. class.xhelio.ai
Current
Co-advisor, Yuliang Ding, PhD student, UCLA · nonlinear Alfvén waves (arXiv:2608.05091)
2026–2027
Research mentor, high-school student, Honors Research in Science, Marlborough School · two-minute oscillations in Parker Solar Probe data
2016
Teaching Assistant, electromagnetism · University of Science and Technology of China
Service and outreach
2023–present
Referee, 14 manuscripts and 20 review rounds for ten journals, including ApJ, ApJL, A&A, JGR: Space Physics, Geophysical Research Letters, Solar Physics and Scientific Reports
2026
Reviewer, AgentSkills 2026 workshop (2 papers)
2022–2024
Judge, AGU Outstanding Student Presentation Awards
2022, 2023
Volunteer, UCLA Explore Your Universe (booth “Our Magnetic Sun”)
2018–2020
Chief Editor, Dr. Stone Student Science Outreach Club
Skills
Computing
Python, Fortran, IDL, Mathematica; GPU and HPC MHD simulation; spacecraft data; AI agents
Languages
English (fluent); Mandarin and Cantonese (native)