Biography

Lei Ni is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California, Irvine in 1998, following his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Fudan University (1993).

His research interests lie primarily in Geometric Analysis, Riemannian Geometry, Complex Geometry, and Partial Differential Equations. He served as the Chair of the Mathematics Department at UCSD from 2016 to 2020.

In recognition of his contributions to geometric analysis and mentorship, he was elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (Class of 2018) and was a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in 2004.

Honors and Awards

  • Plenary Invited Speaker, ICCM 2024, Shanghai, 2025.
  • AMS Fellow, Class 2018.
  • Plenary Invited Speaker of AMS (2011).
  • Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2004-2006).
  • Best Mentor, Eleanor Roosevelt College (2007).
  • Ranked the 2nd by Mathscinet Citations (mathcitations.github.io) among all people who received their Ph.D degrees in 1998 in the broad area of Geometry/Topology/Dynamics.

Professional Experience

Distinguished / Above Scale Professor, Emeritus

2025 – Present

University of California, San Diego

Professor

2009 – 2024/25

University of California, San Diego

Chair of Mathematics

2016 – 2020

University of California, San Diego

Visiting Professor

2008

Paris VI University

Member

2006

Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI)

Associate Professor

2005 – 2009

University of California, San Diego

Assistant Professor

2002 – 2005

University of California, San Diego

Szegö Assistant Professor

2000 – 2002

Stanford University

Research Assistant Professor

1998 – 2000

Purdue University