Ziqing Wei
MPS Class of 2024, Global Development
- He/him
- Grand challenge: Agricultural economics and policy, with focuses on food, nutrition and environment issues
- Where he calls home: Shaanxi, China and Ithaca, NY (USA)
- Connect: zw498 [at] cornell.edu | LinkedIn
A plant scientist by training, Ziqing Wei brings research interests in agricultural economics and policy, with a focus on food, agriculture, and the environment. As an MPS student in Global Development at Cornell University, he seeks to use his background in science and his analytical skills to further address and investigate regional and international issues, and bring his past micro-level approach to a macroscopic scale.
Ziqing holds a Master of Science degree in Plant Biology from Cornell University. During his undergraduate education, he participated in the Cornell-China Agricultural University Joint Program, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences from Cornell University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with Distinction in Research. He took part in the undergraduate honor society at Cornell, and in the United States National Society for Plant Sciences and Horticulture (Pi Alpha Xi) Cornell Chapter. He earned CALS Alumni Funds for Research from Cornell University, and Gold Arowana Scholarship from Wilmar International to support his undergraduate research projects. His projects at China Agricultural University were selected into the Best Performance Portfolio by Beijing People’s Government Education Commission Office.
Throughout his career, Ziqing has been particularly interested in plant nutrition and environment related research. His research at USDA with Dr. Li Li aimed at applying genetic engineering methods to enhance the stability of carotenoids during the post-harvest storage of crops and vegetables. During his master’s research, he collaborated with Dr. Lance Cadle-Davidson to reduce the growth and development of a popular phytopathogen through gene editing and engineering. He adapted and improved a new method to assess the progression of the pathogen on plant leaves. His undergraduate experience also included work on plant biomass research.