• Ph.D., Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016
• M.S., Landscape Architecture, The Ohio State University, 2000
• B.A., Architecture, Tsinghua University, 1997

• Teaching Assistant Professor of Finance, Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019 to present
• Lecturer of Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014-2019
• Instructor, Parkland College, 2007
• Landscape Designer and Landscape Architect, RHAA Landscape Architecture + Planning, 2001-2004

• Johnson, T., Chebonenko, T., Cunha, I., D'Almeida, F., & Spencer, X. (2011). Endogenous Leverage and Expected Stock Returns. Finance Research Letters, 8 (3), 132-145.  link >

Corporate finance, investments, merger and acquisitions, case teaching

Corporate Finance, Investments, Financial Markets, Banking and Financial Institutions

• Investment & Portfolio Mngt (FIN 411) Current theories of portfolio management are covered in considerable detail to provide a conceptual framework for the evaluation of investment strategies. Applications and implementation are covered in depth, including performance evaluation and international diversification.

• Cases in Corporate Finance (FIN 422) Course totally devoted to the study of financial management cases, provides students a hands-on learning experience. The case work helps students to develop their analytical and interpretative skills in solving unstructured real world problems. The theoretical concepts and tools learned in the introductory finance courses provide the foundation for the case studies. Topics discussed include financial forecasting and working capital management; capital budgeting and cost of capital; and capital structure, dividend policy, corporate financing, financial restructuring, financial distress, mergers, acquisitions and firm valuation.

• Introduction to Finance (FIN 500) Introduction to financial management and decision making. A customized course, designed to provide a survey of finance for graduate students who do not necessarily have previous training in the disciplines. Different sections of the course will cover different sets of topics.

• Investments (FIN 511) Introduction to investment analysis, including the theory and implementation of portfolio theory; empirical evidence on the performance of financial assets; evaluation of portfolio investment strategies; and the extension of diversification to international markets.

• Cases in Financial Strategy (FIN 522) Course focuses on financial management cases. Provides students with an active learning experience. Case work is based on concepts learned in introductory corporate finance. Topics discussed include measuring and interpreting cash flow performance, financial forecasting and turnaround management ; capital investment and cost of capital; and capital structure, dividend policy; and firm valuation.

• Investments & Performance Eval (FIN 575) We analyze the trade-off between risk and expected return along with portfolio choice, performance evaluation, and security pricing. We use the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and multi-factor models to evaluate the performance of various securities and portfolios. We establish benchmark returns for securities and apply firm valuation techniques. We discuss market efficiency and its implications. We apply these techniques to the performance of mutual funds, hedge funds, and strategies designed to earn risk-adjusted returns.