I am a 1st-year PhD student in Dr. Claire Hemingway's lab in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I received my MS in Biology at Tufts University under the supervision of Dr. Philip Starks. Before studying Biology, I obtained my MA in Linguistics and BA in Translation from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
My research interests in biology revolve around three Cs: Communication, Cooperation, and Collective behavior. I have been working with social insects, like acorn ants and bumblebees. I am particularly interested in studying the effect of individuals on collective behaviors and the interactions between individuals and colonies.
My research in linguistics focuses on syntax and morphology. I started out by looking at separable verbs in Cantonese. Together with my collaborators, we expand the study to other discontinuous predicates.
You can find more about my academic path in my CV and research activities on my Instagram and Twitter/X.
Besides research, I also love photography. I mainly take photos of animals, both wild and captive. What I want to do is to raise people’s awareness of our relationship with animals and nature by showing people the beauty of nature. Some of my favorite shots are here.
Feel free to contact me through email [schan4(at)vols.utk.edu].