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The Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has approved the appointment of Prof. Xu Yangsheng as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for two years from 1 March 2011. Professor Xu joins Provost Prof. Benjamin W. Wah and Pro-Vice-Chancellors Prof. Kenneth Young, Prof. Jack Chun-yiu Cheng, Prof. Pak-chung Ching, Prof. Michael King-man Hui and Prof. Henry Nai-ching Wong in assisting the Vice-Chancellor in the management of the University.

Professor Xu is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and a Professor of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering at CUHK. He served as Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor (Mainland Affairs) from July 2006 to July 2008 and since August 2008 had been Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibilities for the University’s activities and development in Shenzhen and in mainland China as a whole.

Professor Xu will carry overall responsibilities for Shenzhen development projects and also assist the Vice-Chancellor in other mainland affairs. Professor Xu said, 'CUHK is an institution with a vision that stirs my passion. It is always my pleasure to serve the University. I am especially interested in the University’s developments on the mainland in the past few years and the immense potentialities in future. Although the mainland projects are always full of challenges, they are very meaningful for Hong Kong, for the University and for the mainland in the long run. Over the years we have made important progress, including the establishment of the CAS–CUHK Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Integration Technology, the CUHK–BGI Genome Centre, and the CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, and we are now deliberating the establishment of a Shenzhen campus. I fully appreciate that our plans in Shenzhen carry heavy responsibilities, but at the same time they are rewarding in themselves. I pledge to do my best in assisting the Vice-Chancellor and working with my colleagues in carrying these plans forward.’

A world-renowned expert on robotics, Professor Xu obtained his BS and MS from Zhejiang University in 1982 and 1984 respectively, and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. He was a faculty member at the Robotics Institute, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, from 1989 to 1997. He joined CUHK in 1997 and was chairman of the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering until 2004.

Professor Xu has been working on the problems and systems related to space robotics and intelligent control. A staunch contributor to the advancement of intelligent control systems in China’s space technology, he has initiated and participated in the research and development of relevant systems. Professor Xu was elected an academician of the Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2001, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2003, and a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics as well as a member of the CAE in 2007.