Across medicine and environmental science, artificial intelligence and astrophysics, we’re in an age of innovation: and Asian American scientists are at the center of it. To celebrate the community’s integral contributions to various discoveries and breakthrough technologies, here’s a list of five Asian American scientists across different disciplines, and the work that they are commended for.
Physics: Emma Xu
As a recent graduate of Columbia with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Emma Xu works at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship. She co-invented a method of avalanching nanoparticles that was published in Nature magazine and has a pending patent on a viral disinfection technology. Further, Dr. Xu’s impressive accomplishments are underscored by years of hard work: she detailed in Science magazine her journey from being homeless to obtaining her PhD.
Medicine: Iona Cheng
Dr. Iona Cheng isn’t just a trailblazing scientist in her own right: she’s co-leading a study that has a $12.45 million grant from the National Cancer Institute about the causes of cancer among Asian Americans. A professor at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Cheng has built an extensive understanding of how racial and ethnic differences contribute to increased cancer risk, research that will both save lives and further the body of knowledge about the deadly disease.
Computer Science: Yoky Matsuoka
Recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant and co-founder of Google X Dr. Yoky Matsuoka’s research combines robotics with neuroscience. Although she is renowned for her numerous contributions to technological innovation, her work has also been used to create advanced prosthetics to help people with musculoskeletal diseases. She’s founded numerous ventures including Yohana, YokyWorks Foundation, and PanasonicWELL.
Environmental Science: Luna Yu
Luna Yu is pioneering a unique approach to mitigating climate change: she uses food waste to create earth-friendly plastics, combatting both hunger and plastic pollution. Her company, Genecis Bioindustries, has received $17 million in funds from investors like Amazon and generated $5 million in revenue last year. Yu’s innovation has the potential to transform the future of waste around the world and pave the way for a petroleum-free future.
Humanities: Angela Duckworth
Celebrated University of Pennsylvania Professor Dr. Angela Duckworth is famed for her TEDTalk, “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance,” but she’s also received the MacArthur Grant, founded a summer school for underserved children, and worked as a public school teacher in schools across New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Her work as significant ramifications for improving education and raising the next generation of resilient thinkers and doers.
The future is bright for these five innovators – in the coming decades, the defining problems of this generation will require contributions from all corners of society, and it is impossible to overlook the invaluable efforts that Asian American scientists have dedicated in these journeys.
