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Eurasia
07/09/2025 17:48
Liu Jun, one of the world’s foremost statisticians and a long-time Harvard professor, has returned to China full-time, accepting a prestigious chair at Tsinghua University.
The appointment marks the homecoming of a scholar whose career spans data science, biostatistics, and artificial intelligence. Born and raised on the Tsinghua campus, Liu studied mathematics at Peking University before moving to the United States in 1985. He transferred from Rutgers University to the University of Chicago in 1988, studying under statistician Wing Hung Wong. Since 2000, he has been a tenured professor in Harvard’s Department of Statistics. In 2025, he was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.
Tsinghua University held an appointment ceremony on August 30, naming him a “Tsinghua University Xinghua Distinguished Chair Professor.” According to Tsinghua News Network, Liu will be central to promoting the rapid development of statistics and data science in the era of artificial intelligence.
Tsinghua President Li Luming said he expects Liu to seize the opportunities of the AI-driven fourth industrial revolution and push the construction of disciplines such as statistics and data science to new heights.
Liu explained that his decision to return was motivated by a love of education and research, and a sense of duty to his country. “Statistics and data science, as key foundations for the development of artificial intelligence, have broad prospects,” he said. He pledged to support the growth of the Department of Statistics and Data Science and help it become a global hub integrating industry, academia, and research.
Liu has long maintained ties with Tsinghua. Since 2005 he has served as a visiting professor, leading the creation of the Center for Statistical Science in 2015 and supporting the establishment of the Department of Statistics and Data Science in 2024.
