Fu Huimin, who was born in Zhejiang province in 1956, was graduated from Beihang University in 1982, and received his PhD in 1986. Currently, he is director ofthe Small Sample Technology Research Center, and also a professor and doctorate supervisor in Beihang University. In 1999, Prof. Fu was elected as a distinguished professor of the Cheung Kong Scholars Program.

In the past more than 30 years, Prof. Fu has devoted to researches in fields of aircraft reliability engineering, small sample statistics, life prediction and control,signal analysis and processing. Remarkable achievements have been accomplished.He has published more than 180 papers, and obtained more than 20 science andtechnology rewards. He discovered the fatigue strength distribution function,for which he was awarded the National Natural Science Award. Moreover, three of his other scientific achievements, “The Method of Reliability Life Prediction for Aircraft Structures,” “Aeronautical Material Database,” and “Research on Fatigue and Fracture of Aerospace Polymers,” have won National Science and Technology Progress Awards from the Aerospace Industry Ministry. In statistics,Professor Fu established a method for interval estimation and a hypothesis test for percentiles and percentages of continuous distributions, discovered the rank distributions of incomplete data, and developed the 2-D tolerance factor method, which can raise the precision of forecasts and controls. He founded the statistics of percentiles and percentages, and contributed heavily to the development of mathematical statistics and reliability. In fatigue and fracture analysis, he developed the concept and practice for controlling structural lifetime through nondestructive inspection. According to actual inspection requirements,the crack growth duration and inspection intervals of structures can be effectively controlled by this method. This has moved traditional lifetime predictions toward lifetime control, and the research on structural lives from passive to active.