• I entered the Graduate Program in Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at UIUC in Spring 1997. Having worked in  professional niche of problem solving for several years, I felt sociocultural aspects were very crucial in understanding many real-world problems and were very valuable in decision makings. That is why I have been attracted into this academic field.
• My graduate education at UIUC is very fruitful, at least to my own overall evaluation. So far I have tremendously expanded my knowledge and skills in Field Research, Quantitative Analysis, and Information Technology, as well as Sociocultural Theory. I think all these are precious assets in my future career development in HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) research.
• So far seven professors at UIUC have fundamentally reshaped my knowledge and skills: Professor M. Saul's encouragements and patient guidance fostered my field research techniques; Professor Levin's excellent courses intensified my interest in and nurtured my knowledge and skills in CAI and information technology; Professors D. Harnisch, X. He, and K. Witz forged my techniques in computer-based data anaysis and modeling; and, most importantly, Professors C. K. Shih and F. K. Lehman's scientific and empirical orientations in theory led me away from the deconstructive trap of postmodernism tide and helped me sharpen my own constructive visions on sociocultural aspects of the real world.

• Internet Resources for Learning/Teaching Anthropology
• Interactive Improvement of SAS Modelling: A Case of Real Estate Data Analysis
• SAS Modelling for Stock Trading Signals, and Advancing & Decling Indicators
• Designing a Cards Playing Software with C

Research I Have Done and Will Do at UIUC:

• Some of My Research Papers for Courses

• Race as a Mismeasure of Human Variations: Calling for the Demise of a Typological Concept in Biological Anthropology
• Origin and Evolution of Early Statecrafts in North China
• Analogizing the Others: Rethinking the Concept of Culture in Anthropology
• Indigenous Intellectuals in Ethnic Identity Construction: The Case of Kam in Southwest China
• Re-parsing the Parish & Whyte vs. Wolf Debate: Towards a Combinatorial Multivariate Model for Fertility Transition
• "Cultural Defense" as a Double-Eged Sword: a Dilemma of Immigrants in American Courts
• Estate Entities, Reference Groups, and Partial Order of Sets: Refiguring the Flaws in the Weberian, Maxian, and Modern Anthrpological Theories of Caste in South Asian Societies

• 1998 Summer Research

Project Title:
International Migration & Legal Pluralism: Legal Adaptiton of Hmong Americans in Minnesota
Project Sponsor:
Summer Research Award, Dept. of Anthropology, UIUC
Project Supervisior:
Dr. Mahir Saul

• Doctoral/Terminal Masters Thesis Research

Project Title:
Hmong Ameircans on the Internet: Refiguring Ethnic Network and Cultural Identity in Computer-Mediated Communications
(In Progress)

Graduate Assistantship Experience at UIUC

• 1/1997 ~ 12/1997:  Research Assistantship, Dept. of Anthropology, UIUC

Helped Dr. Shih with the data processing for MosoBase, a relational data base in his demographical anthropology study, using Borland Paradox 7.0.
 
• 1/1998 ~ Present:  Graduate Assistant in Statistical Computing, Office of Computing and Communications for Social Sciences (OCCSS), UIUC

Assistantship helping researchers & students with statistical analysis and computing in Unix and Windows environments; provide classroom support and demonstrations. Statistical methods include ANOVA, multivariate regression, sampling, categorical data analysis, repeated measures designs, and time series financial modeling. Software includes SAS, SPSS, STATA, and Microsoft Excel. Under the supervision of Joan Alster, Manager of Statistical Services of UIUC, and Dawn Owens-Necholson, Computer Data Archivist of OCCSS, my expertise in problem-shooting and teaching with statistical computing has been constantly expanding.

My Main Extracurricular Activities:

-- Cofounder, HERO (Hmong Educational Resources Organization, Illinois), 1998
-- Council Member, Overseas Program Coordinator, Hmong Cultural and Economic Promotion Association (China-Based), 1997 ~1999
-- Interim Consultant for Statistical Computing Solutions, New Century Computing Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, Summer 1999
-- Having Learned Unix Operating Systems, C Programming, PC-Based Networking, Database Application Programming, and Visual Basic Programming by taking relevant evening/weekend courses at Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois

My Previous Education & Professional Journey:

See: From Mountains, Climbing Mountains, and Building up Mountains, which outlines how a son of mountain farmers rising from the very bottom of grassroots, a member of a non-Chinese ethnic group (Hmong) referred to as "Miao" (literally means "primitive savage") by Chinese in China, has luckily pursued his education in nationally or internationally prestigious institutions, and built up his enriched work experience and leadership in competitive professional world.