The School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS, formerly Department of Mathematics) in Xiamen University was established in 1923. Among the elder generations of distinguished alumni are three members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: CHEN Jingrun, KE Zhao, LIN Qun, and one member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering: CHEN Chun. The younger generation of distinguished mathematicians graduated from SMS are represented by WANG Youde, YIN Linsheng, SU Yucai and LI Jing, winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.
The SMS launched its PhD program in pure mathematics in 1998. In 2003, it became eligible to issue doctoral degrees in all mathematical disciplines. The Post-doctoral program was set up in the same year. In 2007, the division of pure and applied mathematics in the SMS was recognized by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as a key discipline. In 2008, the SMS was recognized as a National Research Center of Basic science and Training Center of Teaching Personnel. In 2010, it was included by the MOE into the Program of Top-notch Undergraduates. In the future, the SMS will focus on building a strong faculty, guided by the need to develop the key disciplines of mathematics. While further advancing the current strength in pure mathematics and computational mathematics, the SMS will enhance the division of statistics, in order to raise the strength as a whole. The aim of the SMS is to be one of the top mathematical centers in China and to increase its worldwide visibility. Located at the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, the SMS also aims to facilitate mathematical exchange and cooperation between Mainland China and Taiwan.
Excellence and Features
1) The Faculty. A faculty of 85, the Xiamen SMS possesses several who were recognized by or selected to the renowned National Talents Projects, including one MOE Master Teacher. Of the faculty members, one serves in the Discipline Appraisal Group of State Council, and two in the MOE Advisory Group for Education. The faculty also has seven Min Jiang (Provincial) or CHEN Jinrun (University) Distinguished Professors, and five in the MOE Program of Cross/New-Century Excellent Talents. In addition, fourteen were recognized as the “New Century Excellent Talents”, Distinguished Young Scholars, and “Leading Talents in Higher Education” of Fujian Province. During 2012-2015, the faculty published roughly a total of 560 articles in SCI journals. During 2011-2015, 63 faculty members (74%) were supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
2) Student education and training: Pure and Applied Mathematics in the SMS is recognized as a featured major by the MOE, and Information and Computational Mathematics is distinguished in Fujian Province. Since 1978, the SMS has trained 269 doctors, 269 masters and 3371 bachelors. In 2015 there were 122 graduates and 78% of them went on for a graduate study, with 55 going abroad and 41 choosing a domestic university. In the National Mathematical Modeling Contest for College Students in 2013, the XMU students received the only prize of the highest rank, namely the Higher Education Press Cup. The students from the SMS participated in the National Mathematics Contest for College Students and achieved remarkable success over the years (ranked 9th in 2011, 11th and 12th in 2013, 12th and 13th in 2014 respectively). An annual average of 40 articles are published by graduate students. Three doctors won respectively one of the Top 100 Excellent Doctoral Dissertations nationwide, the MOE prize of Talented PhD Student and Excellent Graduate Student.
3) Location Advantage:
Xiamen University and various universities in Taiwan have established collaborations at all levels. In particular, the SMS signed agreements on academic exchange and collaboration with six universities in Taiwan, and started the Cross-Strait Symposium on Computational Mathematics and the Cross-Strait Symposium on Algebra. These Symposiums are held regularly at alternative universities across the Taiwan Strait. In the past four years, 28 exchange students from SMA have spent at least one semester in Taiwan University, National TsingHua University and other universities.
Objectives of Student Cultivation
The SMS is eligible to offer various Master’s and PhD programs, as well as postdoctoral positions. It is among a small number (less than 20) of universities nationwide selected to receive support from the Ministry of Education for experimental training programs of exceptional undergraduates. Building a first-class School of Mathematical Sciences is an important part of Xiamen University’s overall goal in the coming years. We strive to equip our students with a solid academic foundation and to instill a deep sense of humanism, which is critical to their future development. Through a systematic training in mathematical theory and scientific research, the students will acquire abilities for a successful research career in mathematics and related areas. Besides future mathematicians, we also aim to cultivate multi-talented professionals who have solid ability to resolve practical problems and who can contribute to socio-economic development and play leading roles in scientific research, education, administration, and business. We will convey the scientific spirit of our distinguished alumni Professor CHEN Jingrun and help our students develop an international perspective and a strong sense of innovation.
Research Groups in the School of Mathematical Sciences Groups in Pure and Applied Mathematics:
l algebra, led by Professor TAN Shaobin and Professor LIN Yanan
l geometric analysis, led by Professor XIA Chao
l partial differential equations, led by Professor TAN Zhong and Professor ZHAO Junning
l functional analysis, led by Professor CHENG Lixin
l graph theory, led by Professor ZHANG Fuji
l several complex variables and complex geometry, led by Professor QIU Chunhui Groups in Computational Mathematics:
l Numerical Solutions of PDEs and Computational Fluid Mechanics, led by Professor XU Chuanju, Professor QIU Jianxian
l Numerical Algebra, led by Professor LU Linzhang, Professor BAI Zhengjian As research platform, we have “Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory on Mathematical Modeling & High Performance Scientific Computing”, and as an interdisciplinary educational platform, we establish a joint PhD students in computational sciences. Groups are also being formed in other directions of research. For example, the group of actuarial science led by the adjounct professor LIN Xiaodong, and the group of applied probability, control and optimization led by Professor LI Xiaohu.
Domestic and International Influence
According to the Discipline Rankings of International Top Universities issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the SMS in Xiamen University was among the leading 150 institutes in the world over the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. According to the QS rankings, the SMS was ranked before the 400th worldwide in 2015. According to USNEWS, the SMS was ranked 89th worldwide in 2015. In 2014, the SMS was ranked among the first 1% in ESI. The jointly published journal East Asian Journal on Applied Mathematics with Global Science Press in Hong Kong has been recognized as an SCIE journal since 2013. Many high level activities organized by the SMS have greatly increased its visibility.
