Prof. Cang Hui is the Chair in Mathematical and Theoretical Biosciences under the South African government Research Chair Initiative (SARChI). This is a joint appointment between AIMS South Africa and Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Prior to this appointment, Professor Hui held a research position in the core team of the DST-NRF, Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology at SU. He is an Adjunct Professor, of the Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change at Lanzhou University (China). He is on the editorial boards of several journals in the biological sciences, and one in applied mathematics and computational sciences. He has published extensively in these areas and in 2011 received the NRF President’s Award as an excellent young researcher.

The research focus of this Chair is to develop novel methods in mathematics, statistics and theoretical physics for unlocking the processes and mechanisms behind real emergent patterns in biology. Its aim is to establish the multidisciplinary field of Mathematical and Theoretical Physical Biosciences as a distinct research strength in South Africa. This would strengthen the existing research activities in mathematical sciences and theoretical physics at SU and at AIMS South Africa, and stimulate interaction between them.