Bulletin Number One 1983

Professor Hua Luogeng Mathematics is the Queen of Science, whereas number theory is in turn the Queen of Mathematics. Number theory is therefore commonly regarded as transcending all other branches of knowledge, fit for being adored at great heights but not suitable for earthly applications. However, Professor Hua Luogeng is just one of those rare mathematicians who not only can scale the heights of this field but can also relate his findings to practical problems. And the monograph The application of Number Theory to Numerical Analysis published by him and Professor Wang Yuan four years ago was just a rare masterpiece along this direction. A year later, at the international conference on number theory held in Durham, England, his exposition on the application of the Fibonacci sequence in number theory to numerical integration also amazed his colleagues. Professor Hua is indeed a master whose creativity is not bound by existing horizons, who yet has his feet firmly on the ground and is always ready to roll up his sleeves. Professor Hua is renowned for number theory, but his mastery of the entire field of mathematics is truly phenomenal. His first monograph Additive Prime Number Theory was published thirty-five years ago, and immediately attracted considerable attention. Since then he has authored numerous papers and monographs in many areas, including number theory, classical groups, harmonic functions, complex functions of several variables, partial differential equation sets and numerical integration, and many became classics in the field. It was therefore no accident that he has earned a position of distinction in international mathematics; was appointed to the Chair of Mathematics at Tsinghua University, Southwest Associated University and Beijing University of China, University of Illinois in U.S.A. and Birmingham University of England, and also the Vice-Presidency of the University of Science and Technology of China; is currently Director of the Institute of Mathematics as well as the Institute of Applied Mathematics of Academia Sinica, and the President of the Chinese Society of Mathematics. Recently, he was also elected as Overseas Member of the U.S. Academy of Sciences. Professor Hua has been a tireless research worker all his life, and has continued his academic pursuits through times of turmoil. Recently, he in his seventies still published an article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society to discuss the possibility of simplifying the axioms of special relativity by making use of the four-dimensional unit sphere. A prolific scholar of the highest standard, Professor Hua is also a zealous educator and popularizer of mathematical methods for practical applications. During the past two decades he has devoted himself to educating the public in operations research, global programming and similar fields of applied mathematics. To this end, he has crisscrossed the country, visiting upwards of hundreds of schools, communes, factories, mines and making innumerable contributions towards the education of young talents, the solution of practical problems, cutting waste and improving productivity for the nation. China is a great nation with a long history, but its natural resources need further planning for development, and its manpower yet requires more efficient utilization, for both of which Professor Hua has devoted an immense amount of effort, which would surely leave its indelible mark on the modernization of China. Being from a destitute family, Professor Hua had a hard early boyhood, which did not allow him even to finish secondary education. It was. therefore with glee that he announced the three great events which happened to him when he visited the University of Nantes in France in 1979: he received an honorary degree, gave a speech in Putonghua outside of China, and enjoyed his very first birthday party given by colleagues in mathematics. Long ago when I was still an undergraduate in the United States I did have the good fortune of making the acquaintance of Professor Hua, then a visiting scholar at the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton. At that time, just beginning to be known, and at the height of youthful energy, he was keeping company with some of the best-known scholars in the world such as Albert Einstein, and felt totally at home with them. It is indeed amazing I now have the opportunity of standing here today, thirty-five years afterwards, to extol the great contributions made by Professor Hua towards mathematics and towards China. This surely would also be an unforgettable event in my life. Although it is with much regret that Professor Hua cannot be here today in person because of illness, we may be relieved somewhat in seeing his son, Dr. Hua Jim Dong, in our midst who has in addition brought the good news that Professor Hua is now rapidly recovering. Mr. Chancellor, may I now request your Excellency to award Professor Hua Luogeng the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. NEWS 3