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Shao Center Profiles

Center Curator

Keng We Koh obtained his PhD in history from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, specializing in Southeast Asian History, World History, and Asian Studies. His bachelors and masters degrees were with the Department of Sociology in the National University of Singapore. He also completed an advanced masters course in the Department of History in the University of Leiden under the TANAP program. He was visiting scholar at the Centre of Asian Studies in the University of Hong Kong for short stints in 1998 and 1999, and a visiting fellow at the Asia Research Institute in the National University of Singapore in 2006. He was also involved in a project to index the CORMOSEA (Committee for Research Materials on Southeast Asia) bulletins from the 1960s to 2002. 

Keng We’s dissertation topic examined on the roles played by Arab, Bugis, and Chinese communities and networks in Riau preceding the Anglo-Dutch colonial expansion in the Malay world. It is part of a larger interest in the mobility of peoples and processes of state-formation in Southeast Asia. His earlier theses research examined at the institutional history of a Chinese temple in Singapore and the early career of a Chinese entrepreneur in British Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong (Eu Tong Sen). His major research interests include the Chinese and other diasporic communities in Southeast Asia, especially Chinese business, Chinese traditional religion, and Chinese social organization. He is also interested in the processes of state-formation (both colonial and national), migration and mobility, as well as the history of pop culture and lifestyles in the diaspora. His new interests include the history of Chinese diasporic identities and cultures in the internet and other media.
Email | Current CV

Current Student Assistants

Ming Wu is the center's webmaster maintaining several shao center related websites. He is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in electrical engineering at Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering and Technology, having earned his bachelor's and master's in the same field from Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Ming is originally from Jiangsu, China, and has previously worked as a system engineer for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

"Leon" Liang Yu is a researcher in charge of the Shao Center’s media databases, including newspaper publications and movies. He is currently working towards dual master’s degrees in journalism and Communication & Development Studies at Ohio University, and is interested in the impacts of new media on multicultural societies. Leon is originally from Shanghai, China, and previously completed a master’s degree in linguistics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Prior to coming to Ohio University, Leon worked as a journalist with the China Daily, as an editor with the Observer Star, and as a commercial assistant with Sun Media Investment Holdings in China. He won first place award in the 2008 Associated Press Society of Ohio competition (Best Enterprise Reporting category, Division V).

Former Student Assistants

Wei Feng is a researcher in charge of the Shao Center's publication section. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in journalism at Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism and is involved with various media research projects conducted at the school. He is originally from Beijing, China and completed his undergraduate degree in English at the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication. Wei has previously worked as a reporter for the China Today magazine.

Kai Ji is in charge of updating and expanding the Shao Center's Overseas Chinese database. She is currently pursuing dual master's degrees in sociology and applied economics, and is the center's resident statistics and data analysis expert. She has also been involved with various state- wide projects with Ohio University's Voinovich Center. Kai is originally from Anhui, China and completed her undergraduate degree in sociology at Anhui University.

Allen Chen is a cataloger and researcher with the Shao Center. He is currently pursuing a second master's degree in Southeast Asian studies at Ohio University, having previously completed a master's degree in political economy and a bachelor's degree in business administration at the National Cheng Kung University. Allen is originally from Kaoshiung, Taiwan.

Kenny Ling is currently working on updating and developing the Shao Center's web content. He is pursuing his master's degree in geography at Ohio University, with a focus on Overseas Chinese. He is originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and completed his undergraduate degree in geography at the University of Minnesota. Kenny has previously worked as an editorial coordinator for the National Geographic Society in Washington DC.