Dr. Liao Shijun is a distinguished professor and internationally recognized expert in applied mathematics and fluid mechanics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Born in Wuhan, China on September 15, 1963, he has established himself as a leading authority in nonlinear dynamics and analytical approximation methods over his distinguished career. Currently holding a dual appointment in the School of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, he also serves as a distinguished professor at the State Key Lab of Ocean Engineering. His academic journey began as an undergraduate at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where he developed a profound interest in the elegant principles underlying complex physical phenomena. Dr. Liao has built a remarkable career spanning more than three decades, during which he has made seminal contributions to the theoretical foundations of nonlinear analysis.
Dr. Liao is most renowned for pioneering the homotopy analysis method (HAM), a powerful analytical technique for solving nonlinear differential equations that has transformed approaches to complex problems in fluid mechanics and beyond. His groundbreaking 2003 monograph "Beyond Perturbation: Introduction to the Homotopy Analysis Method" established the theoretical framework for this innovative methodology, which has since been cited extensively and become a standard tool in the field. With over 23,400 citations according to Google Scholar, his work has demonstrated exceptional impact across multiple disciplines including fluid dynamics, wave theory, and nonlinear systems analysis. The homotopy analysis method provides a systematic way to obtain convergent series solutions for strongly nonlinear problems where traditional perturbation methods fail, addressing a fundamental challenge that had limited progress in many areas of applied mathematics. His subsequent 2012 publication "Homotopy Analysis Method in Nonlinear Differential Equations" further expanded the theoretical foundations and practical applications of his methodology.
Beyond his methodological contributions, Dr. Liao has significantly influenced the broader scientific community through his editorial leadership, having recently joined the Journal of Fluid Mechanics as an Associate Editor starting in 2024. His research group at Shanghai Jiao Tong University continues to advance the frontiers of nonlinear analysis, with recent work exploring the influence of numerical noises on turbulence and developing optimal approaches for strongly nonlinear differential equations. Dr. Liao has mentored numerous graduate students and researchers who have gone on to make their own contributions to applied mathematics and fluid mechanics globally. As an active researcher with ongoing publications in top journals including Physics of Fluids, he continues to refine and extend the homotopy analysis method while exploring new applications in chaotic systems and wave dynamics. His work remains highly influential, with the homotopy analysis method increasingly finding applications in emerging areas where nonlinear phenomena present significant analytical challenges.
