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UNIVERSITY OF
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Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
SPRING 1997
NEW EXECUTIVE MBA
PUTS HONG KONG AT THE CENTER OF
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION IN ASIA
With the steady expansion of the Asian economy in recent
years has come a corresponding need for advanced manage-ment training in the region.
For business executives in Asia, the good news is the opportunity they now have to update strategic concepts and professional skills in the one city uniquely equipped to serve as a regional center of business education-Hong Kong.
The recently announced Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA Program is Hong Kong's first high-level business program with international scope and emphasis, designed for mid-career executives preparing for senior management roles, and for senior executives who wish to approach today's business and management decision making from a global and integrated perspective.
The program is a joint creation of the School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the renowned J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University.
Participants meet over weekends on the scellic HKUST campus, where accommodatiolls are provided ill the lIew Ulliversity Center (left foreground).
Sealing the lIew partllership are Sir S. Y. CHUNG, Chairman of the University COllncil; Prof Donald P. JACOBS, Deall of the Kellogg School; Prof Yllk-Shee CHAN, Dean of ti,e School of Business and Mallagemellt; alld Presidellt Chia-Wei Woo.
Participants will earn an Executive Master of Business Administration degree jointly awarded by the two schools. Graduates of the program will be alumni of both universities. The EMBA program draws on the strengths of each institu -tion, offering a curriculum based on Kellogg's top-rated Ex-ecutive Master's Program at Northwestern, and incorporating a strong Asia-Pacific focus, with one course module devoted entirely to China business. Teaching will be shared equally by faculty members from the two schools.
"We are tremendously pleased to have the Kellogg School as our partner in this venture," said Prof Yuk-Shee CHAN, Dean of the School of Business and Management. "We guar -antee that the participants will receive the best management education that the US and Asia have to offer."
Applications are now being accepted at the School of Busi-ness and Management for the first intake of 40, for classes slated to begin in the spring semester of 1998. Duration of the
program is 18 months. 0
A highlight of the EMBA program is the week-long residential session at Kellogg's James L. Allell Cel/ter ill Evanstoll, Illinois.
Classes will be tallght by faCility members from the two schools, illclllding many of the gifted professors who have already made Kellogg's Executive Master's Program the top-rated program of its killd. A typical weekend schedllle appears below.
,.
-,5pm-1pm)
PRESIDENT'S PROGRESS REPORT
Dawning of a New Era:
Education and Technology
in Hong Kong
This is the final issue of our Newslet-ter before Hong Kong moves into a new era: that of re-unification with China and self-governance under the principle of "one country, two systems". Foreign journalists have long asked what will happen to this young
Univer-sity after July 1. In earlier years, my reply was: "Everything will go on as usual. According to the Basic Law (often called the mini-constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), we the people of Hong Kong will have complete control over our educational policies, systems, and practices. So this young Univer-sity will simply continue to grow and contribute in accordance with its mission, objectives, and master plan."
More recently, especially after I began to participate in the work of the various transition teams (the Preliminary Working Commit-tee, Preparatory CommitCommit-tee, and Selection Committee) and saw how the transition was shaping up, my reply changed. Having gotten to know well the future leaders of Hong Kong, and noting the increased confidence with which the people of Hong Kong are approaching the transition, I now point to July 1, 1997 as the
dawning of a new era for all that this young University holds dear. Hong Kong has certainly been spectacularly successful in many ways. Our economy continues to boom. Our society is orderly and our people law-abiding. Our physical infrastructure is world-class. One could go on and on in this vein. Yet, in this rapidly advancing and fiercely competitive world, past glory does not guarantee future success. It is high time that we take new initiatives on many fronts. We need to prepare ourselves to move towards democracy at the very fast pace stipulated by the Basic Law. We need to strengthen the technical and managerial capabilities demanded by the economic transition underway in the region. And we need to improve the ~ulture, environment, and quality of life enjoyed by a community which has heretofore been occupied almost single-mindedly with business pursuits.
The keys, to all these initiatives are education and technology.
During the SAR election that took place last fall, every one of the major candidates campaigrung for the position of Chief Execu-tive emphasized the importance of upgrading Hong Kong's edu-cation and technology. The Chief Executive we elected, Mr TuNG
Chee HWll, committed himself personally to reviewing and im-proving Hong Kong's educational system. In addition to educa-tion, his five highest priorities included an upgrading of technol-ogy to revive Hong Kong's manufacturing industries. He saw education and technology as areas in which Hong Kong people should work out long-term objectives and invest heavily for the sake of our own future. His vision was truly refreshing.
My own view on education is this: After five years of rapid expansion, the tertiary sector is ready for a period of consolidation.
Each institution now has a well-defined mission and a clear set of goals to pursue. In funding, a steady-state policy should prevail-there should be neither an increase nor a decrease in terms of unit cost. We should further improve our quality, and focus on moving rapidly towards a four-year undergraduate curriculum.
In primary and secondary education, it is the consensus of our community that much improvement is urgently needed, and an overall review is in order. While work on academic issues such as curricula, teaching methodologies, examination system, civic edu-cation, and language instruction will be entrusted to experts with firsthand experience, the SAR Govelnment will have the respon-sibility of coming up with substantial budget increases.
If we decide to move towards a six-year secondary school system to go with a four-year college curriculum, all Form-5 students will remain in school for one more year. Next, all primary school pupils should attend school all day rather than for half a day. And classes in primary and secondary schools should be consider-ably smaller than at present.
There will, of course, be a price. I have done what scientists call a "back-of-the-envelope" calculation and estimated that in terms of recurrent cost an increase of a mere 1 % of GDP would suffice. Considering Hong Kong's economic standing, and the fact that our current 2.8% spending on education ranks among the lowest in the world, a 1 % increase seems amply affordable.
Turning now to technology, I am using the term in an expanded sense that includes science, from which technology emanates, and management, which uses technology to generate wealth.
Hong Kong is undergoing a critical economic transition-from a labor-intensive economy to a knowledge-based society, and from a peripheral trading post to a "dragon head" that will help integrate South China economically. Her service industries must learn to use current technology in a more timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Her traditional manufacturing sector must lower costs, enhance quality, increase product variety, improve productivity, protect the environment, and achieve higher added value. Her nascent high-tech industries must grow rapidly and be transformed into economic engines. All these processes are dependent on the wise use of technology.
For this to occur, the SAR Government must lead the way with vision. It must formulate a coherent industrial policy, build a sound technology infrastructure, establish an independent arm of govern-ment with advisory committees held accountable for their deci-sions, and move forward without delay. Given the pace of modem technology, windows of opportunity never stay open for long.
These views seem to be very close to what our SAR Chief Executive said as a candidate, and are consistent with the direction in which he appears to be moving. Hong Kong, taking her place among the world's rapidly rising economies and working hand-in-hand with her vast hinterland, now enters an exciting era of nation building.
Education and technology are what HKUST is all about. The times ahead wjll be good for the University. We look forward to
•
00
HKUST IN ACTION
A spirited medley of music, dance, and theater performances, together with film and video screenings and a contemporary art exhibit, filled the calendar of the University's first Arts Festival, organized during the week of 24-28 February by five student societies with the support of the HKUST Center for the Arts. Among the international events was an Indian dance recital by Siri RAMA.
Sensors to measure the frequency and ampli -tude of bridge vibrations were deployed on the newly built'Kap Shui Mun Bridge during the month of March by researchers from the Department of Civil and Structural Engineer-ing. The Department is working with the Hong Kong Highways Department to evaluate performance of the long-span bridge that will take passengers to and from Hong Kong's new international airport.
Opening the Fong Shu Chuen Promenade on 12 March were Dr LAU Wah-Sum, University Treas -urer; Dr FONG Yun Wah, Chairman of the Fong Shu Fook Tong Founda-tion; and Prof Chia-Wei Woo, University President. The naming of the walkway linking Undergraduate Halls I and II commemorates the Foundation's gift of $2 million to establish the Fong Shu Chuen Fund for university development. Putonghua students at HKUST took home the honors in two divi-sions of the territory-wide Putonghua Competition held on 22 March at the University'S Language Centre. HUNG Yuen Yuen, a first-year business student, was the winner in solo prose speaking, while a team from HKUST placed first in group verse speaking.
Another HKUST team placed second in group prose speaking.
Like today's global managers, engineering students at HKUST and Stanford University are working together to move supplies and products across national and regional boundaries. The 26 students are enrolled in an innovative course on "virtual teaming" jointly offered by the Industrial Engineering and Engineering Manage-ment del?artManage-ments of the two universities. Each
team collaborates on solving a real-world
logistical problem for a multinational company in Asia, and with only two opportunities to meet face-to-face, the students in Hong Kong and California must rely on e-mail, telephone, and video-conferencing to work out their solutions.
l
BUILDING A UNIVERSITY
Department of Management of
Organizations
Organization management is both an art and a science. Its aim is to coordinate the activities of each unit in an organization so that they work together to implement the strategic plan of the organization.
In training prospective managers, the
Department of Management of Organiza-tions studies management decisions and how they are made so as to impart to students an understanding of effective management skills and tools.
"What we do is look at the decisions that organizations make about how to compete in a particular industry," says Prof Anne S. TSUI, Head of the Depart-ment. "We're also interested in studying how organizations and their executives manage the people side of their business." Founded in 1993, Management of Or-ganizations is the most recently estab-lished academic department in HKUST's School of Business and Management. With 18 faculty members at present, the Department's courses in strategic plan-ning, human resources management, and organizational theory and behavior pre-pare students to function effectively in a wide range of organizations, both in busi-ness and in the not-for-profit world.
Views of an Organization
An organization'S strategic plan is a statement of its long-range strategy for development. Once formulated by top management, it is implemented by all the members of an organization. They in turn can be viewed on at least three levels-as individuals, as members of functional groups, and as constituents of the organi-zation as a whole.
At the individual level, management studies focus on questions relating to how employees can be motivated and their
leadership skills developed.
With functional groups, such as the accounting department in an office or an
assembly team on a production line, the
interest is in how such groups are formed, how they evolve, and in some cases, how they are superseded and vanish. Factors
SPRING 1997
that affect a group's performance are natu-ral focal points for such a study.
On the level of the organization as a whole, management scientists are inter-ested in seeing how an organization adapts to changes in the external environment. The ability to anticipate future needs and opportunities is an attribute of successful organizations.
Within all organizations, the art of hu-man resource hu-management is vital to the success of the enterprise. Managing the "people side of the business" involves not just the practical methods and skills used in staff recruitment and performance ap-praisal, but also an understanding of the motivations, values, and attitudes that af-fect every level of organizational behavior.
Cross-cultural Research
An important thread running through much of the research in the Department of Management of Organizations is the need to determine whether western theories and behavioral models can adequately explain business practices in Asia, and to develop new explanatory models where existing ones have been shown to be deficient.
Cross-cultural testing has already
dem-onstrated in many cases that measure-ments developed in one culture are not applicable across cultural boundaries. Hence the need for management scientists to develop more sensitive survey instru-ments capable of reflecting the cultural differences found in this part of the world. This type of empirical testing is cur-rently being pursued by Department searchers in many aspects of human re-source management and organizational
tional commitment and job turnover in China.
Dr Anne L. LYTLE is undertaking a
large-scale study of negotiation processes
and conflict resolution in five Asian
Pa-cific cultures. "One of the interesting things," she says, "is that the 'conflict avoidance' often identified as an Asian trait is really not that at all. It's actually a preference for indirect methods of con-flict resolution, and therefore a form of conflict management.
"Asian cultures are very rich in indi-rect ways ofresolving conflict, and we're only beginning to be able to devise survey instruments that can measure them. What's exciting is the opportunity to break new ground in an area with such wide ramifi-cations."
Future Development
In sum, the research currently being undertaken in the Department of Manage-ment of Organizations is helping to lay the groundwork for a body of theory and data that will provide the first accurate account of management practices in Asian
societies. This should lead in turn to the
development of more appropriate and complete tools for management students preparing to enter the business world of the 21st century.
With the whole world taking notes on the rapid economic development of this region, the Department has a bright and challenging future ahead. "Our goal," says Prof Tsui, "is to become a world-class
management department known for its
contributions to the field, and for offering
practical, relevant courses to its students."
o
behavior. Dr Kenneth S.LAW, for example, is in-vestigating the applica-bility of standard person-ality inventories to
work-ers in Hong Kong. Prof
Tsui is identifying the factors that influence the relationship between a supervisor and a new em-ployee, both in the US and in Hong Kong. Dr Douglas J. SEGO is test-ing the validity of west-ern models of
organiza-• Managemel1t students leam practical skills ill plallllil1g, decision making, and problem solving that enable them to function effectively ill a wide range of orgal1izatiol1s.
CASE STUDIES TEACH NUANCES OF ASIAN BUSINESS
Business is booming in Asia, and so is business education. Yet the effectiveness of business courses in Asia has long been limited by an acute shortage of teaching materials reflecting the actual experience of companies operating in this part of the world.
This is about to change with the publi-cation of the first collection of case stud-ies on Asian business, The Asian
Market-ing Case Book, by Noel CAPON and
Wilfried V ANHONACKER, due later this year from Prentice Hall.
Prof Vanhonacker is Head of HKUST' s Marketing Department, and Prof Capon was a visiting professor in the Marketing Department during 1994-95 while on leave from Columbia University.
"The project came about because we needed something we could use in our classes," said Prof Vanhonacker. The book itself is the result of a Teaching Develop-ment Grant extended to the two authors by the School of Business and Manage-ment at HKUST.
"The value of a case study," Prof Vanhonacker explained, "is that it brings the concept one is teaching closer to the reality of the environment. Basic busi-ness concepts don't change, but at the operational level you have to take into
Prof Wi/fried V ANHONACKER, co-author of The
Asian Marketing Case Book.
account certain cultural and political as-pects, as well as social and environmental issues. The cases give an in-depth look at the particular problems companies are fac-ing in this part of the world."
Represented in The Asian Marketing
Case Book are some of the biggest names
in Asian business, including Star TV, Sin-gapore Airlines, and Levi Strauss. But in a book that covers 16 Asian countries and market areas with four or five cases de
-voted to each area, there is also plenty of room for attention to local companies.
"Most business schools that do case development typically look at European
GUANXI: A CHINESE STYLE OF DOING BUSINESS
With the opening of China's economy,
foreign observers and investors have a natural interest in understanding Chinese ways of doing business. One subject of particular concern is guanxi-the rela-tionships or connections used to facilitate business dealings in China.
Dr Larry J. L. FARH of the Manage-ment of Organisations DepartManage-ment has been studying guanxi. "My objective is to explore how Chinese managers build up their connections," he says, "and how those connections affect their perform-ance and the performperform-ance of their busi-ness."
Dr Farh defines guanxi as the "particularistic ties" that develop from traditional personal relationships in China, such as with family relatives, classmates,
neighbors, and people from the same hometown. Dr Farh contrasts these ties with the demographic variables of age, gender, race, religion, and education that are frequently used to determine social identity in the West.
The importance of guanxi in China does not mean that people in other places do not rely on similar kinds of connections. "The 'old boy network' is present in all cultures," he says, "but it may be based on different things, and its importance else-where may not be as great as it is in Chinese culture."
Moreover, business practices in the West are generally well developed and conducted through various professions. When a business transaction is arranged, the parties involved usually employ
law-or American companies in Asia when they do cases on Asia at all," said Prof Vanhonacker. "They don't look at local companies. What we've done is to have both, but actually most of the cases are on local companies-a unique feature."
Readers in Hong Kong, for example, will be especially interested in cases in-volving Apple Daily, Citi Telecom, and the Mass Transit Railway.
The book is expected to be used at all levels of business education, from under-graduate courses to MBA and executive development programs. A companion vol
-ume of teaching notes will be made avail
-able to course instructors as well. Also in the works is a video library giving additional illustrative material, planned as a special project of the School of Business and Management.
The Asian Marketing Case Book is the
first book of its kind, and certainly not the last. Prof Vanhonacker is already hard at work on completing a successor-a China case book that will extend coverage be-yond marketing to the different functional areas of doing business in China.
"Joint ventures, state-owned enter-prises, and private, entrepreneurial projects-they'll all be there," he said.
"Look for it by the end of this year." D
yers to draft a contract stipulating the terms of the agreement. Since a valid con
-tract is legally binding, there is less need to rely on a relationship of mutual trust between the two parties.
But in China, where professional asso-ciations and their codes of ethics are still being formed, it is more common to see business transactions facilitated by the trust deriving from a particularistic tie.
Working with Prof Anne S. TsUI, Dr Farh is analyzing the workings of guanxi
in business relationships in China. So far, results of a study of business executives and their most important business con
-nections in a central Chinese city support the idea that the trust which high-level managers feel in their connections IS
largely established through guanxi. D
l
RESEARCH
_ _ JI
U
DEVELOPMENT
OTTO LIN JOINS HKUST AS VICE-PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Dr Otto C. C. LIN, former president of the pres-tigious Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan, became HKUST's Vice-President of Research and Development in early March.
Re-cently, he paused to answer afew questions for the Newsletter.
What attracted you to HKUST?
I support the mission of HKUST. Usually
a university is chartered as an institution for
higher education and research. But HKUST's
objective is also to assist in the economic and
social development of Hong Kong. This is a
difficult challenge which should not be underestimated, but at
the same time it is the additional value which the University can
bring to the community at this historic juncture.
I have worked for over 30 years in science, technology,
education, and industry. I am at the point in my career when I can
do some work that I really enjoy and that will be helpful to the
Chinese people. I feel HKUST is an exciting place that will give
me this opportunity.
What is your view of research opportunities at HKUST?
First of all, I believe HKUST has collected together an
excellent staff. A great deal of the research accomplished here is
of outstanding quality. As you might expect, the University is
gravitating toward a number of major thrust areas which the R&D and Academic Affairs branches have worked together to
identify. Projects in these areas obviously build on the strengths
of the faculty.
A major consideration is the future of Hong Kong. We need
to forecast Hong Kong's future industrial needs, as well as
understand its business and social environments. Then we can
position the University in accordance with that perspective. We
intend to reach a point of critical mass in many related science
and technology areas. But a university should also encourage
and support individual research where faculty members, in a free
and open environment, can follow their hunches and venture into unknown areas and create new opportunities for the future. We should create an environment where it is possible for every faculty member to pursue quality research.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am returning to Hong Kong. I went to junior high school
here. Those schools are unfortunately no longer in existence.
Then I moved to Taiwan for high school and college. I graduated
from National Taiwan University with a degree in chemical engineering. Then I went to the United States for postgraduate studies. I earned a master's and PhD from Columbia University in chemistry.
I worked in the US for Du Pont for 17 years in product R&D.
My work there was in the area of rheology-the flow and
deformation of materials. My job at Du Pont was to make good
use of the rheological properties of polymer systems.
I took leave from Du Pont in 1978 to become professor of
SPRING 1997
polymer science at National Tsinghua
Uni-versity in Taiwan and to help set up the
Polymer Institute. Later I was appointed dean
of engineering at Tsinghua.
The second time I returned to Taiwan to
work was in 1983 when I became the found-ing director of the Materials Research Lab in the Industrial Technology Research Institute
(ITRI), which is essentially Taiwan's
"na-tional lab." I stayed at iTRI for nearly 12 years, half the time as director of the MRL and half the time as the Institute's president. I was gratified to work with a group of
dedicated and innovative professionals at ITRI. A great deal of
our work there was to assist in establishing high-tech industries, helping Taiwan to become the third largest economy in the world in information products today. ITRI also tried to help
traditional industries such as bicycles and textiles gain top
market share by upgrading the value of their products.
Do you see similarities in the industrial development of
Tai-wan, Singapore, and Hong Kong?
In all three places, the population is blessed with a Chinese heritage as reflected in their work ethic, diligence, desire to
succeed, and innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. All three
have faced many difficulties and have depended on foreign
investment and technology in the initial phase of their industrial development.
Taiwan has made great strides because of its focus on educa
-tion and on cultivating indigenous technologies. Manufacturing
is a significant part of the economy, and it has become increas
-ingly technology intensive. Singapore has relied on multina-tional corporations and, without its own natural resources, has turned to trade, commerce, and financial services as its niches.
Singapore has built an excellent infrastructure, and it has an
effective government and a disciplined society which has
in-creasingly recognized the importance of science and technology
as competitive tools.
Hong Kong, traditionally a leader in many industrial sectors,
including plastics, textiles, and consumer electronics, has moved its manufacturing base into the Mainland and evolved to become an outstanding operations center. It must not grow complacent,
because regional competition in operations is fierce. Its role as
China's only or predominant entrepot may gradually erode.
Hong Kong needs to develop high-value services and
manufac-turing industries leveraging on science and technology. HKUST can playa vital role in helping Hong Kong's science, technology, and industry to develop. We can help to provide brain power, foster innovations, and promote the growth of technology to the general public. But the University cannot do it all. Successful industrial development requires an outstanding
physical and social infrastructure in which the government and
the business community are the major players. The University
RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENT
:T
NEW HEALTHFOOD RETARDS HUMAN AGING
Poised to make a big splash in the international healthfood market is a new antioxidant derived from Chinese herbs that promises to combat the effects of human aging and protect against heart and liver disease.
A New Antioxidant
Dr Ko suggests that his "newly discovered antioxidant" offers a different approach. "The body's best defense against free radicals is the proper functioning of its own antioxidant defense system," he says. "This involves not only vita-mins and minerals, but an anay of enzymes and other non-enzymatic systems."
Vitamins and minerals, he explains, are free NDA, for "newly discovered antioxidant", is
the work of Dr Robert K. M. Ko (Biochemistry) and the first product to emerge from the recently established Hong Kong Traditional Chinese
Medicine Research Center at HKUST. Dr Robert K. M. Ko, developer of a radical-scavenging antioxidants, meaning that NDA has combined the active ingredients
found in a traditional Chinese herbal formula
new antioxidant that combats the they themselves are consumed or "sacrificed" in
effects of hllman aging and protects the act of neutralizing free radicals. If free
radi-against I,eart and liver disease. cal production exceeds the antioxidant capacity with rigorous scientific processing to guarantee
safety and efficacy. It is being marketed by Lee Kum Kee Group Ltd, sponsors of the Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center and a leading healthfood manufacturer.
NDA brings something unique to the booming market for modem dietary supplements. But to appreciate what it does, one needs to understand how the body uses antioxidants to safeguard health.
Free Radicals
For many years, research programs in laboratories around the world have investigated human aging and its role in the onset of common diseases. Recently, their attention has been drawn to a naturally occurring molecule, the free radical.
Free radicals are molecules with a missing electron. They are highly reactive because they seek to acquire that missing elec-tron from a neighboring molecule. When that happens, the original free radical becomes stable, but at the cost of possibly creating another in its place, setting off a chain reaction.
A form of oxygen, free radicals occur as a byproduct of normal metabolic processes, but they can also be absorbed from air pollution and other environmental toxins. The danger comes when they accumulate in excess, attacking chemical bonds in proteins, cell membranes, and even the DNA in cells.
Researchers believe that as we age, the body gradually loses its natural ability to control the cellular damage caused
by free radicals. This oxidative process, commonly experienced as stiffening joints and wrinkling skin, is the same one that in nature causes steel to rust, rubber to turn hard, and hoses to crack. It may come as no surprise to learn that free radicals are also believed to contribute to the development of age-related diseases such as cataracts, arthritis, circulatory disorders, and cancer.
The body's natural response to f~ee radicals-anti-oxidants-are molecules that can safely donate an electron without turning into free radicals themselves,
halting the chain reaction. Recent medical advice has suggested that we Can counter the effects of aging by supplementing the body's own supply of antioxidants-hence the cunent boom in dietary supplements containing vitamins A, C, and E and certain minerals. Is there a need for another antioxidant on the market?
of optimum vitamin supplementation, then the additional free radicals will be left unscavenged and cell damage will result.
Therefore, supplementing the diet with vitamins and minerals alone may not be enough. According to Dr Ko, the antioxidants found in a traditional Chinese herbal formula offer greater promise in the fight against free radicals because they are able to regulate operation of the body's own antioxidant system.
This is in keeping with a fundamental principle of traditional Chinese medicine-namely, that management or prevention of disease is achieved through a balancing and harmonization of the body's functions. Therapeutic measures seek to remove the cause of disease by regulating the cellular systems in different tissues and organs.
In his research, Dr Ko verified the validity of this approach by using western pharmacological methods such as phytochemistry and bioassays to show that the antioxidants contained in certain Chinese herbs work not only by neutralizing free radicals, but by enhancing the performance of the body's antioxidant system as well.
His results also offered proof that these herbal antioxidants provide protection against heart and liver disease, as well as exercise-induced muscle damage.
NDA is expected to occupy a strong position in the interna-tional healthfood market.
Herbal components of NDA: (clockwise from lIpper right) schisandra, ginseng, lily-tllrf, a/1d American ginsellg; a/1d NDA in tablet for1l1.
Moreover, says Dr Ko, it is only the first in a series of related products he is devel-oping at the Traditional Chi-nese Medicine Research Center. Another herbal tonic, called Biosports, is due to be launched this summer. 0
HKUST STUDENT MAKES HIS MARK AT CHIP OLYMPICS
Felix CHEUNG is a quiet chap. Anunassuming, hard-working student with proud parents who have become even prouder since Felix's appearance at the world's top microelectronics confer-ence in January.
As the fIrst person from Hong Kong to present a paper at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), Felix has fuilllled a goal set by the founding faculty of the Depart-ment of Electrical and Electronic En-gineering.
"To be represented at the world's top conference so quickly, and by one of our master's students, is a wonder-ful achievement for our staff and
stu-ill 0.8 micron
CMOS.
dents," said Prof Philip CHAN, Acting Department Head.
"I was speaking to a world-class audience, and I had to face a tough question-and-answer session," said Felix. "It was a great experience, but I was glad I was so well prepared-I'd already been asked every possible question during rehearsals.
"I was amazed by the audience, how quickly they could analyze my design and come up with possible applications. After the presentation, designers using the same techniques in different products were asking how I had made it work in my chip."
Prof Kenneth SMITH, a visiting professor in the EEE Depart-ment who has been involved in ISSCC for many years, explained,
"Although Felix's design is not revolutionary, the com -plexity, performance, and size of his design and its applications in cable digital broadcasting attracted the selectors."
Unlike academic conferences, the ISSCC-known as the "Chip Olympics"-is dominated by industry. This year only 25% of the papers presented came from univer-sity researchers, and those were mostly from doctoral students working in large research units.
The industry uses ISSCC to announce new products.
Five generations of research: (from left) Felix CHEUNG,
Dr Anron BUCHWALD, Prof Kennetll MARTIN (Universittj of Toronto), Prof Adel SEDRA (Vice-President and
Provost of Toronto), and Prof Kenneth SMITH, ti,e gre
at-great-grandfather of the research family.
Prof Smith emphasized that the conference's impact extends beyon.d research in-. novations. "ISSCC entices the technical press, who in tum impress stock market analysts," he said. "These guys predict new trends All the well-known computer chips in use today, such as
the Pentium processor, made their debut there. Companies such as Sony, Intel, Samsung, Motorola, and Digital are there every year.
Felix was still completing his MPhil in electronic engineering when he learned of his selection for the conference, to present a new microchip he had designed to help optimize the signal recep-tion of portable satellite and TV receivers. This honor came only two years after receiving his first degree from HKUST.
The Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department helped Felix prepare for his appearance with intensive coaching. And on arrival in San Francisco, the site of ISSCC 1997, there were some familiar faces to help him out. Of the more than 3,000 conference attendees, 10 were from HKUST and two were alumni.
When it came time for Felix's session, he found himself facing an audience of over 400 people, alongside representatives of Hitachi and SGS Thomson.
INTERNATIONAL HONORS
&
AWARDS
Dr Che Ting CHAN (Physics)
Fellow, American Physical Society, 1996 Prof Samuel CHANSON (Computer Science)
Honorary Professor, Institute of Information, Economics and Technology, State Information Center, PRC, 1995 Dr Justin CHUANG (Electrical & Electronic Engineering)
Fellow, Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, 1996 Dr Justin LIN (Economics)
Sir John Crawford Award, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, 1997
based on ISSCC, which makes CEOs sit up and take notice." Felix's chip took i.wo and a half years to design, including seven months in the US at Broadcom Corp. in Irvine, California, where his former supervisor, Dr Aaron BUCHWALD, now works.
In fact, Felix's tutelage under Dr Buchwald is the latest link in an academic genealogical chain that makes him Prof Smith's "great-great-grandstudent". (Dr Buchwald's PhD supervisor had been supervised by one of Prof Smith's former PhD students.) All fIve researchers were proud to be present at ISSCC this year, and Felix was particularly pleased to meet his predecessors from previous generations.
Even better, upon returning home, Felix found himself looking over some attractive choices. "Job offers are promising at the moment," he said. "I hope to stay in Hong Kong." 0
Prof Simon M. SZE (Electrical & Electronic Engineering) Member, U.S. National Academy of Engineering, 1995 Honorary Professor, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 1996 Prof Po Lock VUE (Chemical Engineering)
Honorary Professor, Zhejiang University, 1996
Honorary Professor, East China University of Science and Technology, 1996
Honorary Professor, Tianjin University, 1996
I
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.__1_____間--~--SPRING 1997
ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS
VICE-PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Otto C. C. L叭
(林垂宙博士)
As HKUST's Vice-President ofResearch and Development
,
Dr OUo Lin brings to his new post a wealth of 巴xperiencegained during an extensive career in R&D management and industrial product development.Dr Lin is a graduate ofNational Taiwan University with a degree in chemical engineering. His postgraduate work was done at Columbia University, where he received an MS and a PhD in
chernis缸.• y. He then worked for the E. 1. Du Pont Company in 血eUS
for 17 years in product R&D and process design.
In 1983
,
Dr Lin retumed to Asia to become director ofthe newly established Matelials Reseru.ch Laboratory in Taiwan's IndustIial Technology Research Institute. ITRI is Taiwan's largest R&D organization, concentrating on high-tech industIial development to boost Taiwan's economy. Dr Lin was appointed president ofITRI in 1988 and served two terms, leaving th巴 postin 1994.Before joining HKUST, Dr Lin was a p阱rofes邱soωrof eng♂me巴nng
management at National Ts剖ingHua Univer討 t句y and a visiting
profes臼soωrin t白h巴 Centrefor Management of T巴chn∞lωologya瓜tthe National Univ巴rsityof Singapore. 口
VISITING PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS Larry G. EpSTEIN
(業司泰博士)
ProfL也TyEpstein is a distinguished econornist specializing in mathematical economics, utility theory, and uncertainty theory. For the past 20 years, he has been a member of the Economics Department at the University ofToronto, where he was appointed University Professor of Econornics in 1994.
ProfEpstein was trained as a mathematician at 由e Universi句lof
Manitoba, where he earned his undergraduate degree, and at Hebrew University irI Jerusalem, where he received an MA in mathematics. His PhD in economics was awarded by the Univer-sity ofBritish Columbia in 1977.
He is a fellow of the Econometric Society
,
whose Flisch Meda1 he received in 1994. That same year,
he received the Canadian Economics Association's John Rae Award for Outstanding Re-search and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.He is a memb 巴臼rof the editolial boa缸rdof f，臼our1ea吋ding
profes-S幻
sio昀O∞na叫1 j抖ourna
αnd Unceω/"t，加f的ai的nf)吵1. 口
PROFESSOR AND HEAD DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY Dennis P. H. HsæH
(謝顯堂博士)
Prof Dennis P. H. Hsieh, who came to HKUST as a visiting professor in 1995-96
,
has been appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Bi010gy. He is a widely published authority on environrnental toxicology and rnicrobiology, natural toxicants and anti-toxicants in the food chain,
and microbial transformation processes.Prof Hsieh received his BA from National Taiwan University and his MS and ScD in biochernical engineering from MIT. He joined the 臼cu1tyof the University of California at Davis in 1969 as amemb巴rof its unique Department of Environmental Toxicol-ogy. He became a full professor in 1980 and served as chairman of the deprutment from 1983 to 1988. In 1994
,
he assumed an emeIitus status but continued to work at Davis unti11996.Prof Hsieh has served as president of th巴 AmericanChinese Toxicology Society and as a member of the Toxicology Section of the US National Institutes of Health and of the Food Advisory Comrnittee of the US Food and Drug Adrninis仕ation.Currently
,
he is a m巴mber of the Scientific Council of the National Health Reseru.ch Institute of Taiwan. 口告會 J
VISITING PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Robert W. BLAN!叮叮
(白恩寧博士)
Prof Robert W. B1anning comes to HKUST from Vanderbilt University, where he is Professor of Management (Information Systems) at th巴 OwenGraduate Schoo1 of Management. His current research is on decision support and workflow systems,
including the modeling of integrated information systems and the design of scenalio support systems.
Before joining Vanderbi1t
,
Prof Blanning taught at the Whruton School of the University of Pennsylvania and in the Schools ofBusin巴ss at New York University. He a1so worked as a nuc1ear engineer at General Electric's Knolls Atornic Power Laboratory and as a research ana1yst in the Corporate Operations Research Department of the Mobil Oil Corporation.
His first degree was in physics
,
earned at Pennsylvania State University. He subsequently obtained an MS in operations re-search from the Case Institute of Techno10gy and a PhD inop巴rationsreseru.ch and management information systems from the University of Pennsy1vania.
ProfBlanning is the editor of Foundatiol1s 01 Expert Systems lor
Management (1990) and has co-edited two books on decision
support technology and artificia1 intelligence 口
ASSOCIA TE PROFESSOR OF
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING &
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT Hong CHEN
(陳宏博士) VISITING ASSOCIA TE PROFESSOR
OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC
ENGIl河EERll河G Zhi DING
Stanford University (Engin巴巴ring-Economic
Syst巴ms)
Assoc. Professor, University of British
Columbia
Analysis, design, and control of stochastic
systems, such as manufacturing systems,
communication networks, and supplier chains
1993-present Res巳archInterests (T 峙博士)
Cornell University (Electrical Engineering)
Assoc. Professor, Auburn University
Digital communications; signal processing; adaptiv巳 signalprocessing; blind equalization;
cyclostationary signal processing.
1990 PhD 1990-1997 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING Dingbo Xu ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY Nikolaus 1. SUCHER (許定波博士)
University of Minnesota (Accounting) Coordination and communication in a decentralized system; role of financial disclosure to capital markets
1996 PhD
Research Int巴rests
Free Univ巴rsityof B巴rlin(Medicine)
Asst Professor of N巴urology ，Harvard Medical
School and Children's Hospital, Boston
Structur巴，function, and regulation of expres-sion of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors;
neuronal signaling; gene expression; transla
tional regulation.
1988 Dr med.
1992-96
Research Interests
VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
Wei ZHANG VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
OF ECONOMICS R 阻
一闊的
UU
輔
vd--J 、ME
E( (張瑋博士)University of Pittsburgh (Economics) Theoretical and applied econometrics; labor econoffilcs
1996 PhD R巴search Int巴rests University of Minnesota (Economics)
Assistant Professor, St. Louis University
Dynamic general equilibrium; neoclassical
trade and growth.
1991 PhD 1 992-present Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MARKETING Jaideep SENGUPTA (石豁達博士) VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
OF INFORMA TION & SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT Z巴haiZHOU
University of California, Los Angeles
(Mar-keting)
Attitude strength; low involvement process
ing; celebrity endorsements; dual processing
persuasion models; cross-cultural research.
PhD
Research Interests
1996
(周澤海博士)
University of Arizona (Management Informa
tion Systems)
Database management; telecommunication;
information retrieval and knowledge
discov-ery; evolutionary computing.
PhD Research Inter巴sts 1996 4 凹 oh 目4ι 。
