I am an Assistant Professor at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington (UW). I am also a faculty affiliate at UW's Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE), eScience Institute, and the Future Rivers Program at UW's College of the Environment.
I received my Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning (with Ph.D. minor in Demography) from Cornell University. My dissertation examined various forms of immigrants' social and cultural networks embedded in a geographic areas—such as commuter towns—and their interactions with urban planning and public policy. I received my M.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and my B.S. in Computer Science from Peking University. Both my master's and bachelor's theses examined how transportation planning, such as intelligent transportation systems, shapes urban life.
I have two major research paths. First, I study how the diversity of culture and social norms interact with politics, today and in the past. While my research begins with public policy, I am further interested in how foreign policy and international relations play their roles in influencing domestic affairs, with a regional focus on China, the U.S., and their connections. Some of the projects include the politics behind the influx of foreign performing arts in China and policy implications for urban planning; the assimilation (or lack thereof) of immigrants into America's culture; and, how America's foreign and domestic policy shaped the country's history of ethnic neighborhoods, such as Chinatown.
Second, I study environmental planning and policy. Early projects focus on sustainable transportation tools in the U.S.; specifically, the projects examine policy tools for promoting sustainable transportation, reducing automobile culture, and tackling political challenges behind transportation planning, as well as the implications of these policy tools for social equity. Relatedly, I also conduct research on natural disasters, studying their impacts on community development for minorities, such as immigrants. More recent projects focus on environmental governance in West Africa.
Please also see my UW faculty website: link.
My CV: link (updated in September, 2023).
I received my Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning (with Ph.D. minor in Demography) from Cornell University. My dissertation examined various forms of immigrants' social and cultural networks embedded in a geographic areas—such as commuter towns—and their interactions with urban planning and public policy. I received my M.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and my B.S. in Computer Science from Peking University. Both my master's and bachelor's theses examined how transportation planning, such as intelligent transportation systems, shapes urban life.
I have two major research paths. First, I study how the diversity of culture and social norms interact with politics, today and in the past. While my research begins with public policy, I am further interested in how foreign policy and international relations play their roles in influencing domestic affairs, with a regional focus on China, the U.S., and their connections. Some of the projects include the politics behind the influx of foreign performing arts in China and policy implications for urban planning; the assimilation (or lack thereof) of immigrants into America's culture; and, how America's foreign and domestic policy shaped the country's history of ethnic neighborhoods, such as Chinatown.
Second, I study environmental planning and policy. Early projects focus on sustainable transportation tools in the U.S.; specifically, the projects examine policy tools for promoting sustainable transportation, reducing automobile culture, and tackling political challenges behind transportation planning, as well as the implications of these policy tools for social equity. Relatedly, I also conduct research on natural disasters, studying their impacts on community development for minorities, such as immigrants. More recent projects focus on environmental governance in West Africa.
Please also see my UW faculty website: link.
My CV: link (updated in September, 2023).