Education
| June 1986; B.S. Physics, Biology, & Electrical Engr |
Stanford University, Stanford, CA physics thesis : The electroweak contribution to muon’s g-2 anomaly EE thesis: Laser-recrystallization and silicon-on-insulator device structure |
| June 1990; Ph.D. Physics |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA thesis: Statistical mechanics and dynamics of surfaces and membranes thesis advisors: Mehran Kardar and Toyoichi Tanaka |
| 09/1990 — 08/1993 | Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Physics, Harvard University mentors: Daniel Fisher and David Nelson |
Career
| 07/2018 — present | Distinguished Professor, U.C. San Diego |
| 07/2014 — present | Presidential Chair Professor, U.C. San Diego |
| 07/2015 — present | director, Quantitative Biology Graduate Program, U.C. San Diego |
| 01/2014 — 08/2015 | Senior Fellow, Institute for Theoretical Studies, ETH Zurich |
| 07/2009 — 06/2018 | Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, U.C. San Diego |
| 11/2008 — 12/2013 | Distinguished Visiting Professor, Hong Kong University |
| 09/2002 — 08/2007 | ChangJiang Visiting Professor, Center for Advanced Study, Tsinghua U., Beijing, China |
| 07/1999 — 06/2018 | Professor, Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego |
| 01/1999 — 12/1999 | Visiting Professor, Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University |
| 07/1995 — 06/1999 | Assoc. Professor, Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego |
| 08/1994 — 06/1995 | Asst. Professor, Department of Physics, University of Stony Brook |
| 09/1993 — 08/1994 | Long-term Member, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study |
Awards & Fellowships
| 2022 | Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics, American Physical Society |
| 2020 | Member, the National Academy of Sciences |
| 2012 | Fellow, the American Academy of Microbiology |
| 2008 | Fellow, the American Physical Society |
| 2000-03 | Burroughs-Wellcome’s Innovation Award in Functional Genomics |
| 1999-00 | Guggenheim Fellowship |
| 1997-00 | Beckman Young Investigator Award |
| 1995-98 | Young Investigator Award, Office of Naval Research |
| 1994-99 | A. P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship |
| 1993 | Outstanding Young Researcher Award, Overseas Chinese Physics Assoc. |
| 1986 | LeRoy Apker Award, American Physical Society |
Professional Activities
| 2023 — present | Editorial Board Member, PRX Life |
| 2014 — present | Editorial Board Member, Molecular Systems Biology |
| 2011 — present | Steering Committee Member, EcoCyc |
| 2005 — 2011 | International Advisory Committee Member, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science |
| 2004 — 2010 | Editor-in-Chief, Physical Biology |
| 2003 — 2009 | Organizer, q-bio preprint archive |
| 2003 — 2006 | Member, Steering Committee, Kavali Institute of Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara |
| 2001 | Organizer, Program on “Statistical Physics and Biological Information”, Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara |