معرفی
Shellen Xiao Wu is a Professor at Lehigh University and holds the inaugural L.H. Gipson Chair in Transnational History. She also serves as Director of the Humanities Center and teaches courses such as Science and Technology in the Modern World (HIST/GS 107) and Modern Chinese History (HIST 076).
- Education: Ph.D., Princeton University (2010); B.A., History & Literature, Harvard College (2002).
Her research spans modern Chinese history, the history of science and technology, energy history, intellectual history, and global history. She examines how scientific ideas and resource management practices shaped China's geopolitical evolution and state-building from the late Qing dynasty to the People's Republic of China, with a focus on transnational connections and the transformation of frontiers into colonial laboratories.
Her publications include two monographs: Empires of Coal (2015), analyzing coal extraction's role in China's modernization, and Birth of the Geopolitical Age (2023), tracing global frontier discourses. Articles in The American Historical Review and Nature highlight her interdisciplinary approach, blending historical geography with science studies.
Scientific Awards and Honors:
- Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship
- National Humanities Center Fellowship (2016-17)
- Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship (2020-21)
- Public Intellectual Program, National Committee on US-China Relations (2016-18)
- Wilson Center China Fellowship (2023-24)
She contributes to journals like ISIS and Nature, emphasizing science's role in China's modernization. As Humanities Center Director, she leads Lehigh's Humanities AI initiative, fostering interdisciplinary research.
