Recently, the US National Academy of Sciences elected 120 new members and 30 international associates. Chen Gang, an alumnus of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Class of 1984) and professor at MIT, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Prior to his election, he was already a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Chen Gang, born in Nanzhang, Hubei Province, in 1964, is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. In 1980, Chen Gang enrolled in the Power Engineering Department (now School of Energy and Power Engineering) of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In 1987, he obtained a master’s degree in Power Engineering from the university and stayed on as a lecturer after graduation. In 1993, after earning a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, he became an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. In 2001, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT as an associate professor and became a full professor in 2004. In 2009, his theory broke the “Planck's Blackbody radiation law” for the first time. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2010 and the American Physical Society in 2012. In 2013, he became Director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2023.

Chen Gang’s research focuses on heat transfer, nanotechnology and energy conversion. His work mainly involves experimental, theoretical and numerical studies of energy conversion and transport mechanisms at the micrometer and nanometer scale.

During HUST’s 70th anniversary celebration in October 2022, he delivered a video speech to recall his wonderful experience studying and living in HUST, and conveyed birthday wishes to his alma mater.

Written by: Wang Jingyi

Edited by: Luo Xiaofan, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng