07/10/2003
Nobel Laureate, Eminent Scholars, Innovator and Entrepreneur to be Awarded
Honorary Doctorates by HKUST
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will confer honorary doctorates on five distinguished persons in recognition of their academic achievements and contributions to society.
The five honorary recipients and the degrees they will be conferred are:
● The Honorable Dr Cha Chi-ming, distinguished entrepreneur and founder of the Qiu Shi Science and
Technologies Foundation, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa
● Prof Shiing Shen Chern, the greatest living Chinese mathematician and Wolf Prize winner, Doctor of Science
honoris causa
● Dr Alfred Y Cho, inventor of revolutionary semiconductor technology and recipient of the National Medal of
Science, Doctor of Engineering honoris causa
● The Honorable Professor Jao Tsung-I, erudite scholar and world renowned sinologist, Doctor of Letters honoris
causa
● Prof Karl Alexander Müller, Nobel Laureate in Physics and pioneer in superconductivity, Doctor of Science
honoris causa
Dr Cha Chi-ming Prof Shiing Shen ChernDr Alfred Y Cho Prof Jao Tsung-I Prof Karl Alexander Müller
Dr Cha Chi-ming is a prominent industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the Chairman of CDW
International Limited, The Mingly Corporation Limited, and HKR International Limited. In 1994, he demonstrated his enthusiasm for scientific and technological advancement in China by donating US$20 million to establish the Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation. The Foundation is highly respected and awards prizes to Chinese scientists who have made significant advances in their fields.
Prof Shiing Shen Chern has made great contributions to mathematics in China and the world. From an entirely new perspective, he constructed the "Chern Characteristic Classes", laying a solid foundation for the study of global differential geometry. In 1975, he was awarded the US National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed upon US scientists. In 1981, he became the founder and first director of the Research Institute of Mathematics, established by the US National Natural Science Foundation at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1984, he won the Wolf Prize in Mathematics, the foremost international mathematics award, for his significant contribution to the field of differential geometry, which has affected the entire study of mathematics. In 1984, Prof Chern was invited by China's Ministry of Education to return to his alma mater , Nankai University, in Tianjin and created the Nankai Research Institute of Mathematics - which he built into a world mathematics center within 20 years.
Widely recognized as "Father of Molecular Beam Epitaxy technology" in the semiconductor world, Dr Alfred Y Cho's invention allows the growth of compound semiconductor devices with great precision in layered dimensions of sub-nanometers. In 1993, Dr Cho was presented the National Medal of Science by the then US President Bill Clinton. In 1994, Dr Cho and his coworkers scaled new heights by demonstrating a fundamentally new type of laser called the Quantum Cascade (QC) Laser.
Prof Jao Tsung-I is one of the most erudite scholars of our era. He commands a wide range of knowledge: language, literature, history, archaeology, Dunhuang manuscripts, oracle bone inscriptions, musicology, the history of Sino-Indian relations, and religious studies. These are among the many fields where he has made not only in-depth investigations but also groundbreaking contributions. Prof Jao also enjoys great fame for his artistic and literary talents, particularly in poetry, painting and calligraphy. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the French "Stanisles Julien" award for Sinology, membership of the French Institute of Far Eastern Studies; and honorary doctorates from the University of Hong Kong and Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in France.
An eminent Swiss scientist, Prof Karl Alexander Müller was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize for Physics for his revolutionary discovery in superconductivity. In 1986, his research team discovered the superconductive properties of certain oxides at temperatures higher than had previously been thought possible. The findings stimulated a surge of interest in superconductivity worldwide. Superconducting materials have a major economic impact. Their applications include medical magnetic-imaging devices, generators, and very sensitive measuring devices.
The conferment of honorary degrees will be conducted on 7 November 2003 (Friday) on the HKUST campus during the University's 11th Congregation ceremony.
For media enquiries:
Adrian Cheung
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Tel: (852) 2358-6305
