Mark Yu-Shan Chen received his BA in History and BS in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and his MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge. His research has focused on the history of chemistry in Edo, Meiji, and Taisho-era Japan, approaching the subject from a history of knowledge perspective. At Harvard, Mark plans to study how physical sciences were translated, adapted, and understood in the different epistemological, intellectual, and social contexts of modern and early modern East Asia.