Hung Cheng (; born March 2, 1937), also known as Hong Zheng, is an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical s ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Education

Cheng received his B.Sc and the Ph.D. degrees from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, in 1959 and 1961. He had post-doctorate research appointments at Caltech,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

before joining the MIT faculty in applied mathematics in 1965. His doctoral advisor was Leverett Davis, Jr., and his thesis was on spin absorption lines of solids.

Career

In 1978, he was elected Academician of Taiwan's

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

. He has also served as the Chairman of the Applied Mathematics Committee at the MIT Department of Mathematics, and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal '' Studies in Applied Mathematics''. His recent research interests have been directed to the mathematical physics of

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ab ...

and

dark energy In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. The first observational evidence for its existence came from measurements of supernovas, which showed that the univer ...

. In 2017, Cheng received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Technology and Humanity/Humanities from the Chinese Institute of Engineers. In 2016, Cheng published his first novel, '' Nanjing Never Cries''.

Personal life

Cheng lives in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

External links

Academia Sinica Directory

Editorial Board of Applied Mathematics Journal

Physical Review Journals Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Hung 1937 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty California Institute of Technology alumni Princeton University people Harvard University staff American people of Taiwanese descent 21st-century American physicists 21st-century American mathematicians