Zhao (Joanna) Wang, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Preferred name: Joanna Wang
Assistant Teaching Professor
Dr. Zhao (Joanna) Wang is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Computing & Software Systems at the University of Washington Bothell. Her teaching focuses on programming, data structures and algorithms and software engineering, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding, hands-on learning and real-world applications. Drawing on her interdisciplinary background in computer science, data analytics and computational biology, she is interested in helping students apply computational methods to solve practical problems across disciplines. Wang holds a Ph.D. in Marine Science from Duke University and a Master of Computer Science from Rice University.
Education
- Duke University, Durham, NC
- Ph.D. – Marine Science and Conservation
- Rice University, Houston, TX
- Master of Computer Science
- Peking University, Beijing, China
- M.S.- Environmental Science
- Shandong University, Jinan, China
- B.S. – Environmental Engineering
Courses
- CSS 142 Computer Programming I
- CSS 143 Computer Programming II
- CSS 342 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Discrete Mathematics I
- CSS 343 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Discrete Mathematics II
- CSS 350 Management Principles for Computing Professionals
- CSS 360 Software engineering
Teaching Interests
Programming, data structures and algorithms, software engineering, data analytics and applied interdisciplinary computing
Research and Scholarship Interests
Data Analytics; Machine Learning; Scientific Computing; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics; Computing Education and Pedagogy
- Wang, Z., Bergemann, C. M., Simonin, M., Avellan, A., Kiburi, P., & Hunt, D. E. “Interactions shape aquatic microbiome responses to Cu and Au nanoparticle treatments in wetland manipulation experiments.” Environmental Research 252 (2024): 118603.
- Wang, Z., Tsementzi, D., Williams, T. C., et al. “Environmental stability impacts the differential sensitivity of marine microbiomes to increases in temperature and acidity.” The ISME Journal 15 (2021): 19–28.
- Wang, Z., Juarez, D. L., Pan, J., et al. “Microbial communities across nearshore to offshore coastal transects are primarily shaped by distance and seasonality.” Environmental Microbiology (2019).
- Wang, Z., Dai, Y., Zhao, Q., Li, N., Zhou, Q., & Xie, S. “Nonylphenol biodegradation, functional gene abundance and bacterial community in bioaugmented sediment: effect of external carbon source.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2015).
Wang mentors students in academic and professional development, including graduate-school preparation, career planning and applied computing projects. She previously mentored undergraduate researchers at Duke University in project design, data analysis, scientific communication and research presentations.