The Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) of the University of Macau (UM) recently presented the 2024/2025 FSS Distinguished Scholar Award to recognize and reward faculty members for their outstanding performance in research. The awardees are:
- Department of Economics / Prof. Yubo Tao
- Department of Government & Public Administration / Prof. Bo Wen
- Department of Communication / Prof. Todd Lyle Sandel
Department of Economics / Prof. Yubo Tao
Prof. Yubo Tao received his PhD in Economics from Singapore Management University. Since joining the University of Macau in 2022, he has established an impressive and impactful research profile characterized by significant contributions to econometric theory and financial econometrics. His research expertise spans empirical asset pricing, nonstationary time-series analysis, and network dynamics.
Prof. Yubo Tao’s scholarly works have been published in prestigious journals, demonstrating exceptional analytical rigor and the ability to address complex economic and financial phenomena, including the top management journal Management Science, as well as leading econometric journals such as Journal of Econometrics and Journal of Business & Economic Statistics.
Department of Government & Public Administration / Prof. Bo Wen
Prof. Bo Wen received his PhD in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California. Since joining the University of Macau in 2023, he has been deeply engaged in academic research, with his work featured in leading journals such as Public Administration Review and Public Management Review. Prof. Wen’s scholarship stands out for its exceptional combination of research productivity, interdisciplinary innovation, and meaningful social impact—spanning fields from public management and economics to human-computer interaction and regulatory governance. Based on Prof. Wen’s groundbreaking contributions, he was honoured with the 2023 William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award, marking the first time this honor was bestowed upon an Asian scholar. Established by the American Society for Public Administration, this prestigious award recognizes the best academic paper published each year in Public Administration Review, a leading journal in the field of public administration.
Department of Communication / Prof. Todd Lyle Sandel
Prof. Todd Sandel joined the University of Macau in 2012 and has since developed an outstanding track record of research publications in the area of International and Intercultural Communication, including one of the top journals in Communication Social Media + Society. He also received two and one top paper awards at the 2024 International Communication Association Annual Conference and the National Communication Association Annual Convention, respectively. Prof. Sandel is recognized as an internationally renowned scholar in the field.
Based on Prof. Sandel’s profound academic achievements, he has been invited to serve as Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor of several international journals, including the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International & Intercultural Communication, the Associate Editor of the Communication Monographs. He was also recently invited onto the Editorial Board of the Journal of Communication, the top journal in the field.
Prof. Richard Weixing Hu, Dean of FSS, thanked and encouraged faculty members to continue to pursue excellent and outstanding research outputs and contribute to enhance the Faculty’s level in the international academic community.
This award originates from the University’s “Incentive Scheme for Outstanding Academic Staff in Research”, which aims to reward top academic staff at the rank of Assistant Professor to Professor in each academic unit annually based on their research performance.
