Past AAASE President Farewell Statement and New BOD Members
Yiguang Ju
Dear Distinguished and respectful AAASE members, lifetime members, board of directors, advisory council members, parents, and friends:
Happy New Year!
As an outgoing founding president of AAASE (www.aaase.org), I am writing to thank all of you for your generous support to AAASE over the last two years (2021-2023).
AAASE was created in Dec. of 2020 at a challenging time when America’s freedom and liberty were in crisis: weakening American competition in science and technology, rising Asian hate, unlawful federal investigations of Asian American scientists, unfair competition in education and career development for Asian Americans, and marginalization of Asian Americans in leadership positions. In the face of these challenges, we united under AAASE to advance the leadership of US science and technology and to advocate the rights of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands (AAPI).
Over the past two years, with your kind support, AAASE has strived to make unprecedented achievements in promoting US leadership in STEM, serving Asian American communities, empowering the next generation, and protecting Asian American rights and justice. Below, I am very pleased to only highlight a few successful programs of AAASE.
Distinguished lectures: Our distinguished lectures inaugurated by Prof. Steven Chu with other Nobel Prize laureates and distinguished scientists have created a new AAPI platform to advance the leadership of US science and technology and to mentor young scientists and engineers in STEM.
Summer Academy for High School Students: AAASE has established a summer academy for high school students at Princeton University and CalTech. It provides great opportunities for high school students with interactive lectures in STEM and Asian American history, leadership & entrepreneurship workshops, laboratory and campus tours, and project design and presentation mentoring by distinguished professors and leaders from the US best institutions and industry. We are pleased to share with you that several of our AAASE students have been early admitted to the best colleges in 2024. Congratulations to their great success!
High School Students Laboratory Mentoring Program: AAASE mentor program is a new vehicle to provide high school students opportunities for research and discovery at university and national laboratories. More than 20 students entered the lab in 2023 under this program and conducted research with passion. Some of them have made new discoveries and co-authored papers in top journals like Nature on sustainable energy and materials.
Junior Board: The junior board is organized by AAASE high school student members and led by AAASE board members to empower our next generation and cultivate their leadership in serving communities. In 2023, the junior board has successfully organized a series of lectures and in-person sessions related to mental health and Asian American cultures.
Promotion of justice and equal rights: AAASE has been working with other AAPI organizations to engage with government agencies, congressional groups, and universities to promote the justice and equal opportunities to AAPI, stop discrimination and unlawful investigation to scientists, and provide legal advice and protection to researchers for pursuing academic freedom and excellence.
AAASE fellows: This is the highest recognition to Asian American scientists and engineers who have made exceptional contributions in STEM. The first class of 20+ inaugural AAASE fellows will be elected in the spring of 2024. AAASE fellows will be our role models to advance the leadership of US science and technology and to empower AAPI community and our next generation.
New Board of Directors (BOD): In the 2024 Board of Directors Election, the nomination committee received 12 outstanding nominations. Based on the recommendations from the nomination and selection committees, the AAASE Board voted and elected the following six distinguished new members from industry and academia as our new BOD members:
X. Neil Dong (University of Texas Tyler), Ju Li (MIT), Yi Mao (Amazon), Jingjing Shang (Columbia Univ.), Sally Shi (Scalable Vision Capital), and Haibin Xu (Shell). Congratulations!
Looking back on the past two years, the successful launching and execution of these initiatives would not be possible without the strong support from all of you. Although I could not name each one of you here, I would like to take this opportunity to express my debt of gratitude, especially to the AAASE committee members as well as Jane Zhang (President-elect) and Ed Guo (new President) for their dedicated contributions. I also would like to thank the AAASE Board of Directors and the members of the Advisory Board and Legal Counsel for their invaluable advice and support. Without your help, nothing could be accomplished. Thank all of you!
Looking forward, I strongly believe that under the leadership of our new president, Ed Guo, and the newly elected Board of Directors and AAASE fellows, AAASE will continue to thrive and will create many more exciting programs to fulfill our mission and empower our next generation. Let's unite under the leadership of the new president. Your continued support, help, and advice are greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Yiguang Ju
Founding President of Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE)
2023.12.31