When you write an About Me, you want something permanent. Well, I go by ‘Union’ — a homophone of my Chinese name that I find neat and hope will stick. What won’t last much longer is that I’m finishing my PhD at NYU Tandon, and here goes the elevator pitch for my research:
I develop algorithms that optimize the transient processes of multi-agent decision-making in complex systems, leveraging game theory and machine learning across domains like communication, transportation, and finance.
You might think to yourself “sounds like some pedantic academic buzzword bingo” and you’d be right. Well then, maybe:
I designed a decentralized multi-radar communication algorithm that mitigates the mutual interference during target detection.
I can assure you no one has ever been stupid enough to have done this.
Anyways, the most permenant thing may be my upbringing. I was born in Taoyuan, Hunan province of China during the 90s. Like many of my peers, I grew up with some generational gap. My parents were both middle school teachers during that time, before their shifting to politics. It seemed to be the only path that’s ultimately justified: （修身，齐家，治国，平天下 god I hate these words with my guts.）
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Perhaps this is the epitome of deep-seated Ruism in East Asian culture, where individual values are measured by their bureaucratic or political success. The irony is they barely advanced down this path apparently, despite being incredibly hard-working people. In many ways, though, I guess they are more like pilgrims than I could ever be.
I have no idea when my parents came to terms with my ordinariness. But as of now, I suppose we all acknowledge that regardless of the direction life pulls us, there is some quiet grace in simply “keep doing something”. Que sera sera.