Tsinghua University graduate begins prestigious American fellowship

Ming Zu

Ming Zu, the daughter of Lan-Ru Hao and Guo-Cheng Zu of Harbin, has been named a McDonnell International Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, and she has received a corporate fellowship from the Cabot Corporation. She holds a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Tsinghua University, which is one of 15 leading Asian universities partnered with Washington University in St. Louis in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

Ms. Zu is pursuing a master of business administration degree in the Olin School of Business and expects her study to continue for two years. She plans to combine her engineering background and MBA education for a career in marketing and finance in an industry such as manufacturing or information technology. She is supported in her research by a fellowship awarded to her by Cabot Corporation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., a global chemical manufacturer of carbon black, fumed metal oxides, tantalum, inkjet colorants, Nanogel® aerogels, masterbatch and conductive compounds. Cabot will offer Ms. Zu special internship opportunities.

"We were extremely impressed with Ming Zu's application to the McDonnell Academy, as was our corporate sponsor at the Cabot Corporation," said James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences and Director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. "She looks like the perfect match as we at the Academy help develop global leaders of tomorrow and Cabot thinks about building new links in China and Asia more generally."

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is both new and unique. Employing an unusual structure and approach, it brings together top scholars from many countries to pursue world-class education and research while forging a strong network with one another. Key to this are partnerships Washington University has established with top universities and corporations around the world with an eye to increasing opportunities for joint research and global education.

The McDonnell Academy Scholars are considered future world leaders in their fields. As such, they are provided not only rigorous graduate instruction, but a thorough cultural, political and social education designed to prepare them as leaders knowledgeable about the United States, other countries, and critical international issues.

Once selected for this highly competitive program, each scholar is matched with a distinguished member of the Washington University faculty who serves as a mentor for the scholar and also as an "ambassador" to the university partner from which the scholar has graduated. The ambassador assists the McDonnell Scholar in academic and professional life and travels annually with the scholar to the partner university to build relationships between the two institutions.

Frank Yin

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Frank C.P. Yin, M.D., Ph.D., chair and the Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Professor of Biomedical Engineering is Ms. Zu's faculty mentor-ambassador. Dr. Yin, born in Kunming, China, came to the U.S. as a child, and subsequently received a B.S. and M.S. in aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds a doctoral degrees in medicine and bioengineering from the University of California-San Diego. His research focuses on biomechanics, cell mechanics, and cardiovascular physiology.

The McDonnell Academy Scholars receive funding for full tuition, living expenses and travel to and from St. Louis. Most of the scholars reside in two fully equipped and furnished apartment buildings near campus.

Funding is provided through a sustaining endowment gift from John F. McDonnell, vice chairman of the Washington University Board of Trustees and retired chairman of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, additional endowment pledges, and 11 multinational corporate and foundation sponsors. Sponsoring corporations also offer internships and on-site educational opportunities for the Academy's Corporate Fellows.