THE s HONG KONG ; UNIVERSITY OF 3 SCIENCE G TECHNOLOGY $ rc
Clear Water Bay , Kowloon
Hong Kong Vie-Choncelior ond Resident Professor Chio-Wei Woo, DS. MA. PhD
For immediate release
7 November 1991
Awicultural Biochemist to Speak in HKUST Distincluished Lecture Serfes
World-renowned agricultural biochemist Professor Shang Fa Yang will speak at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on Tuesday, 12 November, about the research that earned him the 1991 Wolf Prize, the equivalent _.- -- of the Nobel Prize in the field of agriculture.
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f., *r.f$ 1 Professor Yang’s lecture, - entitled, “Biosynthesis of the Gaseous Plant Hormone Ethylene and Its Regulation”, is the second in the Distinguished Lecture Series in Science. It will be given at 3:00 p.m. at HKUST lecture theatre A.
Ethylene is a naturally and widely produced plant hormone involved in plant growth and development and in fruit ripening. Research into the mechanisms of its actions has enabled growers to control ethylene production, and hence prolong the life span of cut flowers and harvested fruits.
“This is an excellent example [of how] fundamental research... [can] significantly contribute to economic benefits for agriculture,” notes Professor Yang. Professor Yang is currently Professor and Biochemist in the Department of Vegetable Crops at the University of California, Davis. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, and serves on the editorial boards of a number of professional journals. He won the 1991 Wolf Prize for his contributions to the field of biochemistry.
HKUST’s Distinguished Lecture Series in Science is sponsored by the School * of Science in celebration of the University’s official opening this year. Seven public ‘Y . ti lectures will be given over the coming year by celebrated names in various fields , :
_ ‘_- .-.’ == > of science.
._ . “The best way to learn is to learn from the best,” says Professor Shain-Dow Kung, HKUST’s Dean of Science and organiser of the lecture series.
The first lecture in the series was given by Nobel Laureate in chemistry Professor John C. Polanyi. The next and third lecture will be given in January by Nobel Laureate Chen-Ning Yang, Director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and Distinguished Professor-at- Large at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
