Prof. Yau Shing-tung is a distinguished alumnus and dear friend of CUHK for about half a century. He graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Chung Chi College, CUHK in 1969, and was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, by the University in 1980. He was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley in 1969, where he received his PhD degree two years later under the supervision of Prof. Chern Shiing-shen. He taught at the Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, and University of California, San Diego. He has been a faculty member at Harvard since 1987.


In 1993, Professor Yau joined his alma mater and initiated the establishment of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMS), where he served as director to lead researches, while at the same time contributed to teaching and coaching postgraduates. In his 40-year career in mathematics, he has received numerous awards and honours. These include the Fields Medal in 1982, the Veblen Prize in Geometry, the MacArthur Fellowship, the Crafoord Prize and the US National Medal of Science, and the 2010 Wolf Prize in Mathematics.


Professor Yau is now a Distinguished Professor-at-Large and director of the IMS at CUHK, as well as William Casper Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University.