Four Columbia Affiliates Named 2025-2026 Schwarzman Scholars

CONGRATULATIONS TO Columbia's newly named SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS

The Schwarzman Scholars program seeks to train future leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond by preparing scholars to understand China, its role in global trends and their role as future leaders. The fellowship provides Scholars the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and professional networks through a one-year Master’s degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

This year, four Columbia affiliates will join a class of 150 Schwarzman Scholars from 38 countries and 105 universities.

Liyuan (Lochlan) Zhang, GS’25, from Beijing, China, is a senior in the Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin Dual Degree Program. A History major with an English Literature minor, Lochlan serves as the publisher of the Columbia Political Review. He is also the co-editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of Asia, a peer-reviewed platform dedicated to amplifying Asian scholarship and artistic expression from contributors worldwide. Lochlan has previously interned at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Carnegie China Young Ambassador, focusing on China’s foreign relations, particularly in Southeast Asia. Currently, he is a Saltzman Student Scholar at Columbia SIPA’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, where he works as a research assistant.

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Lochlan plans to explore the intersections of his varied academic interests with public policy, political and critical theory, and conflict resolution and peacekeeping.

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Joon Baek, CC’21, SEAS'25, from South Korea, graduated with a B.A. in Computer Science and Physics and is pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science, focusing on Machine Learning. He co-founded Youth for Privacy, advocating for youth privacy rights globally, and has spoken at UN forums on privacy regulations. As president of Columbia's Student Council, he led efforts against restrictive immigration policies. A software engineer at Google, Joon has also worked on disarmament initiatives with the UN. A veteran of the Korean Army, he aims to leverage his experience in technology and policy to advance inclusive digital governance.

Congratulations to Barnard and SIPA graduate Kelsey Chin and Teacher's College graduate Tianxin Li for being named 2025-2026 Schwarzman Scholars!