I’m Zizai, a sophomore at Duke university. I intend to study the Ideas and Forces that have shaped the contemporary society. My goal is to be a Renaissance man.
Learning the landscapes of Mathematics is my focus in 2020.
I spent a large part of 2019 reading books and doing internships in Legal, Educational, and Financial industries. I started college in September, and during my first semester at Duke, I was involved in the production of As You Like It. I played Duke Frederick and Duke Senior.
In 2017 and 2018, I studied in the Humanities Programme, Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore. I took Knowledge and Inquiry, History, Literature in English, and Mathematics. I focused on philosophy during those two years. My friends and I initiated the Inaugural Hwa Chong Invitational Philosophy Olympiad 2018. I represented Singapore in International Philosophy Olympiad 2018 in Montenegro and presented in 2017 Australasia Postgraduate Philosophy Conference. My interests include the Gettier Problem.
Before switching to the humanities track, I spent 2015 and 2016 in the Science and Math Talent Programme, Centre for Scholastic Excellence, Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore. I enjoyed doing Science Olympiads.
Before moving to Singapore, I lived in Hangzhou, China. I was briefly in the Class 13 (the “experimental” Sciences Olympiads Programme) of the Hangzhou No.2 High School. I was the president of Hangzhou Jianlan Middle School Students’ Council from 2012 to 2013.
During my free time, I enjoy music and sports. I have performed in many school concerts. As a sprinter, I rank 12th nationally in 400 metres. I am also a 2nd Title PRC National Athlete.
The list of classes I’ve taken at Duke follows.
| MATH | 531 | Real Analysis | Tau Shean Lim |
| MATH | 501 | Algebraic Structures I |
Robert Calderbank
|
| MATH | 421 | Differential Geometry | Robert Bryant |
| MATH | 403 | Advanced Linear Algebra | Paul Aspinwall |
| ENGLISH | 390 | Bob Dylan | Taylor Black |
| THEATRST | 350 | Main Stage Production: As You Like It |
Jules Odendahl-James
|
| ENGLISH | 273 | Classics of Am Lit: 1915-1960 |
Victor Strandberg
|
| MATH | 240 | Intro to Applied Maths |
Ingrid Daubechies
|
| PHYEDU | 167 | Aikido: Japanese Sword & Staff |
Steven Kaufmann
|
| WRITING | 101 | Congress | Jacob Smith |
| MUSIC | 101 | Intro Guitar | Randy Reed |
My 2020 Fall semester classes follow.
| POLSCI | 522 | Comparative Party Politics | Herbert Kitschelt |
| MATH | 631 | Measure and Integration | Lu Jianfeng |
| MATH | 601 | Groups, Rings, and Fields | Chad Schoen |
| MATH | 620 | Smooth Manifolds | Adam Levine |
| PHYSICS | 464 | Quantum Mechanics 1 |
Roxanne Springer
|
You can reach me at zizai.cui@duke.edu.
