The Szőkefalvi-Nagy Béla Medal for 2025 was presented at the Bolyai Institute of the University of Szeged. This year’s recipient, Hong Kong-born American mathematician Chi-Kwong Li, is a professor at The College of William & Mary and is internationally recognized as one of the leading figures in linear algebra. Following the award ceremony, Professor Li delivered a lecture addressing the Smith–Ward problem in the context of matrix ranges and dilations. In the coming years, he is expected to return regularly to SZTE’s Bolyai Institute as a Fulbright Scholar, contributing to both research and teaching.
At the most recent Szőkefalvi-Nagy Béla Medal award ceremony, Prof. Dr. Ferenc Fodor, Head of the Bolyai Institute at the University of Szeged, welcomed this year’s recipient, American mathematician Chi-Kwong Li. The laudation was delivered by Prof. Dr. Lajos Molnár, Editor-in-Chief of the Szeged-based journal Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum. In his address, he highlighted Li’s outstanding scholarly achievements and his international impact in the field.
Awarded annually by the Council of the Bolyai Institute on the recommendation of the editorial board of Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum, the medal is closely tied to the journal’s distinguished legacy. Founded at the University of Szeged in 1922 by Alfréd Haar and Frigyes Riesz, the journal was later led for 35 years – from 1946 to 1989 – by Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy, professor of mathematics at the University.
Established in memory of Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy in 1999 by his daughter, Erzsébet Szőkefalvi-Nagy, the international award recognizes mathematicians whose recent contributions published in Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum have had a notable scholarly impact.
Recent recipients include Canadian-Iranian mathematician Javad Mashreghi, professor at Université Laval in Québec (2024); Albrecht Böttcher, Professor Emeritus at Technische Universität Chemnitz (2023); and Zsolt Páles, professor at the University of Debrecen (2022).
At this year’s annual ceremony, the founder of the award, Erzsébet Szőkefalvi-Nagy, who passed away in March 2025, could no longer be present. The Bolyai Institute paid respectful tribute to her memory.
“She was not only the founder and steward of the award but also ensured that it could continue to be conferred in the decades to come. The Bolyai Institute and the University of Szeged will continue to uphold this honorable responsibility.”
This year’s medalist, Chi-Kwong Li, has pursued a distinguished international academic career. Born in Hong Kong, he received his PhD from the University of Hong Kong in 1986. Over the decades, he has held academic appointments in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea. He is currently a professor at The College of William & Mary in Virginia and an affiliated member of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
In his laudation, Prof. Dr. Lajos Molnár noted that the Council of the Bolyai Institute awarded the medal to Li primarily in recognition of his contributions to linear algebra. Over the past five years, he has published four research papers in Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum, focusing on topics such as the numerical range, operator dilations, and unitarily invariant norms.
Prof. Dr. Lajos Molnár emphasized that Chi-Kwong Li is among the world’s leading mathematicians in linear algebra, adding that, beyond this field, he is widely respected for his work across several areas of functional analysis, particularly matrix analysis, combinatorial matrix theory, and operator theory. He further noted that Li has also achieved significant results in quantum information theory. He also pointed out that operator theory forms one of the core mathematical languages of quantum information science, building on a framework first developed by the Hungarian mathematician John von Neumann.
         |
| American mathematician Chi-Kwong Li receives the 2025 Szőkefalvi-Nagy Béla Medal. Photos: Dávid Miskolci |
After receiving the award, Chi-Kwong Li delivered a lecture on the Smith–Ward problem in the context of matrix ranges and dilations, touching on a wide range of related topics and presenting results previously published in Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum.
Following the lecture, it emerged from the discussion that Chi-Kwong Li has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Visiting Professor grant, under which he is expected to spend several months at the University of Szeged’s Bolyai Institute in the spring semesters of 2027 and 2028, pursuing research and contributing to teaching. As he remarked in a warm and collegial tone, he would be pleased to return and once again be part of the institute’s scholarly community.
Original Hungarian article by Sándor Panek
Feature photo: American mathematician Chi-Kwong Li (right) receives the Szőkefalvi-Nagy Béla Medal from Ferenc Fodor, Head of the Bolyai Institute at the University of Szeged. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
