Chia-li (Leo) Chu

Chia-li (Leo) Chu was a doctoral student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge and a project affiliate from 2021–2024. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Laureate Center for History and Population at the University of New South Wales. His work can be found on this website.

Chu's doctoral thesis, 'Harvesting Diversity: Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the Transformation of the Green Revolution, 1950–2000', explores how scientists in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, in particular the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, transformed the Green Revolution through what he calls the 'expanded' and 'reformist' visions. The thesis follows the history of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC). This thesis examines the achievements, interaction, and limitations of the expanded and reformist visions in bringing the focus of the Green Revolution beyond cereals, and studies how Cold War agricultural development influenced the contemporary discourses of sustainability and agroecology. By showing scientists’ ambition and negotiation with national governments, international donors, and local farmers, this thesis contributes to the historiography of Green Revolution, the scholarship on Cold War Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and the history of science and environment.

Read more about Chu's project, 'Harvesting Diversity,' or view his project blog post on the history of tomatoes in Taiwan.