Press Release cum Press Invitation 11 July 2000
SECONDARY STUDENTS LEARN NEW PHYSICS AT HKUST
Fifty outstanding six-formers will learn contemporary physics from a new perspective at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) from 17 to 21 July 2000.
Launched for the second year by the Physics Department, the summer school is designed to stimulate secondary school students’ interest in recent major developments in the field of physics. These students are among the top students in Hong Kong and have all obtained high scores in the HKCEE.
“We’re not teaching students the standard curriculum of physics for first-year undergraduates. Instead, we will focus on the historical developments in contemporary physics, and stimulate students to ask, think, discuss and digest,” said Dr Pak Wo Leung, summer school organizer and associate professor of Physics at HKUST.
“We hope to inspire students to go beyond their standard textbooks and examination curriculum, and to learn Physics from a new perspective,” he said.
The lectures are taught mainly by professors from the Physics Department, and cover a wide range of topics that include mechanics and geometry, the wave and particle nature of matter, direction of time flow, relativity, astrophysics and laser physics. Students will also have an opportunity to conduct experiments in the University’s modern research laboratories, including making a solid state laser/light emitting diode.
These fifty students are not the only ones to benefit from the summer school. To introduce physics to a much wider audience, the Physics Summer School will organize two popular lectures for secondary school students and teachers. Details are as follows:
Lecture 1: The Story of Riemannian Geometry and General Relativity
Speaker: Prof Shiu Yuen Cheng, associate dean of Science and head of the Mathematics Department
Date: Thu, 20 July 2000 Time: 2-3:30 pm
Venue: Lee Wing Tat Lecture Theater, Academic Concourse, HKUST, Clear Water Bay Language: Cantonese
Lecture 2: Chance and Probability: Are they created by Man, or by God? Speaker: Dr Pak Wo Leung, associate professor of Physics, HKUST Date: Thu, 20 July 2000
Time: 4-5:15 pm
Venue: Lee Wing Tat Lecture Theater, Academic Concourse, HKUST, Clear Water Bay Language: Cantonese
Note to Editors:
The above release can be downloaded at: http://www.ust.hk/~webopa/news/2000_News/news0711.html. For enquiries, please contact Ms Jacky Tsang of the Office of University Development and Public Affairs at 2358-6306, or email pamedia@ust.hk.
