Prof Robert John Aumann

Prof Robert John Aumann, an economist and member of the US National Academy of Sciences, won the Nobel Prize for his theory of repeated games, which enhances the public’s understanding of the prerequisites for cooperation. A giant in the realms of mathematics and economics, Prof Aumann’s contributions to game theory and commitment to rational analysis have reshaped multiple academic fields. For example, his innovative work on repeated games enriched the understanding of strategic interactions over time, his research on the Shapley value has offered vital insights into the distribution of payoffs in cooperative games, and his theory of markets with a continuum of traders has radically transformed our understanding of market dynamics. Today, game theory is not only a paradigm in economics but also a cornerstone for artificial intelligence and distributed economy sciences like blockchain.

Prof Chen Songxi

Prof Chen Songxi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) since 2021. He was appointed by the Ministry of Education as the lead expert for the “101 Project” in Statistics in 2024. Prof Chen’s research interests focus on ultra-high dimensional big data statistical analysis, environmental statistics, nonparametric statistical methods, and related fields. He has laid the theoretical foundation for ultra-high dimensional statistical inference and empirical likelihood methods. This led to him being awarded the first prize of the Natural Science Award by the Ministry of Education of China in 2017. Prof Chen has promoted Chinese statistics to the international forefront and led statistics to become the cornerstone of data science. As a highly productive scientist, Prof Chen has published more than 130 journal papers with over 5,000 SCI-indexed citations.

Prof William H. Nienhauser, Jr

William H. Nienhauser, Jr. is a world-renowned scholar of Chinese culture and an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. With over sixty years of academic dedication, he has built a bridge between Chinese and Western cultures, illuminating the world with the brilliance of Shiji (The Records of the Grand Historian), and received the Special Book Award of China in 2020. In 1979, he founded the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Review, which has gathered global scholarship on Chinese literature for over forty years. His multi-volume translations, including The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (1988) and the ongoing The Grand Scribe’s Records, have profoundly shaped the fields of Chinese literature and history. A tireless and committed scholar, he continues to work on translating The Grand Scribe’s Records to this day.

Ms Pan Jiangxue

Ms Pan Jiangxue, founder of the Adream Foundation, was recognised as a “National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation” in 2021. Established in 2008, the Adream Foundation has supported over 6,200 Dream Centers with Whole Person Education-based courses, serving 7.1 million beneficiaries across 31 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities). Ms Pan’s contributions have won her multiple honours, including the March 8th Red-Banner Holders Award and the Philanthropic Awards from CCTV. Over the years, the Shanghai Adream Foundation and BNBU have jointly carried out numerous charitable service projects. Through its sustained commitment, the Foundation has empowered 513 BNBU students with summer volunteer opportunities.

Dr Simon Suen

Dr Simon Suen is a distinguished entrepreneur and philanthropist. As the founder of the SML Group, established in 1985, Dr Suen has guided the company to become a world leader in innovative and sustainable labelling solutions. In 2011, he established the Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute and became its Honorary President. He currently serves as Founding Chairman of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole Fan Club and Honorary Chairman of the Jao Studies Foundation, playing a pivotal role in fostering appreciation and scholarship in sinology. Dr Suen’s entrepreneurial vision, philanthropic spirit, and commitment to Chinese cultural scholarship exemplify the values of leadership, cultural stewardship, and social responsibility.