I am a professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona , and an astronomer at Arizona's Steward Observatory . I am an observational astrophysicist, and my recent research interests include searching for the most distant quasars and galaxies in the universe, understanding how the cosmic `dark ages' were ended by the formation of the first generation of stars and black holes, and studying brown dwarfs , or sub-stars.
Before moving to the beautiful Sonoran Desert in Southern Arizona, I spent seven years in the quiet town of Princeton , New Jersey, first as a graduate student at the Department of Astrophysical Sciences of Princeton Univeristy, then as a postdoc in Astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Study . Born and grew up in Beijing , China, I spent my college years in the Southeast Nanjing . I went back Beijing for my Master degree, before moving to Princeton .
Serena and I got married in 1995. We had wedding ceremonies in Beijing and Seoul and had honeymoon in Cheju Island . Our son, Felix, was born in 2006. You can visit Felix's webpage.
When I am not doing astronomy, I enjoy
listening to
Martha Argerich playing
Rachmaninoff , and
Chanticleer
singing
Palestrina ;
or checking box scores of the
New York Yankees , and the new players at
Tottenham Hotspur ;
or looking for
the best wine shop in town.
