Leading Scholars

Since its opening in October 1991^※, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has, over three decades of development, assembled a cohort of world‑class scholars spanning the sciences, engineering, business, and management. This article surveys the academic backgrounds of successive Vice‑Chancellors; serving and former faculty elected to major national‑level academies; and representative Chair Professors.

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# 1. Past and Present Vice‑Chancellors and Their Academic Achievements

# 1.1 Woo Chia‑wei — Founding President (1991–2001)

Woo Chia‑wei^※ (1937–2025) was the founding Vice‑Chancellor and President of HKUST. He was appointed president of San Francisco State University in 1983, becoming the first Chinese‑American to head a US university^※; in September 1988 he was named founding president of HKUST and spearheaded the effort to advance the opening from the originally planned 1994 to October 1991^※, building the university from scratch in three years with about 400 founding faculty. He served from 1991 to 2001 and passed away in San Francisco on 2 March 2025, aged 87. For his life story, the founding journey, his “build, don’t copy” philosophy, and his ties with Shenzhen–Hong Kong collaboration, see the dedicated entry: Founding President Woo Chia‑wei (1937–2025) — The Man Who Opened HKUST “Three Years Early”^※.

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# 1.2 Paul Ching‑Wu Chu — Second President (2001–2009): Pioneer of High‑Temperature Superconductivity

Paul Ching‑Wu Chu^※ was born on 2 December 1941^※ in Changsha, Hunan. A Taiwanese‑American physicist, he specialises in superconductivity, magnetism, and dielectric materials.

The high‑temperature superconductivity breakthrough: In 1987^※, Chu and Maw‑Kuen Wu announced the discovery of superconductivity above 77 K^※ in yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO), breaching the boiling‑point threshold of liquid nitrogen. The finding caused a sensation in the international scientific community — that year’s physics meeting was described as the “Woodstock of Physics”.

Honours: Chu was awarded the US National Medal of Science in 1988^※, the American Physical Society Comstock Prize in Physics in 1988^※, the Bernd T. Matthias Prize in 1994^※, and the John Fritz Medal in 2001^※. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences^※, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^※, and a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences^※.

During his tenure as HKUST’s second Vice‑Chancellor from 2001 to 2009^※, he continued to advance the University’s research strength and international standing.

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# 1.3 Tony F. Chan — Third President (2009–2018): Applied Mathematician

Tony Fan‑Cheong Chan^※ (b. 1952) is a Hong Kong mathematician. He earned his PhD in computer science from Stanford University and served as Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences at UCLA, as well as Assistant Director for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at the US National Science Foundation (NSF). He served as the third Vice‑Chancellor of HKUST from September 2009 to August 2018^※, during which he steered the University through the “3‑3‑4” academic reform and propelled HKUST into the global top 30 in the QS World University Rankings. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2014^※. After stepping down in 2018, he became the third President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, serving until 2024. For his nine‑year term — the academic reform, fundraising achievements, internationalisation strategy, and the circumstances of his departure — see the dedicated entry: Tony Chan’s Nine Years (2009–2018) — The Third President and His Later Path to KAUST^※.

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# 1.4 Wei Shyy — Fourth President (2018–2022): Aerospace Scholar

Wei Shyy^※ was born in 1955^※ in Hsinchu, Taiwan. He received his bachelor’s degree from National Tsing Hua University and subsequently earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan in 1982^※.

Shyy spent most of his career at the University of Michigan, where he served as Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering^※ for five years (2005–2010) and held the Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson Collegiate Professorship. His research spans future space transport, bio‑inspired flight, and computational aerospace science, and he has led multiple cross‑institutional projects funded by US government agencies and industry. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)^※ and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)^※, and has authored six books on aircraft, thermal science, and biomechanics.

Awards: the 2003 AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award^※, the 2005 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award^※, the 2009 Engineers’ Council Distinguished Educator Award^※, and the 2024 Meir Hanin International Award in Aerospace^※. He served as HKUST’s fourth Vice‑Chancellor from September 2018 to October 2022^※.

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# 1.5 Nancy Y. IP — Fifth President (2022–present): Neuroscientist

Nancy Y. IP^※ is a neuroscientist and the first woman to lead a publicly funded university in Hong Kong.

Education: She read chemistry and biology at Simmons College in the United States, received her PhD in pharmacology from Harvard Medical School in 1983^※, and then worked as a senior scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in New York.

Joining HKUST: She joined HKUST in 1993^※, and has since served as Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Dean of the School of Science, and Vice‑President for Research and Development. She took office as the fifth Vice‑Chancellor in October 2022^※ and concurrently holds the Morningside Professorship of Life Science.

Research: Her work focuses on neurotrophic factors, neural development, and the pathogenesis and drug development for Alzheimer’s disease. Her research output spans over 330 scientific papers^※, with over 45,200 citations^※, and 70 patents^※. She also directs the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience and the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Academy memberships:

Major awards: the 2004 L’Oréal‑UNESCO For Women in Science Award^※, multiple State Natural Science Awards, and being named one of Nature’s^※ “Ten Science Stars of China”.

External appointments: Member of the Leadership Council of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, member of the Chief Executive’s Council of Advisers of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Chair of the Greater Bay Area Alliance of Academicians.

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# 2. Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Including Tenure at HKUST)

# 2.1 Mingjie Zhang

Mingjie Zhang^※ is Chair Professor (Kerry Holdings Professor of Science) in the Division of Life Science at HKUST and a Senior Fellow of the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study. His research focuses on the structural and biochemical basis of synaptic signalling complexes, neuronal polarity development, and the mechanisms of phase separation in synaptic proteins^※.

He was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011^※, alongside two other HKUST professors that year. His findings hold significant implications for understanding the pathogenesis of neurological disorders such as stroke and inherited deafness‑blindness syndromes.

# 2.2 Tongyi Zhang

Tongyi Zhang^※ was Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at HKUST (now departed). He specialised in hydrogen embrittlement, fracture failure under multi‑field coupling, and micro‑ and nano‑mechanics. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011^※.

# 2.3 Ping Cheng

Ping Cheng^※ is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at HKUST. His expertise covers heat transfer in porous media, radiative heat transfer, and microscale heat transfer. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011^※, the same year as Mingjie Zhang and Tongyi Zhang.

# 2.4 More Recent Electees to the Chinese Academies

In recent years, HKUST scholars have continued to secure places in the two Chinese national academies: Chair Professor of Mathematics Jian‑shu Li was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for his outstanding contributions to the field^※; Yike Guo, Dean of Engineering and Chair Professor in both the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, was elected an International Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2025^※; in addition, Professor Tianshou Zhao of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering — an authority on electrochemical energy storage and fuel‑cell technology — was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences^※. The research expertise of these newly elected academicians spans mathematics, computer science, and energy engineering, reflecting the continuing diversification of the University’s academy membership into ever more disciplines.

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# 3. Members of the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering

# 3.1 Kam‑Biu Luk — US National Academy of Sciences

Kam‑Biu Luk^※ holds the Chair Professorship (IAS Paul C W Chu Professorship) in the Department of Physics at HKUST and serves as Director of the Centre for Fundamental Physics (joined in 2021).

His signature contribution is the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment^※, which he proposed and co‑led starting in 2003. In 2012^※, the experiment made the first precise measurement of the neutrino mixing angle θ₁₃, a milestone in particle physics.

Major awards: the 2014 Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics^※ (shared), the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics^※ (shared with the four neutrino‑oscillation experiment teams), the 2019 Future Science Prize in Physical Science^※, and the 2023 European Physical Society High Energy and Particle Physics Prize^※. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^※ and the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences^※.

In 2026^※, he was elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the HKUST scholar to receive the honour that year.

# 3.2 Kei‑May Lau — US National Academy of Engineering

Kei‑May Lau^※ is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at HKUST and the founder (in 2000) of the Photonics Technology Center. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota and her PhD from Rice University^※. She joined HKUST as a visiting professor in 1998^※ and transitioned to a full‑time appointment in 2000^※.

Her principal research involves the integration of III–V compound‑semiconductor photonic and electronic devices on silicon substrates, with applications including micro‑LED displays and augmented/virtual reality. In 2024^※, she was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) — the only^※ Hong Kong scholar newly elected that year — cited for her “contributions to silicon‑based III‑V semiconductor photonics and electronics”.

She is also a Fellow of the IEEE^※, Optica^※, and the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences^※.

# 3.3 Tony F. Chan — US National Academy of Engineering (see also Section 1)

Tony F. Chan^※ was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2014^※ while serving as Vice‑Chancellor.

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# 4. Chair Professors and Major Scientists

# 4.1 Ching W. Tang — Father of the OLED

Ching W. Tang^※ (born 1947 in Yuen Long, Hong Kong) holds the IAS Bank of East Asia Professorship at the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study. He invented the two‑layer organic light‑emitting diode (OLED) device at the Kodak Research Laboratories in 1987, becoming the first Chinese winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2011)^※ and the first Chinese laureate of the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology (2019). He joined HKUST in 2013. For his 31‑year research career at Kodak, the technical details of the OLED breakthrough, and his full list of honours, see the dedicated entry: Ching W. Tang — “Father of the OLED”, First Chinese Kyoto Prize Laureate, and His HKUST Laboratory^※.

# 4.2 Khaled Ben Letaief — Wireless Communications Scholar

Khaled Ben Letaief^※ has served at HKUST since 1993^※. He currently holds the New Bright Professorship in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, has served as Dean of the School of Engineering, and is a former President of the IEEE Communications Society.

His research spans wireless communication technologies including orthogonal frequency‑division multiplexing (OFDM), multiple‑input multiple‑output (MIMO), and cooperative communications — all core technologies underpinning 4G cellular systems and advanced wireless networks^※. He has published over 630 journal and conference papers^※ and holds 15 patents, including 11 US patents^※. He was elected an International Member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2021^※.

# 4.3 Mingjie Zhang — Synaptic Biology (see also Section 2.1)

Zhang’s work on phase separation in synaptic proteins has introduced a new paradigm to neuroscience. His discovery that proteins in the postsynaptic density can autonomously assemble into highly condensed signalling networks^※ carries potential implications for the early diagnosis of and intervention in psychiatric disorders.

# 4.4 Zexiang Li — Robotics and Entrepreneurship Mentor

Zexiang Li^※ holds the Colin Lam Ko Yin Professorship in Engineering. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley (PhD in mathematics and electrical engineering), he previously worked at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and at New York University’s Robotics and Manufacturing Laboratory.

At HKUST’s Automation Technology Center, he led students and colleagues in co‑founding companies such as Googol Technology, DJI, and ePropulsion^※. In 2019^※, he and alumnus Frank Wang received the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award for their “contributions to the advancement, innovation and entrepreneurship in civilian drones, aerial imaging technology and robotics engineering”. In 2020^※, he was named one of 40 Model Innovators and Entrepreneurs for the 40th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

# 4.5 Jiaya Jia — Computer Vision and AI

Jiaya Jia^※ is Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at HKUST, where he also serves as Director of the Von Neumann Institute^※. He began his undergraduate studies in the Department of Computer Science at Fudan University in 1996 and earned his PhD in 2004. He previously served in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

His research focuses on computer vision, artificial intelligence, and computational photography. Over the past two decades, he has published over 200 top‑tier research papers^※, with over 100,000 citations^※ and an h‑index exceeding 120^※. He has been listed among the top 2 % of the world’s most‑cited scientists by Stanford University for multiple consecutive years. In 2019^※, he founded SmartMore, which applies AI and vision technologies to smart manufacturing. He was elected an ACM Fellow in 2025^※.

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# 5. Nobel Laureate Visiting Scholars at the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

The IAS invites international academic leaders to serve as visiting professors or senior visiting fellows. Several Nobel laureates have maintained long‑standing collaborations with HKUST:

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