Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Provost and Chair Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science at City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has been elected Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) in recognition of his profound contributions to research on science and technology, in particular in the area of materials science.

Creating a huge impact on society is the core mission for Professor Jen’s research. He is among the pioneers who promote interdisciplinary research that directly benefits society. Professor Jen has co-authored more than 870 publications, given over 550 invited presentations, and has more than 49,500 citations and an H-index of 113.

“I feel excited to be recognised by EurASc,” he said “It has a very broad membership. A lot of Nobel Laureates and Fields Medal winners are among its members. I am very honoured to be associated with such a highly distinguished group of scientists.”

Professor Jen’s research is interdisciplinary. He specialises in organic/hybrid functional materials and devices for photonics, electronics, renewable energy, ultra-fast information processing, and nanomedicine.

He started to promote interdisciplinary research almost four decades ago. “At the time when I studied for my PhD, every discipline was very isolated, which hindered the progress for research. At that time, I made up my mind to get involved in an interdisciplinary area, to act as a bridge between physics, chemistry and engineering to connect different disciplines and create a collective impact,” recalled Professor Jen.

Professor Jen has rich experience working in industry and running his own start-up company. “The company experience is very important for me. It allows me to see through the potential application of my research work,” said Professor Jen, who is the co-inventor for more than 60 patents and invention disclosures, many of which are now commercial applications.

For his pioneering contributions in organic photonics and electronics, Professor Jen has been recognised by various professional societies as Fellows, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Materials Research Society (MRS), American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE), The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. 

EurASc was founded in 2003 to promote excellence in science and technology. Based in Brussels, it currently has some 600 members in its nine divisions, including 65 Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners, hailing from 45 nations.