Tony F. Chan
Also known as Tony Fan-Cheong Chan, 陳繁昌
Tony Fan-Cheong Chan is a Hong Kong mathematician whose research interests include image processing and computer vision. He completed Caltech degrees in 1973 and a Stanford doctorate in 1978, then joined UCLA's mathematics faculty in 1986. In February 2001, he and Luminita Vese published "Active contours without edges" in IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, and the National Academy of Engineering elected him in 2014. He served as assistant director of the National Science Foundation's largest directorate from 2006 to 2009, then as president of HKUST until 2018 and of KAUST until 2024. As of October 2026, he is President Emeritus of HKUST and a trustee of the Yidan Prize.
Timeline
-
1973–1978
Caltech and Stanford degrees
After schooling in Hong Kong, he completes Caltech degrees in 1973 and a Stanford doctorate in 1978.
-
1986–2006
Mathematics professor at UCLA
He joins UCLA as a professor of mathematics in 1986, after teaching computer science at Yale, and serves as dean of physical sciences from 2001 to 2006.
-
2001
Active contours without edges
His interests include image processing and computer vision. In February 2001, he and Luminita Vese publish "Active contours without edges" in IEEE Transactions on Image Processing.
-
2006–2009
Assistant director at NSF
He serves as assistant director of the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate from 2006 to 2009, the largest directorate at NSF.
-
2009–2018
President of HKUST
He takes over as president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2009, succeeding Paul Chu, and leaves the post in 2018.
-
2014
National Academy of Engineering member
He is elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014 for numerical techniques applied to image processing.
-
2018–2024
President of KAUST
He takes up the role of third president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in 2018 and serves until 2024.
-
As of October 2026
Trustee of the Yidan Prize
He is President Emeritus of HKUST and a trustee of the Yidan Prize.
Sources and credits
Photo: We have no published photo of Tony F. Chan yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.
- Tony F. CHAN | HKUST CSE
- Tony F. Chan - Wikipedia
- Professor Tony Chan Fan-cheong
- Tony Chan | President (former), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering
- Publications of Luminita A. Vese
- HKUST Announces Appointment of Prof Tony Chan as Next President | HKUST
- Tony F CHAN – The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences