Emphasizing the importance of math

Having established an international reputation in the field of mathematics, US citizen Shing-Tung Yau is now hoping other young Chinese will follow in his footsteps.

"I sincerely hope that, one day, China's achievements in mathematics can be compared to those of the United States and European countries," said Yau, who is a professor at Harvard University.

Born in Shantou, Guangdong province, in 1949, Yau was raised in Hong Kong after his family moved there when he was an infant. He studied mathematics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1966 to 1969 and has been teaching at universities in the US since obtaining a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971.