Prairie Research Institute

• Groundwater and geothermal resources
• Groundwater and surface water interactions
• Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS)

• Ph.D., Geological Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2002
• M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut, 1996
• B.S., Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tamkang University, Taiwan, 1993

Illinois Experts Profile

• Professional Geoscientist
• Certified Geographic Information Systems Professional

• Fellow, 2018, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, USA.
• Distinguished Alumni Award, 2013, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Faculty Fellow, 2006, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL, USA.

• President-Elect, 2024-2025, National Institutes for Water Resources
• Great Lakes Representative, 2023-2024, Board of Directors, National Institutes for Water Resources
• Commissioner, Appointee of Illinois Governor, since 2020, Great Lakes Commission
• At-Large Representative, 2020-2023, Board of Directors, National Institutes for Water Resources
• Chair of Water Resources, 2020-2023, Board on Natural Resources, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)
• Chair, 2021-2022, Hydrogeology Division, Geological Society of America
• Executive Editor, since 2017, Groundwater, National Ground Water Association
• Delegate, Since 2013, the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR)
• Representative, since 2011, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) established by U.S. National Science Foundation

• Heating Your Home Through Geothermal Power by Wisconsin Public Radio
• The Massive ‘Batteries’ Hidden Beneath Your Feet by WIRED
• PRI Scientists and Students Study Geothermal Exchange Technology on U of I Campus
• Fiber-optic Sensing Enables Precise Temperature Monitoring of Geothermal Exchange System
• A Natural Choice: Mathematica's Role in Natural Resource Studies

* denotes student or postdoc author

• Zhao, Z*, G. Lv, Y. Xu, Y.F. Lin, P. Wang, and X. Wang. 2024. Enhancing ground source heat pump system design optimization: A stochastic model incorporating transient geological factors and decision variables. Renewable Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120279
• Zhao, Z*, Y.F. Lin, A.J. Stumpf, and X. Wang. 2023. Improving LEED-certified building loads on borehole heat exchangers by coupling subsurface variables. Applied Thermal Engineering. 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120119
• Lin, Y.F., C. Abesser, J. Epting, and A. García-Gil. 2023. Groundwater: A key factor for geothermal energy systems. Groundwater. 61(2): 159-160. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13293
• Wendland, E.C. A. Reis*, J.A.A. Anache*, D.M.S. Rosa*, G.M. Alcântara*, C.S. Lowry, and Y.F. Lin. 2022. Identifying stream-aquifer exchange by temperature gradient in a Guarani Aquifer system outcrop zone. Brazilian Journal of Water Resources 27: e23. https://doi.org/10.1590/2318-0331.272220220058
• Zhao, Z*, Y.F. Lin, A.J. Stumpf, and X. Wang. 2022. Assessing impacts of groundwater on geothermal heat exchangers: A review of methodology and modeling. Renewable Energy. 190: 121-147.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.03.089.
• Zong, Y.*, A.J. Valocchi, and Y.F. Lin. 2021. Coupling a borehole thermal model and MT3DMS to simulate dynamic ground source heat pump efficiency. Groundwater. Online Preview. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13159 
• Liu, H.*, A.J. Stumpf, Y.F. Lin, and X. Liu. 2021. Distributed thermal response multi-source modeling to evaluate heterogeneous subsurface properties. Groundwater. Online Preview. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13154 
• Zhao, Z.*, Y. Xu*, Y-F. Lin, X. Wang, and P. Wang. 2021. Probabilistic Modeling and Reliability-based Design Optimization of a Ground Source Heat Pump System. Applied Thermal Engineering. 197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.117341 
• Stumpf, A.J., Y.F. Lin, and T.D. Stark. 2021. Subsurface Characterization, Monitoring, and Modeling of a Geothermal Exchange Borefield for the Campus Instructional Facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 606, 35 p. http://isgs.illinois.edu/publications/c606
• Lin, Y.F., C-Y Tseng*, and S.L. Sargent. 2020. User’s Manual for the Portable Thermal Response Test Device. Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 603, 11 p. http://isgs.illinois.edu/publications/c603 
• Lin, Y.F., A. Stumpf, S. Frailey, R. Okwen, Y. Lu, F. Holcomb*, J. Tinjum, T. Stark, J. Damico, S. Elrick, J. Nelson, D. Garner, F. Yang, H. Salih, W. Fu, Z. Lin, J. Lin, C. Korose, L. Thomas, R. McKaskle, K. Fisher, A. Vance, J. Urlaub, J. Kirksey, and C. Hammock, 2020. Geothermal Heat Recovery Complex: Large-Scale, Deep Direct-Use System in a Low-Temperature Sedimentary Basin. Champaign, IL: Illinois State Geological Survey. DOE-DE-EE0008106 Final Report.