I was born in a small city (Zibo, Shandong) in China.
In my childhood, I only cared about playing, carefree, with more than enough joy and love from my parents.
In middle school, I had exactly the same joys and troubles as any other Chinese teenager going through puberty.
In high school, I set out to become Zibo's first-ever National Olympiad in Informatics gold medalist — by self-studying and giving up on Gaokao prep entirely — and after going through enormous pain and pressure, I made it. I got to experience being a labeled "local legend," which pretty much cured me of caring about external titles and rankings.
In college, with the resources of Tsinghua Yao Class, and driven by broad curiosity, I tried everything I had the chance to try. But I never went deep on anything. Just enough to get by (for example, I graduated). I also met all kinds of people and had many unforgettable conversations. But to be honest, it was a time of feeling a bit lost.
During my PhD at NYU, I experienced another stretch of passion. I found a niche in Gaussian Splatting systems that most people had overlooked, and went all in for 2.5 years. I got to experience the full cycle of research and the AI academic world, pretty interesting. I also had a great life in NYC along the way.
Each of these shaped me in ways I didn't expect. I can't wait to see what finds me next...