Jeff Wu, Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics and professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, recently received an Honorary Professorship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for his research contributions in statistical theory, methods and quality engineering and for fostering collaborations and interactions between the statistical communities in the U.S. and China. Wu states "As China's economy is rapidly expanding, its science and technology will play a more prominent role in the world stage. I hope my connections with CAS will help contribute toward Georgia Tech's initiatives in building closer collaborations with ." Wu is the first statistician to have received this honor from CAS.

Wu is known for his innovative and high-impact work in modern Design of Experiments (DOE) which has helped western manufacturing industries greatly improve quality. Over the years, his research groups from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Waterloo in Canada, the University of Michigan, and Georgia Tech, have developed various methods to build a comprehensive system for running experiments, modeling data, and system optimization/robustness. This work has culminated in the publication of two books: Experiments: Planning, Analysis, and Parameter Design Optimization, (with Hamada) 2000, John Wiley; and A Modern Theory of Factorial Designs (with Mukerjee) 2006, Springer.

Established in 1955, the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASAD) is the highest advisory body of the State in science and technology. It is comprised of six divisions: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Medicine, Earth Sciences, Information Technical Science, and Technological Sciences. It offers advice on the programs, plans and major decisions of the State on S&T development, provides research reports on major S&T issues in China's economic construction and social development, presents suggestions on strategies and mid and long-term objectives of various disciplines, and gives evaluation and guidance to academic issues in major research fields and organizations.