Professor Johnny Chan obtained his bachelor and master degrees in physics from the University of Hong Kong and his Ph.D. in atmospheric science from Colorado State University in the US. He then joined the US Naval Postgraduate School, first as a US National Research Council Post-doctoral Research Associate, and then as an Adjunct Research Professor. Afterwards, he returned to Hong Kong.

Professor Chan is currently Chair Professor of Atmospheric Science and Dean of the School of Energy and Environment, as well as the Director of the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre, both of City University of Hong Kong.

Professor Chan is internationally renowned in the research areas of typhoons and monsoons, and has published over 160 SCI journal articles. Recently, he has been working on the problem of global warming and typhoon activity relationships, as well as on tropical cyclone and monsoon climate. He is currently Chair of the Tropical Cyclone Panel of the Tropical Meteorology Organization Tropical Research Working Group. He is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Energy Institute, a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and a recipient of the International Journal of Climatology Award of the Royal Meteorological Society.