UB Geography Professor to Speak On Asian Economic Crises

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The origins of the economic crises facing Asia and implications for the United States as a result of the crises will be explored in a talk by Jessie P.H. Poon, Ph.D., assistant professor of geography at the University at Buffalo, at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 in the Rich Renaissance Center, One West Ferry St., Buffalo.

Her talk, titled "Spatial Contagion and the Asian Economic Flu," will be presented by the Buffalo Council on World Affairs, Inc. and the Asian Studies Program at UB.

Her talk is the third in the council's three-part Distinguished Speaker Series, "Building Communities in Multi-Ethnic Societies," which is intended to examine problems facing diverse ethnic societies.

Poon also will lead a discussion on the Asian economic crises at noon on Nov. 20 in 250 Student Union on the UB North (Amherst) Campus as part of the UB Asian Studies Program's "Asia at Noon" fall series.

Poon, who recently joined the UB faculty, has written extensively on regionalization and trade patterns in Southeast Asia and Europe, the impact of foreign investment on Asian economics and Third World economic development.

She is working on a book titled "Asia Pacific Transitions," and her research includes a comparative study of competitive advantages across the Asia-Pacific and shifting political-economic relations in Southeast Asia.

Poon holds a bachelor's degree from the National University of Singapore, a master's degree from the University of Kentucky and a doctoral degree from The Ohio State University.