Jinxia Zhu was a postdoc at U-M and is now a professor in and chair of the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology at Capital Medical University in Beijing, China. Read more about both her experiences at U-M and in China.
How did you come to study at U-M? Who did you study with?
I was introduced to the University by Dr. Xueguo Zhang, who was a collaborator with Dr. Chung Owyang, H. Marvin Pollard Collegiate Professor and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at U-M. I studied with Dr. Ying Li and Dr. Owyang.
What was your experience like at the University?
Two weeks after Steven Sun arrived at U-M to study for his MBA, he found himself staring at a television in a cafeteria there, his heart filling with fear as he watched the live coverage of the September 11 attacks in New York. The tragedy unfolding before his eyes added to the natural anxieties he already was coping with as a young man living overseas for the first time in his life.
When Nick Yang looks in the mirror, he sees himself with a parrot on one shoulder, a black patch over an eye, and a light bulb glowing overhead. “I think of myself as a pirate-entrepreneur,” he said. “I build a ship that’s fast and mobile. I recruit a very special crew—it’s tough to get into my company. And I chart the course—I love getting ideas, the moment that light turns on and I figure out how to make a difference in people’s lives.”
When John Cheng arrived at U-M, he had a plan to study physics, which had fascinated him since he was a teenager. But as he completed his master’s, the Cold War ended, and Cheng realized the value of an economics degree as China entered its second decade of economic reform. Read more about how Cheng used his Ph.D. to prepare for a career in finance, a career in which he is currently managing director at CICC.
What was your educational background in China and the US?
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr. Suk-yee Polly Chueng completed her education at the University of Hong Kong. In 1985-86, she served an endocrine fellowship in the U-M Department of Surgery. She has gone on to become one of Hong Kong’s foremost breast cancer specialists and is now director of the Breast and Endocrine Surgery Centre, the founder of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, and president-elect of Breast Surgery International. She also continues to teach surgery at the University of Hong Kong. Read more.
How did you come to study at U-M?
Lin Zhang, PhD’03, is the general manager of international sales and marketing for Geely International Corporation. His path to his current position has been interesting: his work with Chrysler began when he was a U-M student and led to 10 years with them in manufacturing, primarily in advance planning for setting up factories. He became acquainted with Chery Automotive at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and returned to China to join the company in 2004 to set up U.S. factories. When he was approached by Geely, which purchased Volvo from Ford last year. he saw it as an opportunity to work with a company that has created a lot of awareness and credibility.
“Geely has an emphasis on synergy with its partners and I find that very exciting,” Zhang says.
We sat down with Zhang in Shanghai and asked him to tell us more about his time in Ann Arbor and how his education has helped him succeed in his career.
As project director with Coca-Cola China, Melissa Li is utilizing the business skills she learned while earning her MBA at Michigan. And she’s also having a lot of fun. Learn more about her job, how she stays in touch with fellow alums and her memories of Michigan.
What was your educational background in China and the US?
I received an MBA from the University of Michigan in April 2001 and a BA in economics from Renmin University of China in Beijing.
How did you come to study those subjects?
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Joys Cheung earned her degree in history before attending the University of Texas, Austin, where she completed her master’s degree. While giving a paper at a conference, she met her future U-M adviser, who recruited her to the musicology/ethnomusicology program at the University. Read more about her U-M experience, the importance of her Barbour Scholarship and her current work in the field.
How did you come to study ethnomusicology?
As one of modern China’s most celebrated and effective legal scholars and legislator-officials, Liming Wang owes a significant part of his current success to the training that he received during his year-long stay in Ann Arbor as a resident scholar.
As executive vice president of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd., Yudong Chen, MSE’89, PhD’91, leads automotive product sales in China for the multinational corporation. Such a position guarantees a full schedule, but Chen manages to make time for his alma mater through his involvement with the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute. The institute is a partnership in teaching, research and personnel exchange in mechanical engineering.
Edward Man, ’95, MAcc’95, is currently a director with the Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. Based in Hong Kong, Man joined Carlyle in 2000 and has been focusing on originating and executing investment opportunities in China. Before joining Carlyle, Man worked at Lehman Brothers with mergers and acquisitions and at Deloitte in New York and London. He is a member of the Alumni Board of Governors of U-M’s Ross School of Business, as well as the president of the Ross Club in Hong Kong, a committee member of the Alumni Association and recruiter for U-M in Hong Kong.
David Nieh, ’86, has a passion for his work that most people would envy. As general manager of Shui On Land, a development company, he views work not as a job, but as “a great puzzle that needs to be solved. On certain days, I focus on making some of the pieces fit; on others, I pull it apart to try to make it better.”
U-M alumnus Yifan Tang, MBA’96, has many connections to the U-M. He is a graduate of U-M’s Ross School of Business School and is currently serving as the managing director of CFI Consulting in Shanghai, the China office of the management consulting firm founded by business school professor Claes Fornell. However, his introduction to U-M came at a much younger age.
Recognized as one of the world’s most successful performing artists of his generation from the People’s Republic of China, Xiang Gao, ’96, MMUS’97, is cited by the New York Times as “a rare and soulful virtuoso.” He is the youngest associate professor of music in the Department of Music at the University of Delaware, and his musical integrity and virtuoso technique have gained accolades from audiences and reviewers around the world. We asked the 35-year-old violinist to tell us a little more about himself in the following Q&A.
How did you get into music?
After Eugene Cha, MCL’81, finished his degree at U-M Law School, he led a successful and interesting career. He shared with the Alumni Association about his life choices, his connections to U-M and career advice.
Cha is now general counsel to private equity company Tano China Capital Management, Inc. A former solo practitioner, he started coming away from full-time legal work two years ago, but continued to handle some work, including for Tano.
Professor of Political Science, School of Government, Peking University
Meet Shen Mingming, PhD’94, professor of political science at Peking University’s School of Government and director of the Research Center on Contemporary China. Learn more about Shen, his research and his comments on hosting retired U-M football coach Lloyd Carr when he comes to China with the 2008 U-M delegation.
When did you attend the University of Michigan and what did you study
I studied political science at U-M from 1985 to 1994. I returned to China in late 1994 after receiving my doctoral degree.
Jeffery Z. Li, a general partner at ESP Equity Partners LLC, has worked in the health care field all his life. In 1990, after completing undergraduate degrees in both biology and physics from Tsinghua University in Beijing, a fellowship to a doctoral program at Harvard University brought him to the United States. “After PhD,I was working in a biotech startup in Michigan and realized I need more business training.” He started taking evening classes at U-M and earned an MBA here in 1998.
Sean Zhang came to U-M in 1983 to study software engineering and left with a doctorate seven years later. After working in Seattle for Aldus and then for Microsoft, he returned to China to conduct research and development for Microsoft. During his 10 years with Microsoft in China, Zhang witnessed Beijing’s rapid growth, and he decided it was time to branch out and start his own broadband video service business. He maintains a busy schedule but still manages to take time out for U-M events in China and was instrumental in arranging a recent visit of the U-M delegation to Beijing.
Paul Liu, ’83, an LSA graduate, lived in Ann Arbor long before he came to U-M to study. Although both of his parents are originally from China, they raised him in Michigan from the time he was 5. His ties to U-M developed early; as a child, he played junior Wolverine football with coach Bo Schembechler’s son.
Dr. Henglong Li, who helped establish the internationally recognized Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (ACC) and served as its vice president for many years, earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering at U-M in 1985.
Henry Tang, ’75, became chief secretary for administration of Hong Kong on July 1, 2007. The former textile tycoon, who had served on various government boards and public policy, officially joined the government in 2002. He earned rapid promotions from secretary for commerce, industry and technology to finance chief in 2003, then acting chief executive of the Central People’s Government in 2005. A steward in the HK Jockey Club, Tang recently struck the ceremonial gong at Sha Tin Racecourse.
It’s no accident that Zhang Cunhao, MSE’50, one of China’s most influential scientists, decided to study at U-M. One of his uncles earned his doctorate degree in chemistry, another earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, and his aunt earned a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry. Even his father studied at U-M. Michigan is a family tradition.
