Kai Huang, Ph.D.  Associate Professor of Physics

Received an FSTA award to support a project entitled “the Influence of Gravity on Granular Drag” The project, a collaboration with the University of Navarra, Spain, aims to gain a better understanding of drag force induced by granular materials such as powders and grains. The first part of this project was published in Scientific Reports, in 2020. Granular materials are the most abundant materials on other planets, gaining Huang’s project the attention of the Chinese Space Program. Dr. Huang has a PhD in Physical Acoustics from Nanjing University; he joined DKU in 2019 and currently chairs the Division of Natural and Applied Sciences.

Zach Fredman, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor of History

Received an FSTA award to support the completion of a book entitled “Uneasy Allies: China and the United States before Mao” edited by Dr. Fredman, and to fund a conference for the co-editors and authors in the United States. Fredman’s book is expected to be published by the Cambridge University Press, UK. Dr. Fredman has a Ph.D. in History from Boston University, MA; he joined DKU in 2018.

Xiaofei Pan, Ph.D.  Lecturer in Chinese Language

Received an FSTA award to support her travel to a Summer Institute for Teachers organized by Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at University of Minnesota. CARLA Summer Institutes are professional workshops for language educators, to enhance their ability to develop communicative tasks, rubrics, and assessment tools for student performance on a variety of tasks in a target language. Dr. Pan received her Ph.D in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) from the University of Iowa; she joined DKU in 2019.

Shixin Xu, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Received an FSTA award to support a project entitled “a Mathematical Model for persistent post-Cortical Spreading Depress Vasoconstriction”. The aim of the project is to model the dissolution of calcium that has aggregated within the mitochondria of vascular smooth muscle cells, which results in persistent vasoconstriction, following a number of possible events including trauma. This interdisciplinary project also aims to engage undergraduates, and has important implications for the field of medicine. Dr. Xu has a Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology, China; he joined DKU in 2019.

Link to FSTA Call for Proposals Document