Miscellaneous
- 🌏 I’m originally from China. I grew up in Wuhan and later spent about ten years studying and working in Beijing—these remain the two places I feel most connected to.
- 🎓 Before academia, I spent more than three years working in industry in both China and the US. For me, pursuing a PhD and later (having the opportunity to luckily) staying in academia was thus a deliberate personal choice, rather than a default next step after being a good student. See my experience.
- 🎾 I’ve been a committed amateur tennis player for about ten years. I enjoy both competitive singles and recreational hitting sessions or doubles. My highest official ratings are UTR 5.8 and USTA 4.0.
- 🍳 I love cooking. For me, cooking is not just following recipes but more about curiosity, imagination, and experimentation. In some ways, the kitchen feels like a chemistry lab: I enjoy learning how different ingredients behave and why cooking styles from different cultures work the way they do. Beyond Chinese cuisine, I’ve recently become interested in Peruvian and Indian cooking.
- 🎵 I also enjoy music and singing. For pop music, I especially like R&B-influenced songs by Jay Chou, Khalil Fong, and David Tao. I also listen to classical music, especially symphonies by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. I used to play Japanese-style fingerstyle guitar as well.
- 🐱 My wife and I have two cats, Bonnie and Clyde. You can find a few snapshots of them here.
- 📷 I enjoy traveling and taking scenic photographs. Here are a few places I’d like to share.