Justin Jon Rudelson

I was the first Anthropologist to conduct fieldwork among the Uyghur people of Xinjiang (East Turkistan), China beginning in 1984. ... In China, my work began by bridging relations between China and Israel through desert development in the Xinjiang region. I created the first Hebrew language program at a Chinese University; introduced drip irrigation to China's deserts; organized the first international conference held in Xinjiang; undertook three assignments for National Geographic Magazine; and contributed to the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Israel.