Miscellaneous

• I am originally from Leibo, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, where my parents still reside and work. It remains one of the least developed regions in the country and it’s predominantly inhabited by the Yi ethnic minority. Although, coincidentally, my first name is Yi (懿), I am not ethnically Yi (彝). My hometown has absolutely gorgeous scenaries as you can see from the photos below, but its people suffer from huge inequities in many aspects of their lives such as education, healthcare, living condition and so on. My experience growing up there largely shapes my research interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

• I am the VP of ORAI China (运筹OR帷幄), one of the largest OR/OM communities in China, currently having more than 100,000 subscribers and more than 100 content contributors who are mostly undergraduate or graduate student volunteers majoring in OR, OM, IE, AI, or related fields. We are a non-profit organization that produces daily contents primarily in mandarin Chinese that promotes public awareness, interest, and understanding about the benefits of OR and analytics. Our content includes academic articles (e.g., lit. review, top journal paper intro), news/announcements (e.g., international/local conference info), short videos, regular meet-ups, and invited talk sessions. Find us on Wechat Subscriptions (Search: 运筹OR帷幄), Zhihu, and Bilibili.

• Outside my academic life, I am an enthusiastic classical clarinetist and recently started to learn band conducting. I was the captain (i.e., student president) of the Tsinghua University Symphonic Band from 2013-2014. I played the clarinet in University of Minnesota University Band, Campus Orchestra, and Summer Orchestra for many years. I also played a clarinet duet with my roommate in his doctoral recital and conducted the UMN University Band in spring 2021.