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HKUST 2011-2012 Annual Report
INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY
An intellectual hub
Committed to drawing leading thinkers, the Institute has
attracted 29 Visiting Professors from diverse disciplines.
Two are Nobel Laureates and most are members of national
academies or of equivalent stature. In the year under review,
17 IAS Visiting Professors, two IAS Senior Visiting Fellows
and two IAS Affiliate Members made trips to HKUST.
Forward moves saw the Institute successfully recruit a
world-class scholar to take up the first IAS endowed chair
and the launch of a fellowship program to attract star
professors to HKUST and help to retain the University’s top
scholars. Fifteen HKUST professors have been appointed
IAS Senior Fellows thus far. The University is also recruiting
promising talents as Research Assistant Professors / IAS
Junior Fellows.
Platform for synergy and cutting-
edge research
IAS provides a significant platform for international leaders
and pioneers from a wide range of fields. In 2011-12,
the Institute organized some 60 events, including 50
distinguished lectures and two UC RUSAL President’s
Forums. The events were attended by more than 6,000
people in total.
A highlight of the year was a one-month topical research
program on “Arithmetic Geometry and Representation
Theory”. Fourteen mathematicians from the US,
Mainland China and Hong Kong attended, resulting in
one participant gaining a breakthrough in a mathematics
problem that has challenged scholars for more than
1,000 years. The gathering was the first of its kind in
Hong Kong.
Incubator for the next generation
The Institute embraces opportunities to inspire the wider
community about science and technology, especially
the young. One significant activity in this regard during
2011-12 was the Institute’s sponsorship of the Secondary
Schools-HKUST Dual Program for high school students,
offered by HKUST’s Center for the Development of the
Gifted and Talented.
The HKUST Institute for Advanced Study seeks to bring together the most brilliant minds from
around the world to drive cutting-edge discovery and scholarship in Asia and globally. Chaired
by Prof Chen-Ning Yang, the Institute’s eminent International Advisory Committee comprises 18
members, including 12 Nobel Laureates and one Fields Medal winner.
Some of the distinguished speakers during the year
