General Information

The Wu Yi-fang Junior Faculty Award is named after Dr. Wu, Yi-fang 吳貽芳 (1893-1985), a pioneering educator and global leader who earned her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Michigan in 1928 as a Barbour Scholar. Dr. Wu became the first Chinese woman to serve as a university president when she assumed a 23-year presidency of Ginling Women's College in Nanjing. In 1945, Dr. Wu served on China's delegation to the founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco, where she became one of only four women to sign the United Nations Charter. Wu Yifang's legacy embodies the transformative power of education, the promotion of scholarly excellence, the importance of cross-cultural understanding, and the courage to lead during challenging times. Her story continues to inspire educators, scholars, and leaders worldwide.

Co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost and the Association of Chinese Professors (UM-ACP), the award honors Dr. Wu's legacy of academic excellence, cultural bridge-building, and transformative leadership. The Wu Yi-fang Junior Faculty Award recognizes junior faculty, Assistant Professor or equivalent rank in the tenure, research, or clinical track, across all University of Michigan campuses who demonstrate exceptional potential in their scholarly contributions and a commitment to promoting cross-cultural exchanges and understanding between Greater China and the United States.

Five assistant professors from all campuses of the University of Michigan are selected annually across five disciplinary categories and receive a $5,000 grant in flexible research funds to support activities that will enhance their scholarship (e.g., travel, equipment, research materials, student support, etc.).

Please be sure to read the application guidelines carefully. Applications are submitted directly by eligible faculty members and must include a cover letter, research achievement summary, CV, and two letters of recommendation.

2027 Wu Yi-fang Junior Faculty Award recipients will be announced at an award ceremony and celebratory dinner in February 2027.

Application Deadline: January 8, 2027, 5:00 PM EST.

Online Application Submission Form

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2026 Awardees

Business, Humanities, Law, and Social Sciences Award- Dr. Siyu Yu, Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations at the Ross School of Business. Dr. Yu studies how social hierarchies shape individual success and team dynamics, drawing on field studies in Chinese organizations, lab experiments, and social network analysis. She has published in leading journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Organization Science, and brings cross-cultural leadership perspectives into both her teaching and mentorship of international scholars.

Engineering and Applied Sciences Award- Dr. Xiwen Gong, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering. Dr. Gong works at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and engineering to develop next-generation electronic materials, including wearable optoelectronics and perovskite solar cells. She has published in Nature, Nature Materials, and Nature Photonics, amassed over 11,000 citations, and earned honors including the NSF CAREER Award, the Sony–Nature Women in Technology Award, and recognition as one of 14 inaugural Schmidt Science Fellows.

Life Sciences and Medicine Award- Dr. Jiahe Li, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Li leads a synthetic biology lab that engineers bacteria as programmable therapeutics — including probiotics that neutralize cancer-causing gut toxins and bacteria that activate anti-tumor immune responses. He has published in Nature Biotechnology and Nature Microbiology and secured over $10 million in federal funding, including the NIH Director's New Innovator Award.

Math, Information, and Natural Sciences Award- Dr. Yixin Wang, Assistant Professor of Statistics. Dr. Wang develops statistical and machine learning methods for causal inference, with applications in healthcare, algorithmic fairness, and recommendation systems. Trained at HKUST, Columbia, and UC Berkeley, she has earned the Blackwell-Rosenbluth Award, the INFORMS Data Mining Best Paper Award, and the Two Sigma Faculty Research Award.

Theoretical and Performing Arts, Architecture, and Design Award- Dr. Amy I-Lin Cheng, Assistant Professor of Music at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Dr. Cheng is a pianist and chamber musician trained at Curtis, Yale, and New England Conservatory whose work centers on bridging Western and Chinese musical traditions. As coordinator of piano chamber music at Michigan, she has guided students to national competition prizes while building regional community engagement programs.

2025 Awardees

Business, Humanities, Law, and Social Sciences Award- Dr. Hang Lu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media. His work examines how messages related to science, health, the environment, and risk shape public understanding, attitudes, and behaviors — advancing both theoretical frameworks and practical strategies to address pressing societal challenges. He has an impressive portfolio of 31 peer-reviewed publications, multiple top research paper awards, and a steadfast dedication to fostering inclusive learning environments.

Engineering and Applied Sciences Award- Dr. Qing Qu, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on developing explainable and computationally efficient AI models, placing him at the forefront of technological advancement. Dr. Qu’s outstanding work has been honored with several awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the Amazon AWS AI Award, the Best Paper Award at the Diffusion Model Workshop, and the Best Poster at MMLS 2024.

Life Sciences and Medicine Award - Dr. Longhua Guo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. Dr. Guo harnesses the regenerative abilities of planarians and geckoes to uncover fundamental mechanisms of cellular resilience. He was named a 2024 Pew Scholar, a Biological Sciences Scholar at U-M, and was the recipient of the NIH DP2 Director’s New Innovator Award and the Glenn Foundation Junior Faculty Award.

Math, Information, and Natural Sciences Award -Dr. Julie Hui, Assistant Professor in the School of Information. Her research focuses on bridging digital divides for resource-constrained populations, particularly supporting Black- and women-owned businesses in Detroit through community-based interventions. Dr. Hui developed Lettersmith, a digital tool that has supported over 8,000 underserved students, including Chinese-speaking students navigating professional opportunities in the U.S.

Theoretical and Performing Arts, Architecture, and Design Award- Dr. Fangfei Miao, Assistant Professor of Dance. Dr. Miao is a trailblazing dance theorist, choreographer, and the first dancer from China to earn a Ph.D. in the United States. Through both research and performance, Dr. Miao advances cross-cultural understanding and promotes authentic Chinese self-representation in academic and artistic spaces. Beyond academia, Dr. Miao’s choreography has captivated audiences around the world, and she recently embarked on an artist residency in France with her work, No Other.