At UC Merced she is the Chair of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Graduate Group, and the Co-Director of the Spatial Analysis and Research Center (SpARC). She is a member of the steering committee of the international Collaborative for Historical Information and Analysis (CHIA). Her book, Dividing the Realm in Order to Govern: The Spatial Organization of the Song State (960-1276 CE), was published in 2011.