Tim's connection with HKUST began when he was a high school student making plans for further studies. He was impressed by a mathematics information session held at HKUST and was hooked on mathematics from that day on. After furthering his research at UCLA, Tim returned to his alma mater as a faculty member of the Department of Mathematics where he is now a Professor. 

During his graduate studies at HKUST, Tim received the Din-Yu Hsieh Teaching Award for Best Teaching Assistant. The award demonstrated that he was both an outstanding student and an outstanding teacher. While mathematics is usually associated with abstract concepts, Tim could show the math behind the concrete, practical world around us. He later went on to win the 2013 School of Science's School Teaching Award and the 2011 VERTEX, House II Students' Association's Best Ten Lecturers Election at HKUST.

On returning to HKUST, Tim made it his goal to inspire students to take on new challenges and step outside of their comfort zone. Taking a page from his own experience at HKUST, Tim encourages his students to speak up in class and talk about their discoveries and experiences in the learning process. He believes in bright minds reflecting off each other, and that the approach of inviting students to speak up empowers the students, gives them confidence, and helps them realize their potential.