Professor Jean Salençon, an HKIAS Senior Fellow and a leading figure in the field of Continuum Mechanics, visited City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) from 20 February to 16 March 2026. His visit featured a series of enlightening sessions and lectures aimed at promoting academic exchange and collaboration.
The visit commenced on February 24 with a warm welcome by Professor Jian Lu, Dean of the College of Engineering, along with academics from CityUHK, CentraleSupélec, and Chulalongkorn Univeristy. Throughout his stay, Professor Salençon engaged in in-depth discussions with notable scholars at CityUHK, including Professor Philippe Ciarlet, Senior Fellow of HKIAS, Professor Jianguo Dai, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Professor Lu Wang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Professor Lishuai Jin, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. These discussions were strategically designed to explore potential collaborative avenues, strengthen institutional relationship and foster joint research initiatives across various fields of Engineering.
A key highlight of the visit was the HKIAS Distinguished Lecture delivered by Professor Salençon, titled “A Theoretical Background For Ultimate Limit State Design”. The lecture was inaugurated by Professor Jian Lu. The main address of the lecture was upon the fundamental background of Ultimate Limit State Design (ULSD) and its evolution since the 1990s. It introduced the auxiliary structure concept, linking its potential stability to the safety of the original design. He illustrated these principles with a classical soil mechanics problem, emphasizing the importance of reliable resistance criteria and foundational assumptions in ULSD. Sponsored by the Kwang Hua Educational Foundation, the lecture attracted a diverse audience from multiple departments at CityUHK and other academic institutions across Hong Kong. For more information about the lecture, please click here.
Professor Jean Salençon has made significant contributions to both the theory and practical applications of continuum mechanics, with over 200 publications, 20 books, textbooks and 15 multimedia software to his name. Also, he has held numerous leadership roles, including President of the French Academy of Sciences in 2009 and 2010 and presided over the Institut de France in 2009. His exceptional contributions to the field have earned him memberships in numerous prestigious institutions, including the Academia Europaea, the Istituto Lombardo (Milan), the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (Portugal), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Académie des sciences et lettres de Montpellier (France).
The Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study at City University of Hong Kong expresses its profound appreciation to Professor Jean Salençon for the invaluable intellectual engagement and knowledge exchange fostered during his visit.
