Academic Life
I grew up in ChangChun, Northeast China, in a family of educators. Came to Los Angeles in 1991 and graduated from UCLA in 1996 (Physics B.A.). Got my Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics from UC Berkeley and came to Princeton University as a biophysics postdoc 2002. Left for a professorship at Washington University in St. Louis (2006-2015), where I built a new lab, obtained $1.7 million in grants, and graduated 4 Ph.D. students. Returned to Princeton University in 2015 as an Associated Research Scholar in biophysics, this time with 2 children (now 9 and 5). My work at Princeton University ended March 2018; I'm a full-time community activist devoted to West Windsor and Mercer County.
Community Involvement
My construction and research experience led to my initial motivation and later love and passion to solve/initiate three township problem/programs: (1) solved the Mews train station shuttle noise problem for hundreds of West Windsor residents. This effort continues to reduce West Windsor air pollution by 0.1%; (2) initiated the Pavement Preservation effort in West Windsor by Microsurfacing Marian Drive and Dinsmore Lane this past June, beginning our household annual saving of $500 in taxes and vehicle repair costs; (3) founded the West Windsor Plastics for West Windsor Parks project to recycle West Windsor plastic film and wraps into benches for our parks. We have recycled two benches already now being placed at the Nash Park and the Rogers Areboratum and two more benches are to be placed in two different West Windsor parks.
I have been active in our community: (1) Organizer—coordinated the donation and distribution of PPE to West Windsor frontline responders, 140 families, and doctors in 12 frontline NJ, PA, and NY hospitals. (2) Board member—Huaxia Chinese School at Plainsboro and Friends of West Windsor Open Space. (3) Member—Mercer County American Rescue Plan Road to Recovery Community Advisory Board member (2021), WW Human Relations Council and Berrien City Neighborhood Association Steering Committee. (4) Volunteer—West Windsor Democratic Club and Committee, Mercer County Trail Crew, Maurice Hawk Parent Teacher Association, West Windsor-Plainsboro School District Send Hunger Packing Program, West Windsor Lions Club fundraising activities, and as a Speaking Confidently debate and WW-P 8th grade "Global Challenge" contest judge. (5) Supporter—local businesses and culture activities: recruited workers and filled the poll worker vacancies for the 2021 Mercer County primary election, introduced the Princeton Stop-Asian-Hate rally (April, 2021) to Mercer County residents, lead tours at the Korean WooRi Mart, promoted local businesses owned by West Windsor residents and West Windsor’s 7 little libraries, and restored the Chinese new book acquisition at the Mercer County Library: West Windsor Branch, 2020.
I have also worked on several programs that were not implemented. (1) Designed a shuttle program for daily, frequent, one dollar a ride commute to the train station and township entities, (2) co-designed one of the first NJ protected bike lane at Canal Pointe Blvd, and (3) planned for a “Walking School Bus” program at Maurice Hawk, where children walk to school led by captains trained by our police department,
Through the process of planning for and designing (and failing to implement) some of these initiatives, projects, and programs, I have learned how West Windsor township operates and has seen many necessary changes to be made in order to stabilize our taxes, improve government efficiency, and ultimately, improve our quality of life. It is these consensus-building processes that led me to the current campaign for the position to get the job done for West Windsor - the position of a council member.
Politically, I am a newcomer. Without political baggage, I will be a technical and yet compassionate doer to solve realistic West Windsor problems.
Technical Background and Continuous Learning
My experiences in building electronic and MEM (Micro-electrical-mechanical) devices, machining, growing cells, demolishing and sequentially building a biophysics research lab from scratch, writing papers, training students, and applying for and managing grants, are necessary for finding our township inefficiencies and proposing solutions to the problems. For example, with these research and collaborative problem-solving skills, I will be able to research on what road repair equipment to use for what situation, whether West Windsor should share equipment with other towns or purchase, what materials and road maintenance methodologies are better for preventing potholes at different times of the year, and the consequences of poor infrastructure maintenance. I appreciate a good design and differentiate the qualities of products and finished jobs.
It will be more difficult for a politician to draft infrastructure improvement policies without research and hardware experience of the sort. To this end, I have additionally finished 9 infrastructure and transportation training courses offered at the Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation 2018-2019 designed for policy makers. These courses are:
1. Design of ADA Curb Ramps and Pedestrian Access Routes
2. Principles of Paving
3. Construction and Project Cost Estimating for Public Works Projects
4. Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings
5. Highway Inspection Procedures for Federal Aid Projects
6. Pavement Management - Road Surface Management
7. Roadway and Traffic Safety Improvement Program
8. Pavement Maintenance: Crack Treatment
9. Grant Management for Federal-aid Projects