Yu Zhou

Yu Zhou is a Professor of Geography at Vassar College since 1995, specializing in globalization, China's high-tech industries, urban sustainability, and transnational business networks. She earned a BS, MS from Peking University and a PhD from the University of Minnesota.

Her research focuses on China’s innovation policies, green building programs, and the intersection of ethnic communities with global capitalism. Notable works include The Inside Story of China’s High-Tech Industry (2008) and co-editing China as an Innovation Nation (2016). She has been featured in New York Times, Washington Post, and frequently commented on Sino-US technological and economic relations.

Zhou’s academic contributions span urban policy analysis, critiques of neoliberal urban development, and the role of state power in environmental initiatives. Her work bridges economic geography with sociopolitical dynamics, particularly in Asian contexts. Awards include the 2008 National Committee on US-China Relations Public Intellectual Fellowship.

Her teaching includes courses on global economic geography and urban studies, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to spatial analysis and socio-economic transformation.