HKUST Newsletter, Winter 2000

•

HONG I'\ONG

UNIVE~SITY

OF

SCIENCE &

TECHNOLOGY

Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Eighth Congregation

8-10 November 2000

Winter 2000

H

KUST celebrated its Eighth Congregation in dry and comfortable weather for the eighth year running, despite a late typhoon putting the University's contingency team on full alert before the event kicked off.

The Class of2000 was the largest class of graduates for HKUST yet, with a total of 2,498 graduates, including 670 postgraduates,

On the third day, honorary doctorates were conferred on the Chinese historian Professor Cho-Yun Hsu, physicist Professor Kun HUANG (in absentia), and biochemical engineer Professor Daniel I C WANG for their outstanding academic achievements and contributions to education; and HKSAR Executive Councilor the Hon Charles Yeh-kwong LEE for his dedicated public service to the receiving academ ic degrees before a

packed house of faculty, family, and friends. The University Council Vice-Chairman Dr Steven POON, Council Chairman Dr Vincent Lo, and Pro-Chancellor Dr the Hon Sir Sze-Yuen ChUNG took it in turns to present the degrees.

to receille their well-earned gowlI hoods. Here Assistalll Professor Mark Dallidsoll does the hOllors 011 belwlj'of the School of Ellgilleerillg.

HOllorary doctorate mllardees (frolllieft) Prof CIIO-\'rill HSI/, Prof Dalliell C Wallg alld the HOIl Charles l'eh-kwollg Lee.

COllgregatioll is IIery IIIl/ch a Ialllily affair with ,.,?latil'es of all ages tllrnillg lip 10 share their lOlled olles' /Jig day.

community of Hong Kong. The 2000 Michael G Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching was awarded to Assistant Professor Kam-ming YIP of the Humanities Division; and the Stephen Cheong Kam-chuen Medal for Distin-guished Service to the Student Body was presented to Ms Judy W AI, the seventh HKUST Students' Union President.

Academic Achievement Awards were conferred on 12 graduates who maintained straight ks throughout their undergraduate studies. 0

The silllllltalleolls dOllllillg of lIIortarboards lIIarks oft/cial gradllatioll for the School of Bllsilless mrd

Mmwgelllellt's Class of2000.

jl/bilallt gradl/ates pose for a pllOto with Prof Chia-Wei Woo

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Professor Chia-Wei Woo

Profile of a Graduate III

- a story set in the year 2006

I

n the spring of 1988, at the inauguration of the HKUST Council, the audience came in black tie and evening gowns expecting to hear a very formal speech. I proceeded to surprise them with a fanciful little tale called "Profile of a Graduate". The story was set 13 years in the future-in the year 200l. It was about Mr Lo Wing Keung, a young man who had entered HKUST in 1993, graduated in 1996 with a double major in Chemistry and Computer Science, pursued applied research for a few years, and then formed a joint venture with the University. As the story opened, he found himself in a shuttle bus ben.yeen the Tseung Kwan 0 MTR terminal and the University campus, reminiscing about how his world had developed. The story introduced another character: Wing Keung's girl friend Carol, once again known by her name at birth on the Mainland-FAN Jialu. Jialu became the star of the show in "Profile of a Graduate II", a sequel which I delivered at the 1996 Congregation. The setting of that episode was again 2001. Jialu, a history graduate from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was doing her MBA at HKUST. She had just decided that she liked the academic life, and would later pursue a doctoral degree in marketing and embark on a teaching career. Her ambition clashed with what Wing Keung had in mind: he needed Jialu to apply her newly acquired management skills to help him run his start-up company.

Thus, I pointed out in "Profile of a Graduate II":

'I\. conflict is brewing. You know it. I know it. Wing Keung and Jialu do not. Will the conflict be resolved? How will it be resolved? Well, for the continuing saga of Wing Keung and Jialu, we'll have to wait for another episode."

Well, here it is, the new episode: "Profile of a Graduate III". It

takes place in the year 2006.

Wing Keung's start-up company had a flying start. He was able to hire a number of very able graduates from the University's world-class School of Science and School of Engineering. During the period 1999 to 2000, on account of the unexpected Asian financial crisis, there emerged in Hong Kong the long-awaited economic transition and a new culture that favored high technology. Many faculty members, alumni, and students became hi-tech entrepreneurs. Some 20 start-ups were launched, Ii la Silicon Valley.

The University's strategic partnerships in Shenzhen, formed earlier in anticipation of such developments, now offered both the academics and the entrepreneurs room to grow at affordable cost. As a result, 12 of those 20 start-ups now straddled both sides of the border, with their headquarters and creative research firmly entrenched in the Entrepreneurship Center on campus, and much of their development and production work based in the Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park across the border. By 2001, Wing Keung's company had joined the crowd. He figured that, sooner or later, the two cities would join together and become one great metropolis,

WINTER 2000

forming the core of what the world would call the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Bay Area.

His hopes for Jialu to help manage his company were dashed. However, it turned out for the better: less chance for disagreement at work, and less stress at home. By then, HKUST's world-ranking School of Business and Management was producing a huge pool of talent. So Wing Keung was able to hire well. His Chief Financial Officer, for example, was a graduate of the much-admired Executive MBA program, a middle-aged man with an in-depth knowledge of both theory and practice who was willing to sacrifice a high salary for stock options in the start-up.

The GEM (Growth Enterprise Market), Hong Kong's newly established version of Nasdaq, gave Wing Keung's company an opportunity to go public and raise capital. Earlier, Hongkongers' habit of aggressive speculation had given GEM quite a scare. Roller-coaster rides in that new capital market could have seriously damaged the SAR's reputation if unchecked. Fortunately, good sense prevailed. Most of GEM's participants did survive. By 2003, several proved to be spectacular successes.

Well, Wing Keung was not too happy with the valuation of his company when it went public in 2004, but he took comfort from the fact that his investors were realistic and solid. He got less money but better money. By 2006, his company was well on its way to becoming a successful and reliable local hi-tech firm which, though not a "high flyer", contributed to the establishment of Hong Kong's modern industrial base.

Let us turn now to Jialu. She completed her MBA in 2002 and was admitted to the School of Business and Management's doctoral program. The MBA had not been easy for her (as I mentioned in the first episode of this saga) because her background in the humanities did not prepare her sufficiently for HKUST's quantitative and analytical approach towards management education. With Wing Keung's loving assistance and two years of very hard work, she was able to overcome the difficulty. Jialu's doctoral study in marketing, though scientific in methodology and heavily IT-based, turned out to be less taxing. Her choice of pursuing marketing research with a China orientation was particularly wise: her undergraduate studies in history had given her a much deeper appreciation of Chinese culture than many of her classmates. Also, history as a discipline had given her keener insights about human

nature and about the world's many diverse cultures. She realized that marketing had remained culture-based even in this day and age when people depended heavily on technology.

In the fall of 2006, Jialu received her PhD degree and began her teaching and research career as an Assistant Professor jointly appointed by HKUST and Peking University (PKU). This would be for two years, after which her appointment would be between HKUST and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Such split arrangements would not have been possible in earlier times; but, as a result of the close alliance between HKUST and PKU since 1998, many joint and adjunct appointments had been made between these h,vo premier universities. While Jialu spent one semester every year in Beijing,a young PKU faculty member came to HKUST under a similar arrangement. The in situ experience enriched the research of both young scholars, and endowed the students they taught with much broader perspectives, Many HKUST-PKU joint appointments were permanent. However, for Jialu, it had to be limited to two years because she and Wing Keung planned to start a family. Tea for two, a boy and a girl, and all that.

Back in Hong Kong, the academic cooperation between HKUST and CUHK that began in 1999 had flourished to such an extent that not only were many classes shared, but also some of the faculty members. Jialu was very happy to receive a joint appointment that allowed her to contribute to both of the universities she loved.

So, Wing Keung and Jialu were well set for a challenging career each, and a family they would share. Who would take care of the children when they appeared on the scene? Whose career would come first if at some time a choice had to be made? Life was, as I indicated in previous episodes, so full of opportunities but so full of problems. Wing Keung and Jialu would just have to face the problems and solve them as they arose, wouldn't they? And I am sure you would offer them suggestions.

In this sequel I will introduce yet one more character. This character entered HKUST in 1997-the year Hong Kong returned to her motherland, and graduated in the fall of2000. (S)he received a solid education at HKUST. (S)he saw HKUST mature into what was truly the premier research university in China and the Asia-Pacific region. (S)he appreciated the University's strategy of remaining relatively small and focused, of expanding its scope of offering through cooperation with sister institutions locally, and of strengthening its research expertise and entrepreneurship by contil1Lling to appoint top scholars to its faculty. (S)he supported the formation of alliances with like-minded, top-quality institutions on the Mainland, and the efforts to maintain the quality of teaching, research, and service at the world's forefront by putting to use its extensive international network-especially in East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. (S)he would stay in touch and grow with the University, and carve out her/his place in the hometown and the country which (s)he proudly calls her/his own. Armed with knowledge, confidence, and youthful exuberance, (s)he would go out and conquer the world.

Will the next episode be fulfilling and exciting? I don't know. You will have to tell me, for that character-the graduate profiled in episode III-is you, What do you intend to do with your life beMeen now and 2006? Would you please complete the story for us?

To be fair, I must fill you in on some additional background. During the past year, under the leadership of the new Council Chairman, the University came up with a rejuvenated statement on Mission, Vision, and Objectives. A complete Academic Review was released, comparing what the University had achieved against what the founders had hoped, Academic Development Proposals for the 2001-2004 triennium were submitted in accordance with the University Grants Committee's funding cycle. An Inventory of Resources and a Needs Assessment were taken to estimate what the University would require in the coming years in order to realize its high aspirations.

The University has concluded yet another partnership agreement with Peking University and the Shenzhen Municipal Government-to build a world-class medical center across the border. This medical center will provide health services and education, offer PhD and MD training, engage in research in both basic and clinical sciences, facilitate technology transfer, and conduct entrepreneurial activities, all for the benefit of the people in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Bay Area.

It would not surprise me if the siblings of Wing Keung and Jialu someday found themselves studying or working at this medical center. Perhaps you will as well.

The University resolved to place renewed emphasis on a number of high-impact areas of scholarship, including but not limited to: China Business and Management, Coastal Atmosphere and Marine Environment, Cultural Studies, E-commerce, E-manufacturing, Energy, History of South China, Infrastructure Development, Internet Technology, Microsystems, Nanostructure Materials, Neuroscience, Online Education, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You will undoubtedly recognize these and many other offerings at HKUST as most relevant to Hong Kong's needs, as we step into what the world calls the New Economy and Knowledge Society.

The University has just entered its 10th year. We are in the process of consolidating our past achievements and present strengths into a firm platform from which we can take off and soar. A leadership change is about to take place, with fresh personalities and enlightened minds coming onto the scene to take the University into a new era. Many of the founding members of the University have labored hard, and I believe wisely, to give the University an unprecedented fast start and to build a solid foundation for teaching and research. They have helped accelerate Hong Kong's economic transition, earned the respect of the worldwide academic community, and mapped out the University's development strategy. They will soon initiate a campaign to find new resources for the University's new leadership. Many of these founding members have retired, or are about to step aside. We have no doubt that you, the University's youngest alumni, will give your full support to the new leadership, so that every scholar or student who comes through this citadel of learning will have the opportunity to contribute substantively to the betterment of life for all.

Now, how will you work these background materials into the next episode in our continuing saga?

My guess is that you, the new star of the show, will tell us that you have taken off and soared with your alma mater. From up high, you have seen far and wide, You have found the rainbow I promised you in 1988, and you will tell us what lies ahead beyond the blue horizon.

How high, indeed, can you fly? There is no limit in sight. Congratulations and my very best wishes to all!

o

l

Address

by

Professor Cho-

Yun Hsu

Entering the New Era

M

r Pro-Chancellor, Mr President, Mr Chairman,

distinguished colleagues and guests:

It is an honor indeed to be conferred with a degree by

this esteemed institute of high learning. And it is a privilege to speak on behalf of all four of us in this ceremony.

When I received a letter from the Hong Kong University of

Science and Technology, I was impressed by the fact that we, the

recipients, are chosen from distinctive disciplines and professions of great variety. Such a broad range of intellectual interests speaks

for this University's philosophy. The University pays attention to

interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches of academic

engagement as well as to a good balance between research and practice in the public interest. In the world of today, a vision of this wide horizon indeed deserves applause.

We are entering a new era, not just a new millennium on the calendar, but more importantly, this is an era wherein knowledge

is to be a force that will carry great momentum to move the world into an exciting future.

My learned colleagues here can tell how much advancement is taking place in their respective fields. In life sciences, genetic studies are making enormous progress that enables scientists to reveal a bit of the secret of the phenomenon of life. In the field of astrophysics and nuclear physics, the constitution of the cosmos is to be

comprehended. Meanwhile, a world economic system is rapidly taking shape. A global information network is being woven that will bring all of us a great deal closer to each other. A common concern about the global environmental deterioration is now shared by all of us. All these advances in learning bring us together into a new

condition in which a new civilization may be emerging. Moral and

ethical values are to be redefined accordingly and public policies

are to be reconsidered accordingly.

All these developments compel us to take into consideration the tremendous impact that academic activities can have upon our daily lives. Meanwhile we are under pressure to rethink the important issues which are related to our human and social values. These fundamental issues may include the meaning of life, the value of being a member of the human community, the relationship between human society and the ecological system, the boundaries of social and cultural entities to which we belong, the freedom of individuals and the limits on this freedom, the line that separates "public" and

"private" lives, ... the list of questions can be even longer. Yet these

questions demand our full attention and reflection.

Yes, we are in a new era of breakdown and breakthrough. Values

and concepts that we have inherited from the days of ancient sages

and thinkers must now be re-examined. If we make good efforts to organize our knowledge, we may have taken a crucial step to enter a new Axial age, in the terminology of Karl Jasper, the modern positive existentialist philosopher. If we do not undertake this assignment to reflect and to think, we may essentially find that a new civilization which is taking shape now is marked with confusion and disorder. The academic community should accept this new assignment. The gown and town must work together to make a truly brave new

WINTER 2000

Professor Cho-Yun Hsu

Doctor of Humanities

honoris causa

Professor Hsu has devoted his

lifetime to the study of Chinese history, achieving great eminence

and creating a remarkable body of work. Using structural analysis derived from Western social

science theory to explain Chinese history, he has exerted a far-reaching influence upon American Sinology.

In his early years in Taiwan, Professor Hsu and his peers founded the journal Thought and Language to encourage a new trend in thought and inspire the younger generation. Many of

those whom he cultivated and trained are now important

scholars in Taiwan. Professor Hsu was elected to the membership of Academia Sinica in 1980 and was later named to the Distinguished Scholar Chair. From 1992 to 1998, he was the Wei-lun Professor of History at the Chinese University of

Hong Kong. Since the Hong Kong University of Science and

Technology established its School of Humanities and Social Science, he has served as a member of the School's Advisory Board and put forward many valuable recommendations.

Every year Professor Hsu participates in archaeological work in the Chinese Mainland. He was a prime mover in the

found-ing of the Chiang Chfound-ing-kuo Foundation for International

Scholarly Exchange, now internationally recognized as one of the most important resources promoting the study of Chinese

culture.

Professor Hsu received his BA and MA from Taiwan University. In 1962 he was awarded his PhD from the Division of Humanities at the University of Chicago. After graduation, he returned to Taiwan to work at the Institute of History and Philosophy of Academia Sinica and at Taiwan University, where he served as Head of the History Department from 1964 to

1970. Following that, he was made Professor of History and

Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. He was appointed

University Professor in 1982 and University Professor Emeritus in 1998. That same year, he was appointed the Seman

Distinguished Visiting Professor at Duke University.

world. In the history of human societies, there has never been such

a time when knowledge is so promisingly powerful yet so

intimidatingly formidable. We, who are life members of the academic community, indeed feel both excited and scared. In either case, we must be aware of this ambivalence and respond to the challenge.

Thank you for conferring this honorary degree on me and my colleagues. I also thank you for the opportunity to speak here

Professor Kun HUANG

Doctor of Science honoris

causa

Co-written by Nobel laureate Max Born and the

renowned Chinese physicist Kun HUANG, the book

Dynamic Them), of O),stal Lattices has been regarded as the bible on the subject among physics researchers

worldwide for over 40 years. When Professor Huang

finished this classic in Beijing in 1952, he was only 32 years old. At 36 he was elected a Member of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences. He became a Foreign Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1980, and a Fellow of the

Third World Academy of Sciences in 1985.

Between 1945 and 1948, Professor Huang did research for his

PhD at the University of Bristol in England under the distinguished

solid state physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Neville Mott. During those years, Professor Huang put forward a theory predicting the

diffuse scattering of X-rays due to crystalline defects. His theory

was verified in the 1960s and was subsequently named "Huang's

The Hon Charles Yeh-kwong

LEE

GBS,

IP

Doctor of Laws

honor

i

s

causa

Mr Lee was born in Shanghai in 1936 and moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1949. Upon graduation from Wah Yan College he became a certified accountant. He then turned to study law and obtained a master's degree in law from the University of London.

He co-founded VI/oo, Kwan, Lee & Lo, now one of Hong

Kong's top solicitors' firms.

Mr Lee has indeed a long and outstanding track record in public service. As Secretary to the Law Revision Commission from 1968

to 1973, he helped bring about the enactment of the Securities

Ordinance and substantial amendments to the Companies

Ordinance. His directorship of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Council after the 1987 stock market crash kicked off a new era for the institution.

Professor Daniel I C

WANG

Doctor of Engineering honoris

causa

Professor Wang has published five books and more than 200 articles, and contributed greatly to the field of

biochemical engineering. His research has been used to

discover new tests and therapies for human afflictions.

But research is only one aspect of Professor Wang's work. His teaching has shaped the education of many researchers and process engineers now active in the

biotechnology field in the US as well as throughout the world. And his

leadership has inspired generations of aspiring professionals who are

today making their own contributions to the field of biotechnology.

Professor Wang was born in China, received his BS in chemical engineering in 1959 and MS in biochemical engineering in 1961, both from MIT. He completed his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. After two years in the US

Army serving in an army biological laboratory, he returned to his

diffuse scattering».

Between 1947 and 1951, Professor Huang

conducted postdoctoral research at the University of

Liverpool and made three significant scientific

contributions that have had a far-reaching influence on the subsequent development of solid state physics. The theory of multiphonon transition, characterized by what is now often referred to as the "Huang-Rhys factor», was co-developed by Professor Huang and Avril Rhys, wh9 later became his wife. He also put forth the important"Huang's Equations», which led to the important concept of polariton.

Professor Huang returned to his beloved motherland in 1951 and became Professor of Physics at Peking University. In 1977 he was appointed Director of the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A pioneer in China's semiconductor science, Professor Huang led five major Mainland universities to jointly run a program on semiconductors in 1956, which trained the first generation of semiconductor experts in China.

One of his recent achievements was guiding the formation of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing

Limited, which was completed in March 2000. As

Chairman of this organization, Mr Lee has great plans , to position Hong Kong as an integral part of global

finance.

Perhaps the most notable example of Mr Lee's

public service record is his appointment as Chairman

of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority

since 1998. It is worth mentioning that Mr Lee accepts

no pay for these public duties. In fact, his commitment to

volunteerism took root when he, as a young man, performed volunteer work in Hong Kong's slums.

Mr Lee has been a member of the HKSAR Executive Council since 1997 and member of the Equal Opportunities Commission of Hong Kong since 1996. In the 1990s Mr Lee took an active role in the Community Chest, and remains a vice-patron. He has also been on the councils of two local universities, one of which is HKUST.

alma mater, MIT, as an Assistant Professor in 1965. Professor Wang founded MIT's Biotechnology Process Engineering Center and served as its Director from 1985 to 1998. He was named an Institute Professor of chemical engineering in 1996.

Having given so much to his MIT students,

Professor Wang has in recent years turned his attention to giving something back to his Asian heritage. For example, HKUST is lucky enough to have Professor Wang on the Advisory Board of our Department of Chemical Engineering and the International Advisory Committee of the Biotechnology Research Institute. He was one of the US academics involved in the MIT "Made By Hong Kong» project. He continues to work with HKUST and several other local universities, as well as the Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology and the Innovation and Technology Commission, on the standardization and certification of Chinese medicine and other biotechnology

projects. 0

4

A

Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes:

as Thin as They Get

H

KUST physicists have synthesized

the world's narrowest single-walled carbon nanotubes. Produced by Assistant Professors Zikang TANG and Ning WANG, and team, the tiny tubes measure only 4A. (angstroms) or 0.4nm (a nanometer being one-billionth of a meter) in diameter. That is 75,000 times thinner than a single human hair.

Theorists predict that nanotubes this

small could eventually revolutionize microcomputers and other ultra-thin

electronic devices. Another exciting

avenue to explore is their potential as a storage medium for pollution-free hydrogen fuel.

Mighty midgets

Carbon nanotubes are microscopic

cylin-ders of carbon so thin that scientists refer to them as one-dimensional quantum wires. They occur as single-walled structures or multi-walled structures made up of

concen-tric shells.

They have excited tremendous interest in the global scientific community since their discovery in 1991. Early investigation

showed them to be powerful conductors

that are chemically inert, able to bend without breaking, and a 100 times stronger

than steel.

Still more intriguing, it also showed that their electrical and mechanical properties

vary considerably according to their diameter and helicity. So the race was on among materials scientists to synthesize

carbon nanotubes only 4A. in diameter. These were predicted to be the narrowest

energetically stable nanotubes possible. Before Profs Tang and Wang's break-through- reported in Nature, 408: 50-51 on 2 November 2000-the narrowest stable single-walled nanotubes recorded measured

7 A. in diameter. A team ofJapanese research-ers reported multi-walled nanotubes with an

innermost shell of 4A. diameter in the same

issue.

Exciting breakthrough

On top of their "first past the post"

satisfaction, Profs Tang and Wang are

excited about the success of their innovative

WINTER 2000

: Oxygen • : AI or P

0.4 nm

fabrication technique.

"Our 4A. single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown in the channels of zeolite crystals instead of by evaporating graphite in an

arc-discharge;' explains Prof Tang.

"The zeolite crystal method produces

arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes that are highly aligned and uniform in size. This will be a boon for experimental investigation of their electrical and mechanical properties. Indeed, we are

already observing new properties in the 4A.

nanotubes not found in larger nanotubes."

"We suspected we had succeeded in

growing 4A. nanotubes in zeolite as long ago

as 1998. We have collected evidence by different characterization techniques, including polarized Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction, and electric transport meC)surements over the last three years.

However, our concrete proof was directly observing them by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy in March

2000;' adds Prof Wang. 0

Profs Zikallg Tallg milt Nillg Wtlllg (leji to right) are alrendy ouservillg IIOVe! properties ill the 4;\ IImlOtll/!es.

Schematic dmll'illgorcaruolllltlllotllues (grey) formed ill zeolite chtllllieis.

Top Discoveries

of

2000

Groundbreaking research by HKUST physicists has been hailed as two of the world's most important scientific

discoveries of the year 2000.

Profs Tang and Wang's nanotubes breakthrough (see main story) was

voted one of the World's Top 10 Science

and Technology Advances of the year 2000 by fellows of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering on 4 January 2001.

Meanwhile, departmental head Prof Ping SHENG and team's new sonic mate-rial (reported in the Autumn 2000

issue of this Newsletter) was chosen as one of the Highlights of the Year by the UK-based PhysicsWeb on 21 December

T

he University Council is very pleased to appoint Prof Paul Ching-Wu CHU

as successor to founding President

Chia-Wei Woo. The appointment was announced on 20 November 2000 following

a nine-month worldwide search led by

Council Vice-Chairman Dr Steven POON. Currently Professor of Physics, TLL Tem-ple Chair of Science, and Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the

University of Houston, Prof Chu, 59, is a distinguished physicist who has won global

recognition for his groundbreaking research in high temperature superconductivity. His numerous honors and accolades include the 1988 National Medal for Science (the

high-est honor for a scientist in the US); the 1990 Best Research in the US award; and mem-bership of the National Academy of Sciences (US), Academia Sinica (Taiwan), and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society

and was also an invited contributor to the Whitehouse's New Millennium Time Cap-sule of Great Discoveries of the 20th _Century

in the year 2000.

Presidellt-Desigllnte Prof Pnlll Cilll nlld his wife Mny ill dinloglle with HKU5Tstlldellts.

This vision has met a

positive response from the University community. "Members of the Council are confident that Professor Chu, building on the strong foundation

which Professor Chia-Wei Woo has successfully laid down during the past 12 years, will provide strong leadership to HKUST as it

soars to greater heights to meet the science and

Prof Chu is also an experienced academic

administrator and fundraiser who has helped build the Texas Center for

Superconductivity into the largest university

superconductivity research laboratory in

the world. These credentials combined with his scholarly prowess stand Prof Chu in very

good stead to make a dynamic and inspiring academic leader for HKUST.

He in turn views the HKUST presidency as a unique opportunity to contribute to the technological development of Hong Kong

and China.

"HKUST is Hong Kong's best-kept

secret. No university in the world has greater

potential in research and development. Among my goals as the University's next president is to help the realization of this potential and thereby strengthen HKUST's reputation as a world-class institution locally, nationally, and internationally;' says

ProfChu.

Ten Candles on the Cake

T

he year 2001 marks a major mile-stone for the HKUST community, its friends, and supporters: the University's lOth anniversary.

Thanks to the vision and guidance of the HKUST's founders and to the hard work and creative talent of its faculty, staff, and students, the University has an impressive

series of world-class breakthroughs, contributions to society, and rewarding moments to look back on since it opened in 1991.

To celebrate these achievements, the Uni-versity has arranged a wide-ranging pro-gram extending from March to December 2001. A 10th anniversary home page and a commemorative book documenting the University's first decade will be launched at

the official launching ceremony on 23 April. The University's spirit as embodied by the people and places that make up HKUST campus life will be further illustrated in a photo exhibition. The show will include winning entries from the 10th Anniversary Photo Contest. Lectures by renowned scholars, roving exhibitions, a special column on long-serving staff and faculty in the campus newsletter Genesis, and a bi rthday carnival on 23 September are among the other activities that will lead up to the University's official birthday on 2 October.

"In celebrating the 10th anniversary of the birth of this University, vile are celebrat-ing the vision of its founders, the dedication of its members, and the extraordinary

technology agenda of Hong Kong:' says Council Chairman Dr Vincent Lo.

The President-Designate and his wife

May flew in from Houston on 10 December, three weeks after his appointment was announced, to meet HKUST's Council members, faculty, staff, and students. The

five-day trip was the first of several planned over the next few months. It also included meetings with top government officials and the local media, and tours of the University's

science and engineering laboratories.

Prof Chu will take up his appointment in July 2001, and Prof Woo has kindly agreed to continue his leadership of the University until then, postponing his retirement by

three months. D

~

III

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achievements of an institution that belongs to the people of Hong Kong:' says Loretta Pang, Director of University Development and Public Affairs and Chairperson of the 10th Anniversary Organizing Committee.

"I hope many of our friends and supporters will be able to join these events

in one capacity or another. We have so much to share with society at large. People will be amazed at how much we have accomplished

in the past 10 years." D

HKUST's School of Business and Management is one of the top 50

business schools in the world offering full-time MBA programs

according to the Financial Times MBA2001 rankings released on

22 January. HKUST is the only university from Asia to make it into the top 50 league. Its new overall ranking of 48 represents a jump of 22 places up from last year, the first time the newspaper included

Asian schools in the survey. This year, HKUST scores especially

strongly in terms of diversity and research, ranking first in the world for the international experience offered by its MBA program; second (after IMD in Switzerland) for its international faculty; and 33rd for its research, based on faculty publication in top journals. It is one of only 15 schools in the survey with a 100% PhD-qualified faculty.

HKUST

IN ACTION

. ~ Hong Kong - France Confemnce on the Environment

Environmental

December

Aquatic and atmospheric environments were the focus of an

advanced international study group and two major conferences

organized by HKUST in December 2000. Forty-four leading

researchers from Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the US joined HKUST's Head of Chemical Engineering, Prof Po Lock YUE, in a Croucher Advanced Study Institute on advanced oxidization

remediation technologies (28 November to 3 December). This

led straight onto the 3'd Asia-Pacific Conference on Sustainable

Energy and Environmental Technologies, APSCEET 2000 (3 to 6 December). Also sponsored by the Croucher Foundation, the

conference attracted academic, industry, and government

environmental experts from 20 different countries. New

technologies for air, waste, and water; and the Pearl River Delta were the focus at the Hong Kong -France Conference on the Environment

a week later (11 to 12 December). This was co-organized by the Agency for the International Promotion of French Technology and

Trade, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong, HKUST, and the Paris Institute of Technology.

Art and

Science

Go Hand in Hand

HKUST welcomed acclaimed Mainland sculptor

Prof Weishan Wu, Director of the Nanjing

University Sculpture Research Center, as

Artist-in-Residence and the first Y K Pao Distinguished

Visiting Artist from 9 September to 5 December

2000. The talks and creative workshops ProfWu

held during his stay attracted an enthusiastic

response from HKUST students, most of whom have not had any formal training in the arts.

HKUSTChip

Olympians Do

It

Again

HKUST electrical and

electronic engineering

postgraduates presented

their work alongside top

industry researchers for the fourth time, and third

year running, at the

pres-tigious IEEE

Interna-tional Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)-or "Chip Olympics" -in San

Francisco from 4 to 8 February 2001. Second-time invitee Vincent CHEUNG

unveiled an integrated circuit (IC) that performs high-frequency, high-resol

u-tion analog-to-digital conversion on a single 1 V battery. Fellow PhD candidate

Zhaofeng ZHANG demonstrated the first CiVIOS fully integrated single-chip pager

receiver, resolving for the first time the problem of direct current (DC) offset

and flicker noise in this type of Ie. The technology can also be applied to

mobile phones and other wireless receivers. Both chips will help reduce the size

and cost of wireless communication devices.