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I’m Pin Yang, but you can call me Pin. My name in Chinese characters is 杨品. The surname Yang (杨) in ancient Chinese means “trees by the sunrise.” According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing, 山海经), in the eastern sea at Yang Valley, a towering Fusang tree once stood. The Dongyi tribes, unlike modern people who understand the astronomical principles behind the sun’s motion, naturally believed that the sun emerged from the sea. They regarded Yang Valley as the place where the sun rises. By observing the sun’s changing height on the eastern and western sides of the Fusang tree from dawn to dusk, they developed a timekeeping method known as the Fusang Calendar. Over time, this ancient tribe became known as the Yang Clan, marking the origin of my surname, Yang. The character Pin (品) means to taste, to enjoy, to experience—a philosophy I embrace in life.

Currently, I am a fifth-year PhD candidate at Indiana University Bloomington, working with Prof. Geoffrey Bingham. Geoff is a super nice old guy—emphasis on super nice (and, well, old—he’s officially retired but still working for me, unpaid.) Sometimes I feel guilty about torturing a wise and unpaid guy with my stupidity, but he somehow tolerates it and keeps reassuring me with “You are doing a great job!” and “Fabulous! You are going to be the stereo-motion Queen!”. I really appreciate it.

I have the unique honor of being Geoff’s final student (in China, we call the final student “关门弟子”, which literally means “the student who closes the door”—though I promise I didn’t actually lock him in, just gently closed the door on his academic career), which basically makes me the grand finale of his academic legacy! No pressure, right? On the plus side, I’ve inherited most of his books—so along with his wisdom, I now own a mini-library!

My research passion lies in 3D spatial perception and visually guided actions, which is a fancy way of saying I spend a lot of time thinking about how we see and move in space. Currently, I’m deep into my dissertation on stereo-motion, trying to make sense of how our brains process depth from motion—before my own brain melts from too much programing and data analysis.

When I’m not buried in research, I enjoy playing the guitar, watching movies—especially horror—and reading sci-fi novels, all of which help me maintain a well-rounded perspective (or at least keep me entertained). I also love exploring different cultures, though, so far, my experience has been limited to American and British culture—thanks to the simple fact that I’ve only lived in China, England (thanks to an exchange student program) and the US. I did visit Canada once for a conference, but it was too short to really soak in the culture. Hopefully, that changes soon! I’m planning to work in Europe or Australia in some years, so fingers crossed for more cultural adventures ahead!

Feel free to explore my website to learn more about my research, publications, academic journey and life. Also, if you spot any errors or typos on this site, please let me know so I can fix them and avoid embarrassing myself. Much appreciated!