HomeDate: 2026-06-16
Academician Ching-Shui Cheng passed away in the United States on June 7, 2026, at the age of 76.
Academician Cheng was an internationally renowned theoretical statistician specializing in mathematical statistics and experimental design. He devoted much of his career to the development of efficient experimental designs and related construction and combinatorial problems. His research focused on factorial designs, addressing how representative subsets may be selected from numerous factor combinations in large-scale experiments for observation and analysis. He also made fundamental contributions to the study of asymmetric optimal designs, exerting a profound influence on the development of modern statistical science.
Dr. Cheng received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University in 1977 and subsequently joined the faculty of the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He was deeply involved in the academic administration of Academia Sinica. In addition to serving for many years as a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Institute of Statistical Science, he served two terms as Director of the Institute (2003–2005 and 2013–2016). During his tenure, he helped establish the Degree Program in Data Science jointly offered by Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University. Dr. Cheng also served as Editor-in-Chief of Statistica Sinica and President of the Chinese Institute of Probability and Statistics, making significant contributions to the development of statistical science and the cultivation of talent in Taiwan.
Dr. Cheng was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and was an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. He was elected an Academician of Academia Sinica in 2016.
