Tony Chan, PhD

Dr Tony Chan is the third president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He took up his position as president of KAUST on September 1, 2018, after nearly a decade as president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Before joining HKUST, President Chan was the Assistant Director of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at the US National Science Foundation from 2006 to 2009. He taught computer science at Yale University before joining UCLA as a Professor of Mathematics in 1986. He was Chair of the Department of Mathematics in 1997 and later Dean of Physical Sciences. He was a co-founder and Director of the US NSF-funded National Math Institute, the National Math Institute (IPAM).

Dr Chan received his Bachelor’s and Master of Science in Engineering ('73) from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and his PhD in Computer Science (1978) from Stanford University, followed by a Research Fellowship at Caltech. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde, UK. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). He was awarded the 2020 SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession.

Dr Chan serves as a member of the board/council/directors of the Future Investment Initiative Institute; King Abdulaziz City of Science & Technology, Saudi Arabia; the Biotechnology City Initiative of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the Supreme Committee for Research, Development and Innovation (RDI SC), Saudi Arabia; Skolkovo, Russia; the Yidan Prize Foundation, Hong Kong; the IPAM, University in Los Angeles (UCLA); and the Hong Kong Academy of Science.

He also serves on the advisory board/committee of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia; NEOM, Saudi Arabia; the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, (KAPSARC) College, Saudi Arabia; the Supervisory National Strategy Committee of Data and AI of the Saudi Data & AI Authority; the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), Korea; Rikagaku Kenkyūsho (RIKEN), Japan; the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards, China; the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China; and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, China.