Welcome President Tony Chan

I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Tony Chan as the third president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Dr. Chan has been a close partner of KAUST for more than ten years, having hosted a delegation from our founding team in 2008 while he was with the National Science Foundation in Washington DC. But most notably, he has been a member of our Board of Trustees since 2011 where we have benefitted from his guidance and counsel as one of our most diligent and dedicated trustees.

Dr. Chan is a globally recognized scholar; an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering; a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In his scientific field, Dr. Chan is one of the most cited mathematicians in the world.

In his decades as both a scientist and an academic leader, Dr. Chan has made it his mission to address some of the biggest challenges in research, innovation, and higher education. He is committed to thoughtfully leading institutions into the future and has an outstanding record of driving research and education strategy to support national economies and global innovation.

In his previous role as President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Dr. Chan boosted the university’s global rankings, reputation and impact and HKUST is now widely recognized as one of the most prominent universities in the world, despite the fact that it did not open until October 1991.

Dr. Chan joins us at an unprecedented time of change for Saudi Arabia, and KAUST has an opportunity to showcase its contributions to national transformation and innovation like never before. The University already is making amazing strides and, with Dr. Chan’s help, we are going to push ourselves even further.

Contributing to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives means finding scientific solutions to the world’s most pressing problems in areas of strategic national priority; further enabling and supporting an ecosystem of innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development; and nurturing the nation’s youth, who will be our future scientific and thought leaders.

With Dr. Chan’s leadership, I am confident that KAUST will be well-positioned to contribute in an even more meaningful way to these ambitious Vision 2030 objectives, while continuing our important role in shaping research and innovation globally.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, please join me in giving Dr. Tony Chan and his wife, Monica, a warm welcome to the KAUST family.

Sincerely,
Khalid A. AlFalih
Chairman, KAUST Board of Trustees

For Dr. Chan’s full biography and curriculum vitae, please click here.