Two eminent mathematicians receive William Benter Prize at International Conference on Applied Mathematics 2023 organised by CityU
Distinguished mathematicians from around the world discussed the latest developments in the field of applied mathematics and shared their research findings at the International Conference on Applied Mathematics 2023 organised by City University of Hong Kong (CityU).
The Conference also took the occasion to present the William Benter Prize in Applied Mathematics to Professor Michael S. Waterman and Professor Thomas J.R. Hughes in recognition of their outstanding achievements in applying mathematics to interdisciplinary studies.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on 30 May, Professor Freddy Boey Yin Chiang, CityU President, said “The important thing is for us to invest in young people and by which I mean students, postdocs and our young and promising assistant professors. So I’m glad to see that there’s a big spread of young people here.”
He added that one of CityU’s important goals, besides conducting outstanding research projects and obtaining funding, was to enable “our young students to come in good and go out much better”.
Professor Waterman, University Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, US, and Distinguished Research Professor, Biocomplexity Institute, University of Virginia, US, is one of the earliest researchers to apply rigorous mathematics and computationally efficient algorithms to comparing biological sequences.
A pioneer in computationally intensive approaches to genetics, he has displayed his ingenuity in establishing the foundations of computational biology as exemplified by the Lander-Waterman model and the De Bruijn technique for sequence assembly.
Professor Waterman said he felt very honoured to receive the award and he extended his special thanks to all staff who made such a strenuous effort to successfully organise the Conference.
Professor Hughes, Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Chair in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Texas at Austin, US, is known for creating isogeometric analysis, a novel approach to integrating computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering. His fundamental paper on this topic has been cited over 6,000 times on Google Scholar and is widely referred to throughout industry, national labs and academia.
“I’m deeply honoured. This is really a special moment in my life,” Professor Hughes said at the prize presentation ceremony. He added that while no one knew what would happen in the future, he was enthusiastic about new and exciting things and would like to be a part of such happenings.
The William Benter Prize in Applied Mathematics was presented by Professor Roderick Wong Sue-cheun, Emeritus Professor at CityU’s Department of Mathematics.
After the ceremony, Professor Waterman and Professor Hughes delivered plenary talks titled “Mathematics and biology: Search, a case study” and “The finite element method and isogeometric analysis: Mathematical and engineering perspectives” respectively, which formally ushered in the five-day conference.
The International Conference on Applied Mathematics 2023, from 30 May to 3 June, has been co-organised by CityU’s Liu Bie Ju Centre for Mathematical Sciences (LBJ) and the Department of Mathematics to promote academic exchanges by enabling distinguished mathematicians to come and share their insightful ideas.