Yan is a Master’s candidate in Mechanical Engineering at MIT working with Professor Ahmed Ghoniem in the Reacting Gas Dynamics Laboratory (RGD). She received her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke College in 2017.

She is passionate about designing solutions for renewable energy development in developing countries. Her current research is focused on building an GIS-enabled optimization model for biosynthetic natural gas (BioSNG) production in India. The motivation for the research is the low domestic natural gas and high biomass waste production in India. It is hoped that the model can help the government and private sectors to make the best strategy planning for future biofuel development in the country.