Winnie Wong is a Professor of Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on art history, particularly exploring themes of fakes, forgeries, and authorship through interdisciplinary approaches. She examines the global artistic networks of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, challenging Western narratives of Chinese artistic practices. Wong holds a PhD from MIT's History, Theory + Criticism program and was a Harvard Society of Fellows Junior Fellow. Her major works include Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade (2014, Joseph Levenson Prize winner), Learning from Shenzhen (2017), and a forthcoming book on Canton trade portraitists. She teaches courses like Theory of the Copy and Rhetoric of the Image , mentoring undergraduates through the Undergraduate Research Apprentices program and advising PhD students in art history and visual studies. Wong's research has been supported by grants from Mellon Foundation, ACLS, SSRC, and others. Her work has been translated into multiple languages and appears in journals like Current Anthropology and Law & Literature . She frequently discusses her work on podcasts and collaborates with museums including M+ and the Asian Art Museum.
Sasha Su-Ling Welland is Chair & Professor in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington, with an adjunct role in Anthropology and affiliation in China Studies. She holds a PhD (2006) and MA (1998) in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz, and a BA (1991) in Ethnic Studies from Stanford University. Her research focuses on transnational visual culture, women of color, ecocriticism, and post-socialist gender dynamics. Current work explores embodied ecologies, nuclear colonialism, and racial capitalism in the Anthropocene. Welland’s scholarship bridges art, ethnography, and public scholarship. Her book Experimental Beijing (2018) won major prizes for its analysis of gender in Chinese contemporary art. Recent research intertwines military/medical histories with environmental justice in St. Louis. She curates feminist art exhibits in Asia and serves on the Journal of Visual Culture editorial board. Her awards include the 2019 Francis L.K. Hsu Book Prize and 2020 Joseph Levenson Prize. She advises graduate students and leads lab teams investigating transnational feminisms and environmental humanities. Resources include her CV and online office hours via the department’s website.
Christopher Rea is a Professor of Modern Chinese Literature in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Arts. He serves as a faculty member and former Associate Head of the Department of Asian Studies, former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research, an associate of the Hong Kong Studies Initiative, and a Faculty Fellow of St. John's College. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. from Columbia University (2008) and a B.A. from Dartmouth College (1999). Rea's research focuses on the modern Chinese-speaking world, with particular expertise in Chinese literature, cinema, print culture, translation, and the cultural history of humor and deception. His scholarly approach bridges literary analysis, cultural history, and film studies, creating a distinctive interdisciplinary perspective on modern Chinese cultural production. He is particularly known for his work on Republican-era China (1912-1949), exploring how cultural forms evolved during this transformative period. His major publications reveal a trajectory from studies of humor and laughter in modern China ( The Age of Irreverence , 2015) to literary hoaxes and deception ( The Book of Swindles , 2017), Chinese cinema ( Chinese Film Classics , 2021), and research methodology ( Where Research Begins , 2022). His current projects include China on the Make: Stories of Chinese Deception and The Unfinished Comedy , a sequel to The Age of Irreverence . National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship (2024) UBC Dean of Arts Mentorship Award (2024) UBC Killam Research Prize (2022) Joseph Levenson Book Prize (2017) Rea actively supervises graduate students and has developed significant digital resources, including the Chinese Film Classics project (chinesefilmclassics.org) featuring 40+ subtitled Chinese films and 22 video lectures, and a YouTube channel with over 250 videos on Chinese cinema and culture. His teaching extends to free online courses on The Modern Chinese Novel and early Chinese cinema, demonstrating his commitment to making scholarly resources accessible beyond traditional academic boundaries.
Sasha Welland is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington, affiliated with Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies; China Studies; Comparative History of Ideas; and graduate certificate programs in Cinema & Media Studies and Public Scholarship. Her research focuses on Asian American studies, East Asian ethnography, feminism, visual culture, and sociocultural anthropology. Welland’s scholarship bridges historical and contemporary analyses. Her book Experimental Beijing (2018) explores Chinese contemporary art as a site of cultural negotiation around gender, globalization, and post-socialist transformations. Her earlier work A Thousand Miles of Dreams (2006) traces the transnational lives of two 20 th -century Chinese women activists. She contributes to Journal of Visual Culture and has published in Signs and Yishu . An engaged public scholar, Welland has curated feminist art exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, blending academic research with cultural practice. Her work interrogates intersections of gender, space, and global flows in East Asian contexts.
Sophie Volpp is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on Chinese literature from the 16th to 19th centuries, with particular emphasis on theatricality, material culture, and literary objects. She is the author of *Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China* (2011) and *The Substance of Fiction: Literary Objects in China, 1550-1775* (2022). Her current projects include a book on the National Peiping Library’s preservation efforts during the Sino-Japanese War and an analysis of referents in *The Story of the Stone*. Her scholarly work bridges literary analysis and cultural history, examining themes such as gender, power, and spectacle in late-imperial China. She has translated works by pre-modern women poets and dramatists, contributing to gender-centric scholarship in East Asian studies. Her publications span journal articles and edited volumes, addressing topics like Qing-era theatrical design, material circulation in classical novels, and cross-cultural influences in literary production. Her research has been published in venues such as *Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies* and *Journal of Asian Studies*.
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States
Lily L. Tsai is the Ford Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founder/director of the MIT Governance Lab (MIT GOV/LAB). She previously chaired the MIT Faculty and focuses her research on governance, accountability, and political participation in developing contexts, particularly Asia and Africa. Her research explores how decentralization, democratic reforms, informal institutions, and economic development influence public goods provision. She also investigates the dual impacts of social capital and civil society on political outcomes, and analyzes political behavior in authoritarian and transitional systems through surveys, interviews, and field experiments. Recent publications span topics including collective governance, vaccine compliance in Uganda, anticorruption strategies in China, and the role of informal institutions in rural China. Tsai’s work appears in journals like American Political Science Review and World Development . Dogan Award for best book in comparative research (2007-08) She leads interdisciplinary projects such as the Compass Initiative (SHASS Education Innovation Fund) and The Science of Respect with MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences department. MIT GOV/LAB, which she founded in 2014, emphasizes real-time empirical collaboration between researchers and practitioners to address governance challenges.
Tien Tsin Wong is a Professor in the Department of Data Science & AI at Monash University, Australia. Previously, he served as a Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1999–2024) and held a Visiting Assistant Professor position at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1998–1999). His research focuses on Generative AI, Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, and Computational Manga, with significant contributions to GPU techniques, image-based rendering, and multimedia compression. Education: He earned a B.Sc. (1992), MPhil (1994), and PhD (1998) in Computer Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Research Interests: His work bridges computational techniques with artistic applications, particularly in manga and animation. Notable areas include generative models, diffusion-based video synthesis, and physically plausible scene generation. His research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals through innovations in education and digital accessibility. Awards : He has received the 2004 Young Researcher Award, 2005 IEEE Transactions on Multimedia Prize Paper Award, and two international invention medals (Geneva 2018, Asia Hong Kong 2019). Editorial Roles : He serves as an Associate Editor for Computer Graphics Forum , IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics , and Computational Visual Media . His editorial work underscores his influence in advancing visualization and graphics research. Labs/Teams : While not explicitly named, his collaborations span global institutions, focusing on computational manga, generative AI, and GPU-optimized techniques. His work often involves interdisciplinary teams addressing challenges in digital media and AI.
Silvia Lindtner is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan's School of Information and Director of the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC). She holds courtesy appointments in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design and the Digital Studies Institute. Her work focuses on the social and cultural study of technology in China and globally, with a focus on data-driven governance, AI ethics, and the intersection of technology and labor. Lindtner has conducted nearly two decades of fieldwork in China, examining innovation ecosystems, digital economies, and the affective dimensions of state control. She is the author of the award-winning *Prototype Nation: China and the Contested Promise of Innovation* (2020) and co-author of *Technoprecarious* (2020). Education: PhD in Information and Computer Sciences from University of California, Irvine; BS/MS in Media Technology and Design from University of Hagenberg, Austria. Research Interests: Science and Technology Studies (STS), China Studies, HCI, Critical Computing, AI Ethics, Data Governance, Labor Studies, and Transnational Digital Economies. She explores how technological systems shape governance, labor practices, and everyday life, particularly in contexts of global inequality and state surveillance. Awards: Joseph Levenson Prize (2021), Francis L.K. Hsu Book Prize (2021), ACM Distinguished Member (2022), and fellowships from the National Committee on US-China Relations (2021-2023) and China-US Scholars Program (2021-2022). Grants: Supported by NSF, IMLS, Intel Labs, Google Anita Borg, and Chinese National Natural Science Foundation. Leads interdisciplinary initiatives including Tech.Culture.Matters research group and Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) research group. Labs/Teams: Directs the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC) and collaborates with the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies. Current projects include studies on affective control in AI governance and transnational data practices in healthcare and labor.
Elaine Francis is a Professor of English and Linguistics at Purdue University's College of Liberal Arts, where she serves as Associate Head of the Department of English and directs the Experimental Linguistics Lab. She holds additional affiliations as an Affiliate Faculty Member in the Department of Linguistics and a Courtesy Faculty Member in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1999) B.A. in Linguistics, College of William and Mary (1993) MA in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1995) Former Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong (1999-2002) Professor Francis's research focuses on syntax and its interfaces with semantics, discourse information structure, and language processing in production and comprehension. She employs experimental methods to investigate syntactic, semantic, discourse-pragmatic, and cognitive factors underlying complex sentence structures. Her primary research areas include word order alternations, filler-gap dependencies, resumptive pronouns, and grammatical acceptability. She examines how various factors contribute to grammatical alternations in language use and explores how processing pressures in production and comprehension contribute to grammatical conventions. Her recent publication record shows consistent output across multiple linguistic subfields, with a strong emphasis on experimental syntax and psycholinguistics. Her 2022 book, Gradient Acceptability and Linguistic Theory , represents a significant contribution to understanding acceptability judgment tasks in relation to syntactic theory. Her work spans theoretical syntax, experimental linguistics, second language acquisition, and cross-linguistic comparison, often bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence. Regularly teaches short courses at Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Institutes Member of Linguistic Society of America Ethics Committee Editorial board member of Glossa Psycholinguistics Co-editor of Polymorphous Linguistics: Jim McCawley's Legacy (2005) Co-editor of Mismatch: Form-Function Incongruity and the Architecture of Grammar (2003) Professor Francis actively supervises graduate students in linguistics, though she has indicated she will be unable to take on new graduate students for the 2025-2026 academic year. She has received research support for her experimental work, particularly for investigating syntactic phenomena through controlled experiments and corpus analysis. Her collaborative work extends across multiple institutions and disciplines, including collaborations with researchers in computational linguistics, cognitive science, and clinical linguistics. She directs the Experimental Linguistics Lab at Purdue University, which conducts research on syntactic processing using various experimental methodologies. The lab investigates how speakers produce and comprehend complex sentence structures, with particular attention to how grammatical knowledge interacts with processing constraints. Current projects include research on relative clauses, syntactic islands, and acceptability gradient phenomena across multiple languages.
Kin Tak Raymond Tsang is a Lecturer in Cinema Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) within the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Cinema Studies from New York University, an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Peking University, and a B.A. in Cultural Studies from Lingnan University. Previously, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University from 2022 to 2023. Education: B.A., Cultural Studies, Lingnan University M.A., Comparative Literature, Peking University M.Phil., Cinema Studies, New York University Ph.D., Cinema Studies, New York University Dr. Tsang’s research interrogates the geopolitical dimensions of cinema, particularly focusing on Hong Kong martial arts films, Third Cinema, and Cold War-era activism. His first book project, The 'law' outside the Law: The Political History of Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema, 1949 to 1976 , redefines the genre by analyzing its ties to colonial governance, transnational networks, and cultural containment strategies. He also explores the translocal circulation of progressive films and literature, connecting Hong Kong to Cuba, China, and Malaysia during the Cold War. In 2023, Dr. Tsang published a special issue of the Journal of Chinese Cinemas examining Hong Kong’s leftist film movements (1950–1979). His scholarship extends Third Cinema theory to bridge Asia, Africa, and Latin America, emphasizing alternative globalization through cultural exchange. He teaches courses such as EASC 150: East Asian Societies , addressing topics like Cold War geopolitics and Southeast Asian film networks. His work intersects film history, cultural studies, and political activism, offering critical insights into colonial and transnational cinema.
Jiayi Lu is a PostDoc Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences, working under the supervision of Dr. Julie Anne Legate. Her research focuses on syntax, psycholinguistics, and Chinese linguistics, with a particular emphasis on grammaticality judgments, satiation effects, and island phenomena. She has contributed to understanding how sentence processing and discourse factors influence syntactic structures. Her research interests encompass syntax, psycholinguistics, and formal semantics, with a focus on exploring grammaticality illusions, the role of discourse in syntactic constraints, and cross-linguistic variations in Chinese. Key areas include the study of extraction islands, coordination effects, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying sentence processing. Her recent work (2020-2024) demonstrates a strong focus on syntactic satiation, island effects, and experimental methods in syntax. Publications analyze both English and Chinese data, investigating how linguistic structures are processed and judged by speakers. Trends include exploring the generalizability of satiation across island types and the interplay between discourse and syntactic constraints. Dr. Lu has not listed any scientific awards or grants in the provided information. Dr. Lu has not listed any advisees or grants in the provided information.
Professor Jamie Peck is a University Killam Professor and Professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts, Department of Geography. He holds the prestigious title of Distinguished University Scholar at UBC and maintains significant international academic affiliations including Visiting Professor at Oxford University's School of Geography and the Environment, Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Manchester, and Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham. Peck received his PhD in Geography from the University of Manchester in 1988 following his BA (Hons) in Geography from the same institution. His distinguished academic career spans positions at the University of Manchester (1989-2000), University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000-2008), and his current position at UBC where he has been a central figure in economic geography and interdisciplinary social science. As an institutional political economist, Professor Peck's research critically examines the spatial dimensions of economic processes, with particular attention to how global phenomena like neoliberalization are constituted through local practices. His work bridges economic geography, urban studies, political economy, and social theory, consistently challenging conventional understandings of market processes and statecraft. Recent research focuses on Chinese state capitalism, especially the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong's evolving political status, alongside methodological innovations in conjunctural analysis as demonstrated in his 2023 book Variegated Economies . His scholarly output reveals a sustained engagement with the variegated nature of capitalist development across different spatial contexts. Recent publications demonstrate a sophisticated methodological approach combining institutional analysis with extended case methods, emphasizing historical context and spatial specificity while challenging universalizing theoretical claims. His work on Chinese political economy represents a significant departure from conventional Western-centric analyses. University Killam Professor (2025) Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud ("Nobel de Géographie") (2023) Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Clarivate Highly Cited, Social Sciences (2014-2024) Distinguished University Scholar, UBC (2017-present) Canada Research Chair in Urban & Regional Political Economy (2008-2022) Professor Peck has supervised numerous doctoral students whose dissertations examine diverse topics including global urban solutions industries, US-Mexico border economies, Rio de Janeiro's 'PACification' processes, and China's experimental economic zones. His supervision approach emphasizes theoretically sophisticated empirical work that connects local case studies to broader political economic processes. His Canada Research Chair position supported extensive research on urban and regional political economy, while his current Killam Professorship funds ongoing work on Chinese political economy and conjunctural analysis methodologies. While not formally affiliated with a specific laboratory, Professor Peck is deeply engaged with multiple scholarly networks through his editorial leadership as Managing Editor of EPA: Economy & Space and co-editor of the Economic Transformations book series. His role as Convenor of the Summer Institute in Economic Geography demonstrates his commitment to fostering scholarly exchange and theoretical development in economic geography as a discipline.
Emily Hannum is a Professor of Sociology and Education at the University of Pennsylvania's College of Arts & Sciences, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Social Sciences. She is affiliated with the Population Studies Center, Center for the Study of Contemporary China, Graduate School of Education, and Penn Development Research Initiative. Education: PhD in Sociology from University of Michigan (1998) Research Focus: Poverty and child welfare, gender and ethnic stratification, sociology of education Projects: Gansu Survey of Children and Families, climate-environment-childhood inequalities in LMICs Workshops: Co-organizer of Penn Education and Inequality Workshop Her research explores childhood poverty in China, demographic impacts on education systems, and climate risks affecting children's welfare. She investigates environmental hazards, educational disparities, and family separation effects across China, India, and low/middle-income countries. Recent publications analyze educational expansion in East Asia, climate crisis impacts on child health, and gender disparities in Latin America. She directs longitudinal studies on rural poverty and collaborates on cross-national projects related to environmental and educational equity. Scientific awards include the Stanley I. Sheerr Term Professorship in Social Sciences.
Roger Giner-Sorolla is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent's School of Psychology, where he has been a faculty member since 2001 after completing his PhD at New York University in 1996. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology from 2016-2022 and currently leads a Leverhulme Foundation grant examining moral heroism across professions. His academic journey includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia and has established him as a leading figure in social and moral psychology. Professor Giner-Sorolla's research focuses on the social role of emotions, particularly moral emotions including self-condemning emotions (guilt and shame) and other-condemning emotions (anger, contempt, and disgust). His work extends to intergroup apologies, dehumanization, emotionally driven prejudice, and collective moral roles, with a notable side interest in the ironic enjoyment of music and aesthetic experiences. He is a strong advocate for transparency in scientific reporting, having written extensively on improved reporting guidelines, pre-registration, and open science practices. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on moral psychology with expanding interdisciplinary reach. His work bridges traditional social psychology with emerging areas including cross-cultural emotion research, replication science, and historical memory. The trend shows increasing attention to methodological rigor while maintaining core interests in emotion and morality, with growing emphasis on practical applications in conflict resolution and intergroup relations. Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science Member of Rising Stars selection committee (2023-2024) Promising Scholars Award (University of Kent, 2006) Vacation Research Scholarship (Wellcome Trust, 2005) Multiple ESRC grants totaling over £400,000 European Science Foundation Workshop Award (2004) Professor Giner-Sorolla has supervised an impressive number of PhD students, with 17 doctoral candidates listed in the documentation including both current and past students. His grant portfolio demonstrates significant research impact with funding from major organizations including ESRC, Wellcome Trust, and Leverhulme Foundation. His supervision style appears to encourage students to pursue research that aligns with his core interests in moral emotions while allowing exploration of novel applications and contexts. While the documentation doesn't specify laboratory or research team structures, his extensive collaborative work suggests leadership of research groups focused on moral psychology and emotion research. His numerous international collaborations and invited workshops indicate an active research program with global reach, likely involving multiple research teams working on interconnected projects related to his core interests in moral psychology and scientific methodology.
Christopher P. Atwood is a Professor of Mongolian and Chinese Frontier and Ethnic History and Department Chair of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD from Indiana University's Central Eurasian Studies Department. His research focuses on the interplay of culture, political power, and historiography in Mongol and Inner Asian contexts. Atwood's work spans topics such as Mongol nationalism, Yuan dynasty historiography, and the socio-economic history of nomadic societies. Education: AB from Harvard University (1986), PhD from Indiana University (1994). He previously taught at Indiana University for two decades, serving in administrative roles. His affiliations include visiting scholar positions at institutions like the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and Peking University. Research interests include environmental history (e.g., marmot-human relations), political dynamics (e.g., Mongol empires and comparative imperial formations), and literary studies (e.g., Mongolian poetry and textual canonization). He has authored works like the Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire and collaborates on projects such as the Sources of Mongolian Tradition . Teaching includes courses on Inner Asian civilizations, the Mongol Empire, and the Secret History of the Mongols . He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, blending philology, environmental history, and cultural analysis to reconstruct nomadic and steppe societies.
