On April 30, Silver Professor of Mathematics at Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU and NYU Shanghai Affiliated Professor of Mathematics Fanghua Lin was elected as a 2025 member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to mathematical sciences.
Founded in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest and most prestigious academic institutions in the United States. It brings together the most distinguished scientists from the US and around the world, spanning disciplines including physical and mathematical sciences, biological sciences, engineering and applied sciences, biomedical sciences, behavioral and social sciences, applied biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences.
Election to the NAS is among the highest honors a scientist can receive, recognizing not only exceptional research achievements but also significant contributions to society. In 2025, 120 scientists worldwide were elected as members of the NAS, bringing the academy’s membership to 2,662 active members and 556 international members.
Upon receiving the award, Professor Lin expressed deep gratitude for the recognition: “I deeply appreciate the recognition from my colleagues, friends, and teachers,” he said. “As I approach the 40th anniversary of joining the Courant Institute at NYU, this recognition holds special meaning for me—it feels like a milestone in my life. I feel fortunate to have grown and worked in such a warm, inspiring and supportive academic home at NYU, Courant, and NYU Shanghai. I’m also deeply grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout my career journey.”
A leading scholar in the international mathematical research community, Professor Lin’s research spans partial differential equations and their applications, geometric measure theory, calculus of variations, and geometric analysis.
Professor Lin entered the Department of Mathematics at Zhejiang University in 1977 and earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 1985. He then joined the Courant Institute as a postdoctoral researcher and assistant professor. In 1988, at the age of 29, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago. He returned to the Courant Institute in1989 as a tenured professor and became one of its inaugural Silver Professors in 2002.
As one of the foundational figures of the mathematics discipline at NYU Shanghai, Professor Lin has contributed to the University’s development since its establishment in 2012. Previously, he served as associate provost and was the founding co-director of the NYU–ECNU Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU Shanghai. He played a key role in designing NYU Shanghai’s undergraduate mathematics curriculum, launched the Honors Mathematics program, and has taught foundational courses to undergraduates, nurturing a new generation of outstanding mathematical talent.
Prior to his recent election to the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Lin has received numerous international honors. He is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society, the Society of Applied and Industrial Mathematics and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1989, the Outstanding Young Researcher award from NSF-China in 1998, the Chang Jiang Chair Professorship from the Ministry of Education of China in 1999, the M. Bocher Prize of American Mathematical Society in 2002, and the Chern Prize in Mathematics at the International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians in 2004.