MICHIGAN-CHINA UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP FORUM
May 12-26, 2012
CONTRIBUTORS BIOGRAPHIC SKETCHES

Katie Alexander Events Manager University & Development Events

John Dwaihy Program Assistant Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

John Dwaihy helps to plan, organize and carry out the Michigan-China University Leadership Forum. He also assists with grant processing, research projects and CRLT events.

Li Gao Nurse Practitioner, University of Michigan

Li Gao is a Nurse Practitioner that specializes in Emergency Medicine. She was trained at
University of Michigan Medical School in 1997.

Gary Krenz Special Counsel to the President, University of Michigan

As Special Counsel to the President, Gary Krenz acts as a senior advisor to the president; provides staff support for strategic planning, projects and initiatives; and generally facilitates the work of the president.  He acts as liaison to the executive officers, deans and other members of the University community; interprets University policy for various constituencies; and oversees the budget and personnel matters of the Office of the President.

Joseph Lam Director for Programming, U-M Confucius Institute Professor of Music (Musicology), School of Music, Theatre and Dance

Confucius Institute Director Joseph S. C. Lam is Professor of Music (Musicology) at the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Lam received his Ph.D. in Musicology from Harvard University, M.F.A. from the National Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, and B.A. from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is an ethnomusicologist and a historian of Chinese music and culture.

Carolyn Parker Executive Secretary, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

Carolyn Parker provides logistical support for the Michigan-China University Leadership Forum. She also provides administrative support to CRLT, in addition to planning and coordinating New Faculty Orientation and the Provost’s Seminars on Teaching.

Umesh Patel Director, Business Engagement Center

Umesh works as a direct liaison between the business community and the University. He works closely with automotive, health care, and technology companies to match University assets to industry needs.

Susan Shields Senior Director, Business Engagement Center

Susan manages the University's relationships with approximately 30 key companies that have interactions with multiple units on campus, and matches the interests and needs of external partners with the strengths of the University community.

Christine Vladu Administrative Assistant, Business Engagement Center

Christine Vladu joined the Business Engagement Center after working at the College of Engineering's Corporate and Government Relations Department.

Daryl Weinert Executive Director, Business Engagement Center

As Executive Director of the Business Engagement Center, Daryl oversees the campus-wide strategy for corporate interactions at the University of Michigan. He joined the University as Director of Corporate Relations for the College of Engineering, and was promoted to Senior Director of Corporate and Government Relations.

Tami Wilkinson Associate Director, Presidential Events, Office of University Development

Chuanwu Xi Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences School of Public Health

Dr. Xi is a molecular microbiologist and microbial ecologist. His research focuses on biofilms, water quality and human health. Dr. Xi earned his B.Sc. in Biology from Anhui Normal University, and M.Sc. in Molecular Microbiology from Guangxi University.

Rachel Yang Administrative Coordinator U-M Confucius Institute

Jen Zhu China Initiatives Coordinator Assistant Director for Communications, U-M Confucius Institute

Jen Zhu works with U-M administration on the development and enhancement of China-related policy and projects, and helps with programming in the arts for U-M’s new Confucius Institute.

Lead Oral Transaltor

Difei Li M.A. Student, Higher Education Program

Difei Li was a college English instructor in China before she pursued her M.A. in American Literature at Western Michigan University. After graduation, Difei worked as an education coordinator at Fontana Chamber Arts in Kalamazoo for three years. Difei is interested in curriculum and international comparative higher education, and hopes to pursue further studies in those areas.

Yizeng Li Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering

Yizeng Li is a doctoral candidate in Mechanical Engineering and a M.S. student in Mathematics at the University of Michigan. Yizeng Li received her B.S. in Applied and Theoretical Mechanics from Fudan University. Her research areas include cochlear mechanics, computational mechanics, systems biology, signal transportation in microfluidic structures, thermal stress analysis in micro-systems, and asymptotic analysis of plates.

Xin Liu Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry

Xin Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research aims to understand how biomolecules function as efficient biocatalysts, and how a chemical molecule targets a specific enzyme and therefore could function as a drug. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Wuhan University, China. Xin plans to pursue an academic career in the cutting-edge field of chemical biology at a research university.

Jincheng (J. C.) Shen Ph.D. Candidate, Biostatistics

J. C. Shen received a B.S. in Biology from Tsinghua University, Beijing, and both a M.S. in Cell and Developmental Biology and a M.S in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Biostatistics, specializing in cancer research, statistical genetics, and clinical trial design. His methodological research interests include survival analysis, causal inference, and non-parametric models.

Gang Su Ph.D. Candidate, Bioinformatics

Gang Su is a doctoral candidate in Bioinformatics and a Master’s candidate in Statistics at the University of Michigan. Before he came to the United States, he received his M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and B.S. in Biology. His current research interests include compilation, statistical analysis and visualization of large scale and high dimensional biomedical datasets.

Wenjing (Carrie) Xu Ph.D. Student, School of Information

Carrie Xu is a doctoral student at the School of Information, with a research interest in Social Networks. She received her B.A. in Economics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She was issued an Advanced Interpreter Certificate by the CPC Shanghai Committee in 2009. She has worked as a translator for events such as Expat Show and Econometric Society World Conference.

Yu Zhang M.A., Higher Education Program

Yu Zhang is from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. She obtained her B.A. in Economics, specializing in international economics and trade in China. She received her M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan School of Education in 2011.

Student Drivers

Fikadu Dagefu Ph.D. Candidate, Electrical Engineering

Fikadu Dagefu is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His research focus is in the area of Applied Electromagnetics and RF Circuits including radar remote sensing, source tracking in complex GPS-denied environments and electromagnetic wave propagation modeling/measurements. He received a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from the University of Michigan, both in electrical engineering.

Lead Student Driver

Nathan Harris Ph.D. Candidate, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education

Nathan Harris received his B.A. in International Relations from Michigan State University and his M.A. in Higher Education from Harvard University. Nathan is now pursuing a Ph.D. in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, specializing in organizational behavior and management.

Joe Howard Ph.D. Student, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education

Joe Howard just completed his first year of doctoral studies with the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, with a concentration on public policy and organizational behavior. He received a B.A. in Sociology and a M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he subsequently worked in various capacities over the last seven years, including positions in residence life, student conduct, student life, alumni relations and annual giving.

Melody Pugh Ph.D. Candidate, Joint Program in English and Education

Melody Pugh is a Ph.D. candidate in the Joint Program in English and Education. She teaches courses in the English Department Writing Program and has worked with Outreach programs to underrepresented high schools through the Ross School of Business and the IDEA Institute. Her research interests focus on how students understand the relationship between academic and extracurricular literacy practices.

Auresa Thomas Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering

Auresa is a Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering. She received a B.S. from Spelman College in Computer Science and from Columbia University in Biomedical Engineering with a medical imaging focus. In 2008, she completed a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her interests lie in translational research, device development and functional imaging.

Erin Wehrenberg M.A. Student, Higher Education Program

Erin Wehrenberg is a first year Master's student in the Higher Education Program at the University of Michigan. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio and with a background in K-12 education, Erin is interested in intercultural communication and the effects on identity development in higher education.

Technical Assistance

Thomas Bray Managing Producer, the Digital Media Commons Adjunct Professor, School of Art & Design

Mr. Bray has been a media and event professional for over 30 years. He is fluent in both the technical and artistic sides of media-based productions, and works to enable his colleagues to extend their reach. For the past 11 years, his focus has been on the appropriate use of technology in the academic pursuits of the University of Michigan.

Jerry McCarty College of Engineering, University of Michigan

Lead Materials Translator

Ximeng Tong Ph.D. Student, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education Head written translator

Ximeng Tong graduated from Peking University with a B.A. in International Politics and a M.A. in Higher Education. She worked as a program associate for the Overseas Training Program for University Leaders at the National Academy of Education Administration. As a doctoral student in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, her research interests include social equity in higher education, and international and comparative studies of higher education.

Difei Li M.A. Student, Higher Education Program

Difei Li was a college English instructor in China before she pursued her M.A. in American Literature at Western Michigan University. After graduation, Difei worked as education coordinator at Fontana Chamber Arts in Kalamazoo for three years. Difei is interested in curriculum and international comparative higher education, and hopes to pursue further studies in those areas.

Jing Liu Ph.D. Student, Chemical Engineering

Jing Liu received her B.S. from the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Science at Wuhan University, and her M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is now a Ph.D. student in the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Michigan. Her research interest is on li ion batteries.

Xin Liu Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry

Xin Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research aims to understand how biomolecules function as efficient biocatalysts, and how a chemical molecule targets a specific enzyme and therefore could function as a drug. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Wuhan University, China. Xin plans to pursue an academic career in the cutting-edge field of chemical biology at a research university.

Jincheng (J. C.) Shen Ph.D. Candidate, Biostatistics

J. C. Shen received a B.S. in Biology from Tsinghua University, Beijing, and both a M.S. in Cell and Developmental Biology and a M.S in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Biostatistics, specializing in cancer research, statistical genetics, and clinical trial design. His methodological research interests include survival analysis, causal inference, and non-parametric models.

Quan Zhou Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering

Quan Zhou graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University with a B.S. in Applied Biology (Biotech Concentration) and received a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering (Biomaterial Concentration) from the University of Michigan. She is currently a doctoral student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Quan’s research focuses on translational research of molecular endoscopy and photoacoustic imaging for early pancreatic cancer diagnosis.