Fulbright Fellow Chi-Kwong Li helps Hong Kong universities expand curricula

Chi-Kwong Li: Ferguson Professor of Mathematics

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by Joseph McClain

William & Mary mathematician Chi-Kwong Li has been awarded a Fulbright grant by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

Li, the Ferguson Professor of Mathematics, is working this year in Hong Kong with other scholars on the Fulbright Hong Kong General Education Project (FHKGEP). This initiative differs from other Fulbright teaching and research awards in that the Fulbright scholars are assisting Hong Kong universities in making the transition from a three-year to a four-year curriculum.

He explained that FHKGEP is part of a larger initiative, the Hong Kong General Education Initiative (HKGEI). The HKGEI web site notes that the three-year curriculum that is the norm in Hong Kong higher education is a relic of British colonialism and no longer meets the needs of the students.

For the spring semester, Li offered a pilot session of a course, Mathematics in Daily Life. at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He says the course was a success and will offer it again in the fall semester.

“Also in the spring semester, I shared my experience with general education issues in meetings with members of the university’s Undergraduate Core Education Office,” he said.
Li is a double alumnus (B.A. and Ph.D.) of the University of Hong Kong. In addition to being a Fulbright fellow in 2011, Li also is serving as the visiting professor of mathematics and core education advisor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

He has served as the chair of William & Mary’s math department and is a recipient of the Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence, the Simon Teaching Award and the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award.

Li has published more than 250 papers on his research, which includes topics related to matrix theory, operator theory and quantum information science.