Prof Jian-shu Li, Chair Professor in the Department of Mathematicsat HKUST, has been elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for his outstanding achievements in Mathematics, becoming the first Hong Kong-based scholar elected to the Academy's Division of Mathematics and Physics. The honor brings the total number of CAS members at HKUST to six.
CAS membership is the highest academic recognition conferred by the Chinese government for science and technology research achievements. The election of CAS members takes place biennially, with the total number of new members kept under 60 each time. There are stringent nomination, appraisal and election processes. Members are elected under one of six categories: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Medical Sciences, Information Technological Sciences and Technology Sciences.
Prof Jian-shu Li is a world-renowned mathematician and his research interests include Lie Group Representations and Automorphic Forms, which pertain to symmetry and number theory. Representation theory is an important branch of mathematics which describes abstract groups in terms of linear transformations of vector spaces. Group Theory is a precise concept to describe symmetry in mathematics. Harmonic Analysis on Lie Group is widely applied in Mathematics and Physics.
HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan said CAS membership demonstrated Prof Li's outstanding achievements and further affirmed Hong Kong scholars' contribution to science research. HKUST will continue to foster social development through its excellent faculty members and innovative research.
Prof Li said he was grateful for the recognition from the Academy's Division of Mathematics and Physics, and would keep striving for research and teaching excellence.
Prof Li initially studied Mathematics at Zhejiang University. He obtained his master's degree from Cornell University and his PhD from Yale University. Prof Li has previously worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Maryland, College Park. He has also served as President of the Hong Kong Mathematical Society and as Chang Jiang Chair Professor of Zhejiang University. Prof Li has previously been awarded the Alfred P Sloan Fellowship, and was invited to address the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1994.
In addition to Prof Li, HKUST's other CAS members are: Prof Nancy Ip, Dean of Science, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience and The Morningside Professor of Life Science; Prof Benzhong Tang, Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Stephen Kam Chuen Cheong Professor of Science; Prof Tongyi Zhang, Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Fang Professor of Engineering; Prof Mingjie Zhang, Chair Professor in the Division of Life Science and Kerry Holdings Professor of Science; and Prof Ping Cheng, Emeritus Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
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