On May 3, 2017, the Governing Board (GB) meeting was held at KIAA. In attendance were Jie Wang (Peking University), Robert E. Williams (Space Telescope Science Institute), Jiansheng Chen (Founding Director of KIAA), Anthony N. Lasenby (Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge), Simon D. M. White (Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics), Xincheng Xie (Peking University), Miyoung Chun (Kavli Foundation), Christopher Martin (Kavli Foundation), Luis C. Ho (KIAA, Peking University), and Xuebing Wu (KIAA, Peking University).
Jie Wang, Vice President of PKU and chair of the GB, gave opening remarks to explain the goals and the procedure of the GB meeting. Robert E. Williams, co-chair of the GB, gave a quick review of last year’s GB report. Miyoung Chun, Executive Vice President of Science Programs of Kavli Foundation, expressed the strong support from the Kavli Foundation, and her appreciation for the achievements KIAA has made during the last year.
Luis C. Ho, Director of KIAA, gave comprehensive reports on the recent progress of KIAA, including the current status of administration staff, faculty, postdoc programs, students, academic activities, scientific projects, and also on future plans and new initiatives. Simon White, chair of the KIAA Science Advisory Committee, gave a summary of the activities of the SAC, introducing his impression on the progress KIAA has made in various aspects, as well as suggestions to resolve outstanding challenges. Xuebing Wu, Associate Director of KIAA, gave a financial report of the institute, which mainly focused on the financial restrictions recently placed by the PKU Education Foundation (PKUEF). Yong Zhang, Vice General Secretary of the PKUEF, was invited to attend part of the meeting; he explained the financial regulations of PKUEF and discussed possible solutions to the restrictions.
The GB members had an extensive discussion on the reports. They spoke highly of the progress KIAA has made, and discussed practical measures to tackle the challenges, especially to those concerning financial issues.
