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Shi Huang

There are four top-tier journals in mathematics academia: Annals of Mathematics, Inventiones Mathematicae, Journal of the American Mathematical Society and Acta Mathematica.
These journals put out only about 100 articles each year, and publishing even one is a mark of a leading mathematician. It is very rare to publish in all four.
Li Hanfeng published 10 in total across all four between 2005 and 2019.
The leading China-born mathematician has now returned from the United States.
Chongqing University announced his appointment as a professor last month, and his name is listed on the university’s website.
Li earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Peking University in 1997 and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002.
Between 2002 and 2005, he carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto in Canada, before joining the University at Buffalo (UB), the State University of New York.
His main research interests are noncommutative geometry and dynamical systems, especially connections between operator algebras and dynamical systems.
Li has also made significant contributions to the mathematical study of entropy, with a special focus on sofic entropy.
Entropy is a concept derived from physical thermodynamics, where heat spontaneously flows from objects of higher temperature to those of lower temperature until thermal equilibrium is reached. The principle of entropy increase is considered the foundation for the unidirectional flow of time in the physical world.
Dynamical systems are mathematical systems that describe the changes in a space surrounding a point over time, using functions such as the swinging of a pendulum, the flow of water in a pipe or the annual springtime population of fish in a lake.
Entropy is used to quantify the complexity or unpredictability of the dynamical system in maths.
“Li briefly explained his understanding of entropy to me, which was like a sudden enlightenment,” a maths professor commented on the Chinese academic discussion platform Zhihu in 2019. “His expansion of the concept of entropy and his discovery of its profound connections with operator algebra were remarkable.”


Li was named to the American Mathematical Society’s (AMS) 2021 class of fellows for his contributions to algebraic dynamics and operator algebras.
The AMS fellows programme recognises members from around the world who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and use of mathematics. Li was among 46 people given that honour that year.
Welcoming the news, UB maths chair Gino Biondini said: “Li’s selection in the 2021 class of AMS fellows is a well-deserved recognition for his outstanding work. We are very proud to have him as a colleague.”
The university website still features the various awards and recognitions for Li, who was named a UB distinguished professor last year.
He also received a UB exceptional scholar award for sustained achievement in 2014.
However, his personal homepage on the UB website now only provides a link to his new website, stating simply: “I have moved to Chongqing University.”
Li is the latest China-born scientist to move back to China, as American universities reduce research funding under pressure from Washington, especially for pure sciences such as maths.
Sharp US government funding cuts, especially for agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, have resulted in grant suspensions, project halts and career uncertainty, especially for younger scientists.
Prominent mathematician Terence Tao at the University of California, Los Angeles posted about the crunch on social media on Saturday.
“The funds have been frozen, and in order to pay the students’ salaries, [I have] not received [my] own salary for the entire summer,” he wrote.
“And this is just a small portion of the frozen funds.”


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Leading mathematician returns to China to take up prestigious role as US funding cuts prompt brain drain


Leading mathematician returns to China to take up prestigious role as US funding cuts prompt brain drain.


American Mathematical Society fellow Li Hanfeng joins China’s Chongqing University

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Leading mathematician returns to China to take up prestigious role as US funding cuts prompt brain drain

Leading mathematician returns to China to take up prestigious role as US funding cuts prompt brain drain