Committees

SHI Yunli is Chair Professor at the Department of the History of Science and Scientific Archaeology, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and Co-Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. His major research interests include the transmission and reception of Islamic and European astronomy in China and East Asia, the astronomical instrumentation and observation in pre-modern China, as well as the interaction between astronomy and Confucianism in the Song to Qing dynasties.

SHA Wutian, distinguished Professor of the Changjiang Scholars of the Ministry of Education, young and middleaged experts with outstanding contributions to the National Ten Million Talents Project, experts with special grants of The State Council, Professor of History and Culture College of Shaanxi Normal University, curator of library, mainly engaged in Dunhuang Grottoes archaeology and art, Silk Road cultural exchange image research.

Bill M. Mak graduated with a B.A.(Hons.) in linguistics at McGill University, majoring in Sanskrit and Asian languages. He received his Master's Degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Hong Kong and Ph.D. from the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University. He was Associate Professor at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University and has served as research fellow and visiting scholar at various institutions in China, Japan, Germany, U.K., U.S., and Thailand. Mak is currently 4 Fellow of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, University of Hong Kong, and Research Associate at the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge, U.K. His research interests are primarily Sanskrit literature and history of science in premodern Asia.

LIN Han is the Deputy Director of Quanzhou Maritime Museum, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Sea Traffic History Research, Secretary General of the China Society for Maritime History Studies. He is deeply involved in the World Heritage nomination work in Quanzhou, and has participated in the completion of the outline of the General Exhibition Hall of Quanzhou World Heritage, the World Exhibition Hall of Chinese Boats, the Exhibition Centre of Quanzhou Qingjing Temple, and the Exhibition Hall of Quanzhou Nanwai Zongzhengsi Ruins

CHEN Fahu is a Professor of Physical Geography from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ITPCAS). He is a CAS Academician and fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). He is the Chair of ATES and the president of The Geographical Society of China. His scientific work focuses on Quaternary environmental changes (especial during Holocene), environmental archeology, loess records, desert evolution and paleolimnology. He has published more than 710 papers in peer-reviewed journals of both English and Chinese language with more than 440 papers published in SCI journals.

GE Chengyong is a Professor at China Academy of Cultural Heritage. He is mainly engaged in the research on the Chinese history, religious artifacts along the Silk Road, art-archaeology and art history in Asia, ancient architecture, etc.

C.F. Lee is Director of HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE) and Chair Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, HKU. He has published over 270 journal papers and 16 books, and has served as technical advisor to the World Bank, the United Nations Development Plan, the Asian Development Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Canadian International Development Agency over the years.

MEI Jianjun is an archaeo-metallurgist, specializing in the origins and role of metallurgy in Early China, and cultural interactions between China and the West. His current research focuses on non-ferrous metallurgy in ancient China as well as the history of technological exchange and interactions between the East and the West. He is also interested in the study of Dr. Joseph Needham’s intellectual heritage based on archival materials in the collections of the Needham Research Institute.

RONG Xinjiang is a Professor and the Chairperson of Academic Committee of Department of History, and Chairperson of Center for Research on Ancient Chinese History, Peking University. His research mainly focuses on history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges, history of central Asia, history of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and studies of Dunhuang and Turpan documents. He now serves as Cheung Kong Scholars Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education, Vice Chairperson of the Tang Dynasty Institute of China, and the Dunhuang and Turpan Institute of China.

Nicholas Sims-Williams specializes in the Eastern Middle Iranian languages, taking an equal interest in the languages themselves and in their Central Asian setting with its stimulating mixture of languages and cultures. He has been at SOAS University of London since 1976, becoming Research Professor in 2004 and Emeritus in 2015.