World-leading Vietnamese mathematician Ngo Bao Chau has said his decision to leave the US was not just the result of the worsening academic environment there, but also a vision to transform Asia into the next global powerhouse for maths and science.

“I want Asia to be the next America or the next Europe [as] a place where science and mathematics strive,” he said in an interview on the university’s campus.

“I believe that Asia and China … have a unique opportunity to grow to be one of the [top] places in science and mathematics. I am really eager to participate in that.”

Ngo, who has been teaching at the University of Chicago since 2010, said “many things that I do not like” were happening in the United States.

“American universities have been great institutions where knowledge, discovery and scholarship are cherished. It has been like that for 400 years,” he said.