Yi Li was born in Beijing, China. After obtaining the bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, he came to the U.S. in 2005. He attended NYU and earned a master’s degree. After that, he has been working as a solution architect until recently becoming a freelancer. Since 2022, Yi has been involved in AI/ML, with interests in its application in the financial field and diffusion models.

Yang “Alice” Cheng (Ph.D., MBA) received a Ph.D. degree from the Missouri School of Journalism, which is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. She also graduated with an outstanding academic award from the nationally recognized Crosby MBA program.

Dr. Cheng is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and an adjunct professor at the Poole College of Management, NCSU. She has taught many courses such as strategic management, research methods, the introduction of public relations, and crisis communication. She has demonstrated a long-term commitment to research involving global public relations management, social media and artificial intelligence, and crisis communication. She has published more than 150 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters. Some of her publications have appeared in top journals such as The New Media & Society, American Behavioral Scientist, Social Science Computer Review, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Telematics and Informatics, Mass Communication & Society, International Journal of Communication, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. Recently, Dr. Cheng was co-editing a book about AI and strategic communication and she has extensively served as a guest speaker or keynote speaker for international institutions such as MIT, Peking University, Zhejiang U, Xiamen U, U of Technology Sydney, and Nanjing Normal U.

Acting as the Principal Investigator (PI) or senior researcher, her research has been funded by many global prestigious institutions ($1,924,049), such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) ($1 million), National Humanities Center (NEH) ($750,000), Arthur Page Center (USA) ($14,000), Caterpiller Foundation ($86,500), North Carolina State University (USA) ($67,249), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) ($7,000). Especially, The Arthur Page Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant is awarded to support scholars and professionals making important contributions to knowledge, practice, or public understanding of ethics and responsibility in public communication. The funded study that examines mobile CSR activities in crises has been accepted in the 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (2018) and won the Top Faculty Paper Award.

Her research has been internationally and domestically recognized via various awards, for its originality, quality, and productivity. The received honors and awards included the University Faculty Scholar (2023-2024), Top Faculty Paper (Open competition), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2024; the Best Paper Award, Public Relations Division, International Communication Association Conference, 2013, 2014, and 2018; Top Paper Award in Mass Communication Division in 2014 and 2016, awarded by the International Communication Association Conference; Grunig PRIME Research Fellowship from Institute of Public Relations and PRIME research in 2015; and Peter Debreceny Corporate Award in the 18th International Public Relations Research Conference in 2015. Additionally, She has received the Hong Kong Government Reaching Out Award and the extremely competitive Extraordinary Potential Prize of the 2016 Chinese Government Award.

Due to her expertise in Communication, especially in AI and public relations, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, and Public Relations Inquiry.  Currently, she is the advisory committee member for the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC). She is editing three special issues from prestigious journals such as Internet Research and Public Relations Review.

Teaching and Research Interests

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Public Relations, Quantitative Methods, Crisis Communication, Relationship Management

Jeff Du, a graduate from Sun Yat-sen University (中山大学) and Duke, has been working in bioinformatics and biostatistics for several years. Alongside his professional work in NGS data analysis and large scale programming work, he also has strong interest in applying AI techniques to everyday life. On weekends, he likes to spend time on projects involving computer vision and building his own home security system. In his free time, he also enjoys marathon running and participating in triathlons.