I am a PhD researcher at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, where I explore risk and sustainability in archaeological and heritage data infrastructures. Specifically, I examine how digital heritage archives are created, maintained, and preserved; how threats to heritage sites are monitored; and how heritage data can be shared and exchanged between organisations and the general public. My research aims to determine how industrial sites, artefacts, and associated records can be safeguarded for future generations in an increasingly digital world.

My connection with industrial archaeology is deeply personal. I grew up in Baotou in the Inner Mongolia region of China, a major industrial city closely associated with the Bayan Obo mine, which is home to some of the world’s largest rare earth deposits. Both my parents worked at Baotou Iron and Steel (Group) Co. before retiring, and I attended schools affiliated with the city’s industrial institutions throughout my childhood. I left Baotou at the age of 18 to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Information Management and Information Systems at the University of Science and Technology Beijing. The city’s distinctive industrial landscape, shaped in part by Soviet-assisted industrial development, was therefore an integral part of my upbringing. This environment gave me an early appreciation of the historical, social and cultural significance of industrial heritage, as well as an understanding of how vulnerable these places, communities and their collective memories can be.

I joined the AIA Council after attending the 2024 AIA Annual Conference, which was made possible by the Peter Neaverson Travel Bursary. I hope to contribute to industrial heritage preservation efforts in both the UK and China while encouraging international dialogue and comparative perspectives on how industrial archaeology can respond to changing technologies, evolving preservation practices, and increasingly complex social and economic challenges.