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Professor Kwan Mei-po, Head of Chung Chi College, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Geography and Resource Management, and Director of the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has been elected as a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries, in recognition of her outstanding academic achievements and contributions to promoting science in the developing world. Among the new Fellows this year, she is the only one from Hong Kong.

Professor Kwan applies cutting-edge geographic information science and remote sensing methodologies to address pressing health, transport, environmental and social challenges in urban settings. Her pioneering work has led to the identification of two major conceptual breakthroughs – the Uncertain Geographic Context Problem (UGCoP) and the Neighbourhood Effect Averaging Problem (NEAP) – which challenge traditional residence-based approaches to neighbourhood effect research and have driven a paradigm shift toward mobility-based environmental exposure assessment. Professor Kwan is also a trailblazer in the use of real-time GPS tracking and mobile sensing technologies to collect high-resolution, individual-level data, significantly reducing exposure measurement errors associated with the UGCoP and the NEAP. Her work has inspired much new mobility-based research on smart cities, sustainable development, and environmental health. Her prolific academic output includes more than 570 publications, encompassing journal articles, books and book chapters.

Professor Kwan has received numerous prestigious honours and awards. She was ranked first in China in the field of geography in the 2023 Global Scholar Database’s Lifetime Academic Impact List, and placed fifth globally in 2024 and 2025, according to Stanford University’s list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists. Her accolades include the James R. Anderson Medal of Honor in Applied Geography, Distinguished Scholarship Honours, the Wilbanks Prize for Transformational Research in Geography and the Stanley Brunn Award for Creativity in Geography, all conferred by the American Association of Geographers. Professor Kwan has also been elected as a Guggenheim Fellow , a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, and a fellow of several esteemed academic societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Association of Geographers (AAG), the Royal Geographical Society (UK) and the Geographical Society of China.

Professor Kwan said: “I am truly honoured to be elected as a Fellow of TWAS and delighted that this honour recognises my contributions to the advancement of scientific research in China. I sincerely thank my collaborators, research team members and CUHK for their unwavering support. I look forward to contributing more to advancing research on geographic information science, environmental health, transport and urban issues, and sustainable development in China.”