I was born and grew up in Zibo, Shandong, China, which is an industrialized inland city with many chemical factories causing intensive water and atmospheric pollution. My childhood and teenage years have suffered 'toxic haze' and witnessed urban-rural educational inequality and polarization of income, which motivated me to do interdisciplinary sustainability research that can contribute to achieving a greener, cleaner, and better world. Everyone living in the world constitutes our economy—from demand to supply, from imports to exports, from upstream to downstream, from investment to consumption, as well as many global issues, such as energy renovation, climate change and biodiversity.

Throughout my college years, the library occupied almost 90% of my free time. My reading covers a wide range of disciplines, from String theory to Montesquieu, from economics to history. My research in Hu Shih benefited me a lot through establishing principles for recognizing the world and doing academic research, e.g., "Boldly hypothesize and carefully verify." I arrived in Canada in 2013 to earn a master's degree. In 2015, I was granted the Excellent Graduate Award by the Department of Economics at the University of Windsor and was admitted to the University of Waterloo. Research is a road, starting with confusion, suspicion, and perturbation, paved with patience, perseverance, and persistence, leading to medals, flowers, and applause. Tough issues often arise in this process, and nothing can help me persist rather than retreat better than my faith: If someone else can, why not me?

To engage in producing more impactful research and improving the wellbeing of local communities, I am also active in public events and present my research insights to Canadian industrial leaders and policymakers.