BSc (Hons), PhD (HKU); CSci; CChem; FRSC; FCCS; SBS; BBS; JP; Academician, The Chinese Academy of Sciences; International Member (formerly Foreign Associate), US National Academy of Sciences; Foreign Member, Academia Europaea; Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries; Founding Member, The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences
BSc (Hons), PhD (HKU); CSci; CChem; FRSC; FCCS; SBS; BBS; JP; Academician, The Chinese Academy of Sciences; International Member (formerly Foreign Associate), US National Academy of Sciences; Foreign Member, Academia Europaea; Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries; Founding Member, The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences
Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy
Chair Professor of Chemistry
Prof. Vivian W.W. Yam obtained both her BSc with First Class Honours and PhD from The University of Hong Kong. After two years on the faculty at the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong (now City University of Hong Kong), she moved to The University of Hong Kong in 1990, rising through the academic ranks of Senior Lecturer (1995), Professor (1997) and Chair Professor (1999). She was Head of Chemistry for 6 years from 2000 to 2005, and became the Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy in 2010 at The University of Hong Kong. She was elected to Member of The Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2001 at the age of 38 as the youngest member of the Academy, International Member (formerly Foreign Associate) of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2012, Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries (TWAS) in 2006, and Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (2015). She was the Laureate of the 2011 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. Other selected awards include recipient of 2020 Porter Medal, 2022 American Chemical Society (ACS) Josef Michl Award in Photochemistry, 2005-06 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Centenary Medal, 2015 RSC Ludwig Mond Award, 2005 State Natural Science Award, 2023 Inter-American Photochemical Society (I-APS) Presidential Award, 2022-23 Bailar Medal, 2016 Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (JSCC) International Award, 2006 JPA Eikohsha Award, 2014 Chinese Chemical Society – China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) Chemistry Contribution Prize, 2011 Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, 2000-01 Croucher Senior Research Fellow, 2013 Docteur Honoris Causa (Université de Rennes 1), 2012-13 Seaborg Lectureship (University of California, Berkeley), 2015-16 Lee Lectureship (University of Chicago), 2016 Lavoisier Lectureship (University of Paris Diderot 7), 2017 KAIST Chemistry Distinguished Lectureship Award, 2021 InnoStars Award, 2002 Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong and 2008 Hong Kong Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award, among others.
Prof. Yam served as the Chief Editor for Chemistry for a premier international journal Natural Sciences, published by Wiley (2020-23). She also served as the Associate Editor of the ACS journal, Inorganic Chemistry (2008-20). In addition, she serves or has served on the International Editorial Advisory Board of major SCI journals, such as Chemical Reviews, Accounts of Chemical Research, Chemical Society Reviews, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie, Chemical Science, Chem, ACS Central Science, ACS Materials Letters, ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Chemistry of Materials, Materials Horizons, Small Science, CCS Chemistry, and Editorial Board of Coordination Chemistry Reviews, SmartMat and many others. She is currently the President of the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) (2022-26) and the Vice President of the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) (2023-26). Prof. Yam’s major research interests are in the areas of inorganic and organometallic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, photophysics and photochemistry, and molecular functional materials for sensing, organic optoelectronics and energy research.
Website of Prof Vivian Yam at The University of Hong Kong
April 2024