How the list of China-born leaders in global science is steadily growing

Geophysicist Zhigang Peng has been voted in as the next president-elect of the Seismological Society of America in Baltimore, making him the first Chinese-American to hold the position in the organisation’s 118-year history.

A long-time professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China, Peng was elected at last week’s annual meeting of the society and is set to assume the presidency in 2026.

His election reflects a slow but growing trend towards greater representation of China-born scientists in the leadership of US academic societies – roles in which they have long been under-represented despite their substantial contributions to research and education.

“There have been some improvements, but still limited,” Yi Rao, a neurobiologist at Peking University, said.

Peng is not alone in pushing boundaries. This July, virologist Shan-Lu Liu of Ohio State University will become the first Chinese-American to lead the American Society for Virology since its founding more than four decades ago.

“I hope to see more Chinese-American researchers take on leadership roles, expand their impact beyond their own science and better serve the broader community,” Liu said.

Here we take a closer look at those scientists of Chinese descent who have recently been elected to – or served as – presidents of academic societies in the US.