A Social Science professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently won a prestigious award from the American Sociological Association (ASA) and is dubbed “one of the best young scholars studying China”.
Dr Wu Xiaogang, an assistant professor in Social Science, HKUST won the prestigious Asia and Asian America Early Career Award from the ASA for his exemplary researches on some of the most critical social issues of contemporary China.
According to ASA’s Selection Committee, Dr Wu was selected for “his sophisticated research designs and statistical analyses”, and he has been identified as “one of the best young scholars studying China.”
This award recognizes a scholar in the early stage of his/her career with no more than 10 years post PhD award research experience and who is conducting exemplary research on sociological issues related to Asia or Asian American.
Professor Wu specializes in the studies of social stratification, mobility, and market transitions in China. His works have been published in major sociology journals, including American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and Demography.
His research has examined the sources of income inequality during China’s economic transformation, workers’ transitions from state to market positions, and the role of the household registration system in generating or blocking social mobility in contemporary China.
“I am very pleased to receive this award. I see it more as encouragement to my future research rather than as recognition of my past works,” Dr Wu remarked.
This is already the second consecutive year that Dr Wu achieved similar honor. Last year, he won ASA’s Asia and Asian America Research Paper Award with his research paper entitled “Communist Cadres and Market Opportunities: Entry into Self-Employment in China, 1978-1996”. He was also among 18 young social scientists who received a prestigious non-residential post-doctoral fellowship in 2006 from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation to conduct research related to education issues in the US and in the world.
Professor Wu joined HKUST’s Division of Social Science, School of Humanities and Social Science as Assistant Professor in 2003. He completed his PhD in Sociology at UCLA in 2001 and was an Andrew Mellon Post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Population Studies Center from 2001-2003.
The American Sociological Association (ASA), founded in 1905, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.
ASA publishes more than 10 academic journals including its flagship journal “American Sociological Review”. With a membership of more than 14,000 professors, students, researchers and practitioners, ASA is the largest professional association of sociologists in the world.
For media enquiries, please feel free to contact :
Luk Kam Wing
Tel: 2358 6306
Email: kluk@ust.hk
May Cheung
Tel: 2358 6103
Email: mccheung@ust.hk
