Prof SHYY Wei, JP
Professor Wei Shyy is the President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He first joined HKUST in August 2010 as Provost and Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Prior to this, he was Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson Collegiate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of Michigan. He was previously employed by the University of Florida and GE Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York.
He is the author or a co-author of five books and numerous journal and conference articles dealing with computational and modeling techniques involving fluid flow, biological and low Reynolds number aerodynamics, combustion and propulsion, and a broad range of topics related to aerial and space flight vehicles. He was the Principal Investigator of several multi-institutional research projects, funded by the US Government and industries, on future space transport, bio-inspired flight, and computational aeronautical science. He is General Editor of the Cambridge Aerospace Book Series published by the Cambridge University Press, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, a major reference work published by Wiley-Blackwell.
Since joining HKUST, he led and promoted numerous initiatives, including campus-wide clustered faculty recruitment in 2015 in five strategic areas to encourage interdisciplinary activities. Turning the campus into a living lab, a Sustainable Smart Campus scheme was announced in 2018; with substantial budget committed to support open projects between 2019 and 2022. A long-term strategic plan with dual emphasis on curiosity-driven and mission-encouraged pursuit was launched in 2021 to fuse disciplinary as well as cross-disciplinary programs to jointly address issues challenging the society and the humanity. Built on these conceptual foundations, HKUST, in partnership with the Guangzhou City and the Guangzhou University, is establishing HKUST(GZ) under a “Unified HKUST, Complementary Campuses” framework. During his presidency, HKUST has solicited an unprecedented amount of donations and Government matching grants which made possible key new campus-wide enhancements including academic and research buildings, dormitories, and other multi-purpose facilities, to support expanded academic programs, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer activities.
Professor Shyy is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has received awards for his research and professional contributions, including the AIAA 2003 Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, the ASME 2005 Heat Transfer Memorial Award, and The Engineers’ Council (Sherman Oaks, CA) 2009 Distinguished Educator Award. In 2021, the French Government made him an Officer of the Legion of Honor.
As an academic leader, Professor Shyy has consistently advocated broadening the educational scope and approach, advancing research and knowledge transfer to help address global challenges. He is committed to promoting university’s societal engagement and independent, entrepreneurial spirit. He has also led efforts in fostering diverse and inclusive campus cultures to better reflect and support the university’s overall mission.
Motivated by his appreciation of the intrinsic beauty of natural flyers, Professor Shyy is an avid bird photographer. Some of his photos are compiled in eBooks, entitled Flight InSight and Flapping.