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Five giants, one stage: BNBU confers 2025 Honorary Fellowships

Published on 11 June 2025

BNBU conferred honorary fellowships on five distinguished individuals in science, education, and culture on 8 June 2025. The recipients include: Nobel Laureate in Economics and Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Prof Robert John Aumann; Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chairman of the Chinese Society for Probability and Statistics, Prof Chen Songxi; American Sinologist and Emeritus Professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Prof William H. Nienhauser, Jr.; National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation, and Founder of the Adream Foundation, Ms Pan Jiangxue; and Founder of SML Group and Founding President of Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole Fan Club, Dr Simon Siu Man Suen.

Prof Robert John Aumann; Prof Chen Songxi; Prof William H. Nienhauser, Jr.; Ms Pan Jiangxue; and Dr Simon Siu Man Suen (from left) are conferred as BNBU' Honorary Fellowships

The conferment ceremony was chaired by Dr Wang Shoujun, Chairman of the BNBU Council and Executive Vice President of Beijing Normal University. Dr the Hon Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, Chairman of the Council and the Court of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), and HKBU President Prof Alexander Wai also attended the ceremony.

“This honour is not just for me personally, but it recognises the importance of the scientific discipline of game theory,” said Prof Aumann in a video message.

Representing Prof Aumann at the ceremony was Prof Abraham Jacob Neyman, Chair of the Academic Committee of Federmann Center, Former Chairman of the Institute of Mathematics of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Member of Academia Europaea. He is also a student of Prof Aumann. Meanwhile, Prof Andy Liu Luchuan from BNBU’s Faculty of Business and Management completed a doctorate under the supervision of Prof Neyman. This meaningful gathering of three academic generations at BNBU marked a special moment, and Prof Aumann extended his heartfelt wishes for Prof Liu in further advancing the study of game theory.

Prof Nienhauser delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the Fellows. “In accepting this fellowship, I see it not just as an honour for me, but as an opportunity to support, in some small way, the long journey of BNBU,” he said. “May the next twenty years bring even greater achievements, guided by the same spirit of inquiry, courage, and cultural exchange that defines this special community.”

BNBU President Prof Chen Zhi stated that the five honorary fellows exemplify key qualities: excellence in their professions, innovation that breaks boundaries, and service to society through practice, which align with BNBU’s core educational values over the past two decades.

BNBU President Prof Chen Zhi

A press conference was held following the ceremony, joined by well-known news outlets, including China News Service, Economic Daily, Southern Daily, 21st Century Business Herald, Southern Metropolis Daily, Guangdong Television Station, Zhuhai Media Group and Jornal “Va Kio”.

At the conference, Prof Neyman discussed his insights in promoting cooperation among cities from the perspective of game theory. “Having various conferences and gathering entrepreneurs, industrialists, academicians from different cities can help establish more personal relations, which could turn into an incentive to help others. Sharing resources and information could help generate more cooperation between the cities,” he said.

Prof Abraham Jacob Neyman

Prof Chen Songxi highlighted how statistics can enhance AI. “Statistical procedure algorithms do not really require a huge amount of computation. So I think with statistics plus AI will reduce the load of computation, increase the interpretability and reproducibility of AI algorithms, and make AI greener,” he said. As for talent cultivation, he encouraged industry practitioners to return to campus and apply newly acquired skills to real-world challenges.

Prof Nienhauser spoke about his work, Shiji (The Records of the Grand Historian), which has offered a new paradigm for the global Sinology community in studying Chinese history and literature. “People say it's a translation, but actually, I think it's a study of the way Shiji was understood a little bit through our history, and the way it sits in the Chinese context of the other Han dynasty text and earlier text that Sima Qian used in doing it,” he said.

Ms Pan reflected on educational equity and reform. “To become a whole person, not just a test-taking machine, is the direction of China's education reform. To some extent, we are the interpreters of the wisdom of colleges and universities. We hope to continue our collaboration, to use the intelligence of higher education to empower basic education, and to light the candle of educational equity with technology,” she said.

A conferment banquet was held later, where HKBU Senior Presidential Advisor Prof Ricky Wong, BNBU President Prof Chen Zhi and BNBU Provost Prof Patrick Chau presented the certificates to the Fellows.