第33届中国旅美科技协会大纽约年会: AI Frontiers Forum (CASTGNY2025)
[Regular tickets with lecture hall access have been sold out. You may purchase the lobby networking tickets or online-only tickets. Please see ticket descriptions for more details.]
CASTGNY's annual conference is its signature event, attracting hundreds of participants in the Greater New York area across diverse fields and industries. This year’s conference theme is “AI Frontiers,” featuring three sessions highlighting AI’s latest advancements:
(The following list is arranged in speaking order.)
Session I: AI in Robotics and Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Yunzhu Li 李昀烛: Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University
Dr. Yunzhu Li is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University. Before joining Columbia, he was an Assistant Professor at UIUC CS and spent time as a Postdoc at Stanford, collaborating with Fei-Fei Li and Jiajun Wu. Yunzhu earned his PhD from MIT under the guidance of Antonio Torralba and Russ Tedrake. His work has been recognized with the Best Paper Award at ICRA, the Best Systems Paper Award, and as a Finalist for the Best Paper Award at CoRL. He is also a recipient of the AAAI New Faculty Highlights, the Sony Faculty Innovation Award, the Amazon Research Award, the Adobe Research Fellowship, and the First Place Ernst A. Guillemin Master’s Thesis Award in AI and Decision Making at MIT. His research has been published in top journals and conferences, including Nature and Science, and featured by major media outlets such as CNN, BBC, and The Wall Street Journal.
Dr. Jin Kim Montclare: Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NYU
Dr. Jin Kim Montclare is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NYU, heading the Protein Engineering & Molecular Design Lab. Her work focuses on designing artificial proteins that mimic or surpass natural functions, for applications in drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and biomaterials engineering. Her team recently developed self-assembling, self-illuminating therapeutic proteins that both deliver cargo and can be tracked noninvasively via MRI. Professor Montclare is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, AIMBE, and a recipient of the AAAS Leshner Leadership Fellowship, among other distinctions.
Dr. Hao Su: Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at NYU
Dr. Hao Su is an Associate Professor at New York University, Director of the Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics Lab, and a founding faculty member of NYU Center for Robotics and Embodied Intelligence (CREO). He received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Switzer Distinguished Fellowship from Department of Health and Human Services, Toyota Mobility Challenge Discover Award, Best Medical Robotics Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, and Best Paper Award from the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division. His research has been published in Nature, Science Robotics, Nature Machine Intelligence, Science Advances, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, and IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. He serves as Technical Editor of the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Associate Editor of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine and the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, and he is on the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer-Assisted Surgery. He also holds multiple patents in surgical robotics, wearable robots, and socially assistive robotics.
Dr. Xianfeng (David) Gu 顾险峰: SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at Stony Brook University
Dr. Xianfeng (David) Gu is the SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at Stony Brook University and a distinguished disciple of renowned mathematician Shing-Tung Yau. A pioneer of Computational Conformal Geometry, he integrates geometry, topology, and optimal transport theory into computer graphics, AI, and biomedical engineering. His recent works include innovative methods for text-to-3D generation and speech-driven avatars, supported by a Google research gift. A recipient of the Morningside Gold Medal and the NSF CAREER Award, Dr. Gu’s cross-disciplinary research continues to shape both foundational theory and practical applications.
Dr. Guiling (Grace) Wang 王桂玲: Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at NJIT
Dr. Guiling “Grace” Wang is a Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Research and External Relations at NJIT's Ying Wu College of Computing, and the Founding Director of the AI Center for Research. She is also a joint professor in the Martin Tuchman School of Management and the Data Science Department. Grace earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering with a minor in Statistics from Penn State in 2006. Her research interests span applied AI in Finance, Transportation, Art, and Law. Beyond academia, she serves as the sole academic representative on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committees on AI and the Courts, on the Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness, and as an AI Subject Matter Expert for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's SAGE program.
Session II: AI in Investment and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Tianyi Peng 彭天翼: Assistant Professor at Columbia Business School
Dr. Tianyi Peng is an Assistant Professor in the Decision, Risk & Operations division at Columbia Business School. His research centers on applying AI, reinforcement learning, and generative models to optimize real-world decision systems and experimental design. He is a founding member of Cimulate.AI, applying generative AI to e-commerce, and his work on an experimentation platform for Anheuser-Busch InBev earned the Daniel H. Wagner Prize. Beyond academic contributions, his work bridges AI with engineering practice and entrepreneurial innovation, offering impactful solutions for intelligent business and industrial transformation.
Dr. Jim Zhao 肇极: Founding Managing Partner of LiquidMetal Ventures
Dr. Jim Zhao is the Founding Partner of Liquidmetal Ventures, a specialist in energy storage and nanomaterials, an entrepreneur, and a community builder in the East Coast venture ecosystem. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2005 and co-founded Avanti Battery, a next-generation energy storage company, during his time at MIT in 2020. In 2022, he launched Liquidmetal Ventures, focusing on early-stage deep tech investments in North America, with emphasis on biomedicine, renewable energy, and AI/robotics. To date, he has invested in over 20 startups, several of which have collectively raised more than $100 million in subsequent rounds. Liquidmetal Ventures is recognized as one of the most active early-stage hard-tech funds on the U.S. East Coast.
Yulai Weng 翁禹来: Founder and CEO of BESTMOW (Robotics)
Yulai Weng holds an M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University, where he later served as Director of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center at the University’s Research Institute. He also earned dual M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania, founded the Penn Robotics Entrepreneurship Club (PREC), and conducted research at Penn’s top-ranked GRASP Lab. In 2020 he founded Laifei Intelligence; its NOVABOT robotic lawn mower raised $1.6M on Indiegogo, reached mass production by late 2023, and sold 2,000+ units in 2024. In late 2024 he launched Garden Providence Limited to build Bestmow, a subscription robotic mowing service. His ventures have raised $18M+ from IMO Venture, XVC, Vlight Capital, and Alibaba EWTP Fund.
Han Liu 刘晗: CEO of BitFi (Crypto)
Han is CEO of BitFi, a crypto asset management platform with over $500 million in assets under management. BitFi offers institutional-grade investment solutions across CeFi and DeFi, combining quantitative trading, on-chain strategies, and platform-level innovations to optimize digital asset returns. Prior to founding BitFi, Han was the Co-Founder and CTO of AscendEX (formerly BitMax), a global cryptocurrency exchange serving more than 5 million users. Before entering the crypto industry, Han worked as a quantitative researcher and strategist at BlackRock and AQR Capital Management, where he focused on systematic trading and portfolio construction. Han earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. He is also an active investor and advisor to a number of crypto startups, and a licensed private pilot.
Session III: AI in Education and Career Development
Dr. Ping Ji 纪平: Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and Chair of the Computer Science Department at CUNY Hunter College
Dr. Ping Ji is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Chair of the Computer Science Department at CUNY Hunter College. She received her B.Sc. from Tsinghua University and her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMass Amherst. A leading advocate for AI and data science education, she played a pivotal role in establishing CUNY’s Master’s program in Data Science and the Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity program, integrating AI into interdisciplinary teaching and research. Her work spans network measurement, security, wireless and IoT systems, and she is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of AI talent and advancing an open, collaborative AI education ecosystem.
Dr. Charles Lang: Senior Executive Director of Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University
Charles Lang is the Senior Executive Director of the Digital Futures Institute (DFI) at Teachers College, Columbia University, and a professor in education. He holds an Ed.D. in Human Development and Education from Harvard University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Bioinformatics (Hons.) and Political Science from the University of Melbourne. His expertise lies in educational technology, learning analytics, adaptive learning systems, and predictive modeling of student performance. As one of the editors of The Handbook of Learning Analytics, he has helped shape the field’s discourse. He leads DFI’s mission to integrate scholarship, pedagogy, and public engagement, driving AI-informed educational innovation and equity. Under his direction, DFI has supported projects like Elevate, which constructs interpretable learner models from diverse data sources, to advance personalized learning and data‐driven educational assessment.
Dr. Alex Rudniy: Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and Director of Data Science at Drew University
Dr. Alex Rudniy is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Drew University. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2012. Before joining Drew University, he taught at the University of Scranton and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He holds both an M.S. and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the National University of Radio Electronics in Ukraine. Dr. Rudniy’s research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and their applications. In the classroom, his AI course is popular among students, and he actively encourages use of AI tools—e.g. code generation, analysis assistance—to enrich learning. He has developed AI systems for automated scoring and feedback (notably for chemistry lab reports), demonstrating how intelligent algorithms can augment educational evaluation. He is committed to training students with AI thinking and applied skills, advancing the integration of AI education across undergraduate and graduate levels.
Andrew Zhang 张志斌: Co-Founder and CEO of Azure Partners
Andrew Zhang co-founded and leads Azure Partners, specializing in Go-to-Market strategy for AI startups and scaling emerging technologies. He serves as a partner at YC-backed Epsilla, focusing on RAG and AI Agent development. With experience as a tech lead at a major global internet platform and AI leadership roles at Amazon, IBM, and Silicon Valley startups, Andrew now runs Columbia University's AI Mastery program and teaches at Rutgers Business School. Author of Hyperledger Cookbook and the upcoming A Practical Guide to Ollama (Q4 2025), Andrew also conducts AI education programs for high school students and financial professionals.
The Chinese Association for Science and Technology, USA, Greater New York Inc. (CASTGNY, http://castgny.org/en/) is a registered U.S. nonprofit, nonpolitical organization of 501(C)3 status founded in 1992. It is one of the most-recognized organizations among Chinese professionals in the United States.