Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study holds conferment ceremony and welcomes three world-famous scholars

Lingnan University held the Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS) conferment ceremony today (20 May). Prof Alain Bensoussan, Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair and the Director of International Centre for Decision and Risk Analysis (ICDRiA) at the University of Texas at Dallas, had the title of Lingnan Fellow conferred upon him, and Prof Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of Lingnan University, and Prof Tsui Kwok-leung, Professor of the Grado Industrial and Systems Engineering of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), were named Senior Lingnan Scholars in recognition of their important achievements in scholarly accomplishments.

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, presided over the conferment ceremony and warmly welcomed the three world-famous scholars, saying “LUIAS has flourished and grown since its establishment, with a notable influx of internationally renowned scholars. I firmly believe that through collaborations with the University's School of Data Science and School of Interdisciplinary Studies, the Institute can help propel Lingnan forward in the integration of arts and sciences, while promoting global academic exchanges. We will continue to actively establish close partnerships with leading scholars and experts, fostering new collaborations, publishing socially impactful research, bringing more innovation and breakthroughs, and offering solutions to pressing societal challenges.”

Prof Alain Bensoussan is Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair and the Director of International Centre for Decision and Risk Analysis (ICDRiA) at the University of Texas at Dallas. He was President of the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) from 1984 to 1996, President of the French Space Agency (CNES) from 1996 to 2003, and Chairman of the European Space Agency (ESA) Council from 1999 to 2002, and is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, French Academy of Technology, Academia Europaea, and the International Academy of Astronautics. He is also an AMS Fellow, IEEE Fellow, SIAM Fellow, and has received the Von Humboldt Award, and the NASA Public Service Medal. Prof Bensoussan is an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur and Commandeur of the Ordre National du Mérite from France, and an Officer Bundes Verdienst Kreuz from Germany. He received the W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize from SIAM in 2014, and the IEEE Systems Control Award in 2024.

Prof Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of Lingnan University, has worked creatively across the academic worlds of sociology, political science, and public and social policy, and has extensive research experience. He has also made significant contributions to comparative education policy, comparative development and policy studies, and social development in contemporary China and East Asia, and contributed to the fields of social change and education policy. Prof Mok is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Asian Public Policy (JAPP) and Asian Education and Development Studies, and a Book Series Editor for Routledge and Springer. According to the scholarly analytics site ScholarGPS™, Prof Mok is ranked 8th globally in higher education research, and first among Asian scholars based on his highly cited publications.

Prof Tsui Kwok-leung, Professor of the Grado Industrial and Systems Engineering of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (2003), the American Society for Quality (ASQ) (2013), the International Society of Engineering Asset Management (ISEAM) (2013), the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) (2014), and the Institute of Operation Research and Management Science (INFORMS) (2023). Prof Tsui received the NSF Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation in 1992, and was on the 2023 Clarivate list of Highly Cited Researchers, and included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists published in 2023 by Stanford University. His research areas include quality engineering and applied statistics, data science and analytics, forecasting and system health management, quality control and system monitoring, bioinformatics, infectious disease modelling, and logistics and supply chain management.

After the conferment ceremony, Prof Bensoussan was invited to give a keynote speech on "Research in Management Science and the Importance of Mathematics" at the LUIAS Distinguished Seminar later in the day, where he offered valuable insights and expertise. The seminar was attended by more than a hundred students and members of the faculty. Prof Bensoussan pointed out that engineering and technology are driving innovation and creating new operational challenges for corporations and federal agencies, and that mathematics and its role in management science research has become a vital tool in addressing obstacles, making complex systems easier to understand, and helping leaders to make informed decisions. He stressed that, through data analysis, businesses can optimise production processes, improve efficiency, and achieve sustainable development goals.

Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS) was established in March this year in order to attract leading scholars and well-known experts from different academic fields worldwide, crossing the disciplinary boundaries of arts and sciences, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and integrating cutting-edge technology with whole-person education for interdisciplinary data analysis, working together to publish research with greater social impact. LUIAS will also hold conferences, workshops, and forums, providing a platform for researchers and experts to exchange knowledge.

The first batch of LUIAS Fellows includes Prof Tang Tao, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Nanfang College Guangzhou, Prof Zhang Dongxiao, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, Prof Zhang Dongxiao, Provost and Executive Vice President of the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT), and Prof Zhou Min, an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies and Walter and Shirley Wang Endowed Chair in US-China Relations & Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

For more details, please visit: Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS) | Lingnan University (ln.edu.hk)