(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- Meitu Inc., a leading Chinese mobile appmaker for taking selfies, has appointed renowned physicist Zhang Shoucheng as independent non-executive director, in a move that could boost the firm's efforts to develop blockchain-related technologies.

The Xiamen-based firm did not confirm details behind the appointment of Zhang, who will also serve on the nominations and compensation committee, but did highlight his expertise in the blockchain field in a statement. Zhang served as a keynote speaker at Blockchain Connect Conference's China-US summit held in San Francisco last month.

The appointment coincides with Meitu's recent foray into the new sector. The company is exploring the development a blockchain-based facial recognition system to decentralize user authentication, it said in a white paper published last month. Meitu hasn't provided a specific timeline for blockchain-related products, but it expects to use the technology in the financial, medical and education sectors initially.

Professor Zhang is also a renowned angel investor, with key investee VMWare, already a leading cloud computing firm, with market value once hitting USD48 billion. In 2013, he founded Danhua Capital, which focuses on innovative startups originated at Stanford University and Silicon Valley in fields such as artificial intelligence, Big Data and augmented/virtual reality technologies.

Zhang, who will earn HKD360,000 (USD46,000) per year, also serves as chair professor in Stanford University's department of physics and is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He has made significant scientific achievements in the fields of high-temperature superconductivity, quantum hall effect, spintronics, and strongly correlated material.