What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I serve as one of the Working Group Chairs for the Milky Way Working Group in DESI.
Where were you born?
I was born in Shanghai, China.
Where do you live now?
I am based at the University of Toronto, so I live in Toronto, Canada.
What do you do as part of DESI?
My journey with DESI began during my postdoctoral position at Fermilab, where I worked on the focus and alignment system—an essential component for DESI’s survey commissioning and operation. I was also involved in DESI’s commissioning and science verification phases. Since the survey officially began, I have primarily contributed to the Milky Way Survey (MWS) and currently chair the MWS Working Group. In the past, I also served on the DESI Publication Board.
What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
Collaborating with people from all over the world, finding opportunities for junior scientists to engage with DESI data, and then seeing their hard work culminate in a published paper a year later—it’s incredibly rewarding!
Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Reach out to DESI members and ask your questions, especially if you’re new to the collaboration. Everyone is friendly and eager to help, and we’re always looking for people to work on DESI data. Don’t be shy—our collaboration meetings are an excellent place to connect with others and get involved!
What do you do for fun?
I love traveling around the world and trying delicious local cuisines.
If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
At one point, I wanted to be a diplomat 🙂
What excites/interests you most about DESI?
The DESI data is revolutionary—not just for cosmology but for astronomy and astrophysics as a whole. I feel that the community is still unaware of its incredible potential because they haven’t had the chance to explore the data yet. I feel my current mission is to promote DESI within the broader astronomy community and help more people discover its amazing possibilities!
