Professor MAI Yiu Wing is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and University Chair at the University of Sydney, and an internationally recognised pioneer in fracture mechanics and materials science.
Professor Mai received from HKU his BSc(Eng) degree and the Williamson Prize in 1969 and his PhD in 1972. After several years of postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Imperial College in London, he began an academic career at the University of Sydney in 1976, was promoted to a Personal Chair in 1987 and appointed a University Chair in 2004. He was an inaugural Australian Federation Fellow from 2002 to 2007. Professor Mai has maintained close ties to Hong Kong and its institutes of higher learning in the past two decades.
Professor Mai has done seminal work on fracture mechanics, the characterisation of advanced materials, and the fundamental understanding of composite interfaces and crack-wake bridging, which has revolutionised the microstructure design of tough fiber composites and ceramics. His research has had a significant, lasting impact in these areas and has contributed to the development of asbestos-free cements, testing protocols and improved manufacturing processes with global impact.
Professor Mai was elected to the Fellowships of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1992, the Australian Academy of Science in 2001, the Royal Society in 2008, and the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010.
In recognition of his contributions to scientific research and society, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.
