For Jim Lou ’92 and Cathy Wang ’92, a Professor’s Kindness Endures

There are some acts of kindness that you never forget. 

Help with settling into a new city when you are half a world away from home. A recommendation that leads to a badly needed job. An invitation to a holiday dinner. 

Those were some of the kindnesses that the late Prof. Georges Grinstein extended to Jian (Jim) Lou ’92 and Xiaoqing (Cathy) Wang ’92, who came to UMass Lowell to earn master’s degrees in computer science. 

“His kindness influenced me,” says Lou. “That is something you always remember.” 

As an undergraduate, Lou met Grinstein at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, where Grinstein spent time teaching computer science. 

“His kindness influenced me. That is something you always remember.” -Jim Lou

When Lou was looking into master’s degree programs, his best friend, Weidong Wang ’87, ’92 (no relation to Cathy Wang) was studying computer science at UMass Lowell and encouraged Lou to join him. Lou applied and was admitted, but money was tight. With Grin - stein’s help, he landed a teaching assistant job, which made it possible for him to afford graduate school. 

“I was lucky. Professor Grinstein helped me get the TA position,” says Lou, who arrived in Lowell in 1990. 

Grinstein continued to extend a welcoming hand to Lou and Wang, who had left behind family and friends in China. On Thanksgiving, Grinstein invited them to his home for dinner. And when Lou and Wang were getting married, Grinstein made sure they had a fitting celebration. 

“When Cathy and I got married, we were very poor. We couldn’t afford a marriage celebration,” Lou recalls. 

They were planning on a simple civil ceremony by themselves at City Hall, but when Grinstein found out, he arranged for the couple to be married at the Unitarian Universalist church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he worshipped. Grinstein took care of all the details, right down to hiring the organist and inviting guests. 

“He showed us such kindness. The celebration at his church was totally free for us,” Lou says. 

After the couple earned their master’s degrees, they moved to Denver, where Lou got a job with a computer-aided design software company and Wang landed a position with a database firm. They settled in comfortably to their new hometown. As skiers and hikers, they enjoyed the abundance of outdoor activities and the area’s welcoming, family-oriented atmosphere, which became a priority when they were raising their two daughters, Wang says. 

Driven by an entrepreneurial streak, Lou had a knack for building his own businesses. His first venture was a software consulting firm. Then, in 1997, he launched Easy Sourcing to help businesses source goods from China. In 2005, he started Apex Manufacturing, which makes automotive accessories such as awnings for recreational vehicles and covers for truck beds, mainly for the U.S. market. 

In 2015, with Easy Sourcing and Apex Manufacturing firmly established, Lou and Wang decided it was time to give back. They recalled with deep gratitude the support they had gotten at UMass Lowell and came up with the idea for a scholarship in honor of Grinstein. 

While they felt indebted to Grinstein for his kindness, Lou and Wang also had deep respect for his academic work. In his 30 years at UMass Lowell, Grinstein headed the bioinformatics program and was the director of the university’s Institute for Visualization and Perception Research. His ideas about representing data with graphics were ahead of the times, Lou says. 

“His research was very forward-thinking. He was thinking about how people will deal with all that data,” Lou says. 

Grinstein approved of their idea to create an annual scholarship for undergraduate computer science majors. Undergraduates generally do not have the opportunity to work as teaching assistants—a position that made all the difference to Lou and Wang. 

“When we started in graduate school, the financial burden was the main issue for us,” says Lou. “Undergraduates can’t do TA jobs. They need money.” 

In 2018, Grinstein, who had joined the faculty at UMass Amherst, died unexpectedly. As they mourned the loss of their friend, Lou and Wang decided to establish a second endowed scholarship fund in Grinstein’s memory. Between the two scholarships, the couple has committed $225,000 to support students at UMass Lowell. 

“Jim Lou and Cathy Wang embody the spirit of the River Hawk community,” says UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen. “Their appreciation for the support they received at UMass Lowell has come full circle. Their generosity is helping new generations of students to pursue their dreams of a world-class education and is inspiring others as well.” 

Looking back on their UML experience, both Lou and Wang agree they got the skills and education they needed to succeed in the fast-moving technology business. 

“The program at UML was very good, especially when compared to the education we received in China. It was much more hands-on, and that was very helpful,” Lou says. 

These days, Lou remains involved with Easy Sourcing and Apex Manufacturing, and Wang devotes her time to their investments. They live in Greenwood Village, Colorado, just south of Denver, and continue to hike and ski. Their daughters, both graduates of Northwestern University, work in the computer industry in California. 

Lou and Wang are enthusiastic about the growth of the computer science program at UMass Lowell, which is now the most popular major on campus with faculty expertise in robotics, cybersecurity, data science and bioinformatics. 

While so much in the technology world has changed since their student days—Lou and Wang arrived at UMass Lowell before web browsers were even invented, when mainframes and microcomputers still reigned supreme—they are upbeat about the range of opportunities available to students studying computer science now. 

“It’s an interesting field, and there are so many different paths you can explore,” says Wang.