Hello! I’m Ju. I 
am a PhD candidate in neurophysics at Columbia University in the city of New York. I am fascinated by the opportunities created by the abundance of available data and computing power in the modern world, and I am eager to use technical expertise, scientific experience, and communication skills to support the next revolution with big data in the second machine age.
My doctoral research combines neuroscience and physics in order to understand how neurons communicate with each other from a mechanical perspective and to investigate neural circuit in cognition and behavior.
I graduated from Tsinghua University, magna cum laude, in China 2011. I took courses in advanced mathematics, physics, philosophy and biology, with a GPA of 92.2/100, ranking top 1% in the school and was awarded the First-class Scholarship (highest award) for 3 consecutive years for academic excellence and leadership.
I have been the Co-President of Women In Science at Columbia, an official student group to advance career development and networking of women researcher, and the Vice President of Columbia Graduate Consulting Club.
I was born and grew up in PingDingShan, the Eagle City in Central China. Now I am living in New York.
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Awards
International Fellow
Columbia School of International and Public Affairs
Sept. 2016
- 1st student from the Department of Biological Sciences to be accepted in the program since its inception in 1960
- The International Fellows Program (IFP) is an exclusive fellowship awarded to 10 graduate students of all degrees at Columbia each year with demonstrated and estimated ability to emerge as a leader
Academic Administration Fellow
GSAS Executive Vice President for Research – Research Initiatives
Oct. 2015
- Awarded to selected doctoral students to apprentice in administrative offices across Columbia’s campuses to enhance graduate students’ career preparation
Kavli Travel Scholarship
The Kavli Institute for Brain Science
July 2015
- Awarded to promising graduate students with the opportunity to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting, where they present their original research
Graduate Research Assistantship
Sept. 2012
- Awarded to students supported by an external research grant (National Institutes of Health)
Columbia Doctoral Fellowship
Sept. 2011
Highest entrance award for Columbia PhD students, confers full funding for graduate study
Magne cumm laude (top 1%)
Tsinghua University
July 2011
12.9 Comprehensive First-class Scholarship
For Academic Excellence and Leadership
Tsinghua University (in Chinese)
Oct. 2010
National Science Foundation: Research Experience for Undergraduates Summer Program Grant
University of Michigan
July 2010
Student Research Training Challenge Cup Grant
Tsinghua University
Feb. 2010
12.9 Comprehensive First-class Scholarship
For Academic Excellence and Leadership
Tsinghua University (in Chinese)
Nov. 2009
National Scholarship
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (in Chinese)
For Academic Excellence
Nov. 2008
Summer Community Immersion Grant
Tsinghua University (in Chinese)
Sept. 2008
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Resume
JU_YANG_resume (Updated April 2017)
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Contact
Email: yangju2011@gmail.com
