Honorary University Fellows
Dr James WONG Sai Wing is Chairman of Hon Kwok Land Investment Co Ltd, Chinney Investments Ltd and Chinney Alliance Group Ltd.
Dr Wong was born in Shanghai, raised in Hong Kong and educated in the USA. He holds a BSc in Physics and Mathematics from Baylor University and a PhD in Mathematics from California Institute of Technology. After serving as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Iowa, he returned to Hong Kong in 1974 to manage the family business.
Apart from being a successful businessman, industrialist, real estate developer and entrepreneur, Dr Wong also remains a mathematician and prolific researcher, with published papers that reflect his interest in differential equations, qualitative and oscillation theory, and functional analysis. He has published 151 papers, with over 3,200 citations according to Google Scholar.
Dr Wong was first appointed as an Honorary Research Associate in the HKU Department of Mathematics in 1980 and has served as an Honorary Professor since 2004. He has also served the University as a Member of Council and the Committee Review Committee, and has been a Member of the Finance Committee since 1996.
Dr Wong has served as a Member of the Labour Advisory Board, the Textile Advisory Board, the Council of the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Council for Academic Accreditation, the Research Grants Council and the Council of the Open University. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1987.
Citation delivered by Dr Paul CHOW Man Yiu, University Treasurer
Dr James WONG Sai Wing is Chairman of Hon Kwok Land Investment Co Ltd, Chinney Investments Ltd and Chinney Alliance Group Ltd, and a member of the Finance Committee here at HKU.
Dr Wong was born in Shanghai, raised in Hong Kong and educated in the USA. He holds a BSc in Physics and Mathematics from Baylor University and a PhD in Mathematics from California Institute of Technology.
To help us better understand Dr Wong, we might perhaps turn to the discipline he so excels in: mathematics.
Today, no consensus on the definition of mathematics prevails, even among professionals. There is not even any consensus on whether mathematics is an art or a science. But what we can say with greater certainty is that the term “mathematics” comes from ancient Greek, meaning “that which is learnt”, or quite simply, “lessons”.
Certainly, the depth and scope of what Dr Wong has learnt and accomplished in his life would take the rest of us several lifetimes. Let us see what lessons we can learn from him.
After serving as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Iowa, Dr Wong returned to Hong Kong in 1974 to manage his family business.
In addition to leading his company to growth and prosperity, he has also expanded and diversified his business interests, becoming a successful businessman, industrialist, real estate developer and entrepreneur.
But his intellectual curiosity has never left him, and Dr Wong is also a prolific writer, researcher, with published papers that reflect his interests in differential equations, qualitative and oscillation theory, and functional analysis.
He has published 151 papers, 26 of which were in the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications in the US, where he served as an Associate Editor from 2001 to 2012, and where he continues to contribute as an Honorary Editor.
Dr Wong was first appointed as an Honorary Research Associate in the HKU Department of Mathematics in 1980 and has served as an Honorary Professor since 2004. For many years, He has actively participated in the Department’s annual conferences and workshops.
Dr Wong has also served the University as a Member of the Council, the Committee Review Committee, and has been a member of the Finance Committee since 1996, and its longest serving member.
Being the property expert in the Finance Committee, we consult him whenever possible, be it about building costs on the university campus, or property purchases for HKUSPACE or the University, and so on. The most notable ones were the purchases of two floors in the Admiralty Centre and a large portion of a floor in No 9 Queen's Road Central in the 1990s.
In other community work, Dr Wong has served as a member of the Labour Advisory Board, the Textile Advisory Board, the Council of the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Council for Academic Accreditation, the Research Grants Council and the Council of the Open University. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1987.
René Descartes, the 17th century French philosopher and mathematician, said: “It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.” Dr Wong has certainly used his mind well, applied his abilities extensively, and as a result, our society has been better off for it.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro Chancellor, to present Dr James WONG Sai Wing for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.