Dr. Pingchao Zhu received her Ph. D. in history from Miami University of Ohio.  She has been teaching for the History Department at the University of Idaho since 1996. Her major research and teaching areas include U.S. diplomatic history, the Korean War, US-China relations, East Asian social and political history, and globalization.  Among her major scholarly publications are a book on US-China diplomatic strategies in the Korean War Armistice Talks in 2001 and several articles on the Chinese wartime culture, regional warlords, and the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War.  She is currently working on an article regarding the role of the United Nations played during the early years of the Korean War.  She has been the faculty advisor to the Golden Key University of Idaho Chapter since 1996.

The 2009 Golden Key Advisor Professional Development Grant will finance major portion of her attendance to the 2009 Golden Key International Conference in Orlando, FL, and also help offset some expenses for her upcoming research trip to the United Nations archives in New York City.