MIT Professor Gang Chen doing stand-up comedy at the Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony

By Diana Ding

The Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony was held from August 7-9, 2026, at Stanford University. The symposium provides a critical platform to explore the contributions of Asian Americans and the challenges they face in STEM and academia.

One of the most memorable moments for me at Stanford was something I never expected: MIT Professor Gang Chen doing stand-up comedy about one of the darkest chapters of his life.

Professor Chen joked about the logic used to scrutinize his connections with China. He had mentored students related to China —but he had also mentored many students who later worked in U.S. national security.

So, he joked, does that make me a “double agent”?

The audience burst into laughter.

But behind the laughter was a painful history. Professor Chen was arrested and federally charged in 2021, and all criminal charges against him were dismissed in 2022.

What moved me was not only what happened to him, but how he tells the story today—with intelligence, humor, and remarkable grace. I was also deeply impressed by MIT’s decision to stand behind its professor during an extraordinarily difficult time.

It takes courage to speak about suffering. Perhaps it takes an even deeper strength to one day stand on the other side of it—and make people laugh.

I’m sharing the video here because Professor Chen’s own words are worth hearing.