Shih Choon Fong

Shih Choon Fong
施春风
1st President of the KAUST
In office
December 2008 – June 2013
Succeeded byJean-Lou Chameau
1st President of the National University of Singapore
In office
2000–2008
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byTan Chorh Chuan
Personal details
Born1945 (age 78–79)
Singapore, Straits Settlements
SpouseLi Cheng
Alma materHarvard University (MS, PhD)
Websitenus.edu.sg/about-nus-2/history/vice-chancellors/shih-choon-fong
AwardsMedal of Honor by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019)
Scientific career
FieldsApplied science
ThesisElastic-plastic analysis of combined mode crack problems (1973)
Doctoral advisorJohn W. Hutchinson

Shih Choon Fong (Chinese: 施春风; pinyin: Shī Chūnfēng; born 1945) is a Singaporean college administrator and fracture mechanics expert who served as the founding president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) between 2008 and 2013. Prior joining KAUST as its founding president, he was the president of the National University of Singapore (NUS) for nine years and has been widely acknowledged[1] for creating the university's research-intensive focus with an entrepreneurial dimension, as well as for NUS' elevated global reputation. Drawing from his experiences abroad, Shih institutionalised a performance- and market-based evaluation and compensation system for academics.

Shih was a key driver for the formation of the International Alliance of Research Universities, and led the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) for four years. He was the founding chair of the Governing Board of the APRU World Institute and served on national-level committees such as the Economic Review Committee, which crafted wide-ranging strategies for the re-making of Singapore.

  1. ^ "A decade of dedicated leadership and service at NUS". NUS Knowledge Enterprise. 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008.