Julian K. Wheatley
Coordinator, Chinese Language and Culture Program
(Foreign Languages and Literatures)
Director, MISTI-Singapore Forum
House Master, East Campus

Born in Southport, England; childhood and early schooling in England, Singapore and Australia. Teenage years in and around Berkeley, California. Majored in linguistics (BA 1969) at Columbia College; studied Chinese in Taiwan and then took short-term teaching positions at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist College. Attended graduate school at UC Berkeley; obtained an MA (1976) and PhD (1982) in linguistics, completing a dissertation on the Burmese language. Taught linguistics and/or East and Southeast Asian languages at UC Berkeley (1983), California State University at Fresno (1983-5), Cornell University (1985-86 and 87-97) and MIT (from 1997). Fulbright Fellow, Singapore, 1986-87. Research interests include the historical and descriptive aspects of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages, and foreign language learning and teaching.

Sean Gilbert
Director of Project Development
MISTI-Singapore Forum

Born in Shrewsbury, England; early childhood in Australia; grew up in Sea Cliff, Long Island, New York.  Arrived at MIT in July 2000 after working for eight years on automotive and data processing joint ventures in Jinan, Shandong Province and at an environmental company in Taipei specializing in erosion control protection at mountain slope construction sites and flood and earthquake areas. Received a BA in East Asian Studies from New York University and an MA in Chinese Studies from Princeton University.  Interested in Chinese technology transfer projects.