Gui-Qiang Chen

Professorial Fellow
Statutory Professor in the Analysis of Partial Differential Equations

As a child growing up next to Hangzhou Bay, Professor Gui-Qiang Chen often spent hours by the shores, captivated by the changing shapes created by vast flocks of migrating birds flying overhead, and watching tidal bores surging from the bay up into the Qiantang river. He couldn’t help but ponder: what triggers these (sometimes fatal) surges? Can these natural occurrences be modelled or predicted by using mathematical equations? It was in response to these fixations and in seeking answers to these kinds of questions that Professor Chen was drawn into the world of Partial Differential Equations—a field in which he is now widely regarded as a world leader.

Well known for his work on the theory of shock waves, as caused by the supersonic boom of planes breaking the sound barrier, as well as his fundamental contributions to other areas of mathematics and science, Professor Chen started his academic career as a student at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, followed by a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. After holding senior posts in New York and Chicago, he began his tenure in 2009 as a Statutory Professor of the University of Oxford and a Professorial Fellow of Keble College.

Professor Chen has published more than 200 original research papers and more than 10 research books, and has been Editor-in-Chief or a member of the Editorial Boards for more than ten leading international scientific journals. Since 2000, he has delivered more than 250 invited lectures around the world.

His expertise and extensive contributions to the Analysis of Partial Differential Equations and other scientific fields have earned Professor Chen many honours, awards and numerous fellowships of distinguished mathematical institutions and societies around the globe.

He still watches tidal waves and flocks of migrating birds.