Endowed Professorships are established to support the academic pursuits of distinguished professors. They are the most significant awards bestowed upon academics at HKU and are a reminder of the importance of the ongoing partnership between academia and those who support our endeavours. On April 20, 2012, HKU was pleased to celebrate its Sixth Inauguration of Endowed Professorships.

At the ceremony, the announcement of the Joseph Needham – Philip Mao Professorship in Chinese History, Science and Civilization took the spotlight. This professorship was established in honour of the late Dr Joseph Needham, who directed the monumental work ‘Science and Civilization in China’, and the late Dr Philip Wen Chee Mao, the Founding Chairman of the East Asian History of Science Foundation (Hong Kong).

The establishment of the Y W Kan Professorship in Natural Sciences was also announced at the Inauguration. Created by the Croucher Foundation, this Professorship is named after Professor Y W Kan, in recognition of his many contributions to the work of the Foundation and to the discipline of science in Hong Kong for over two decades.

At the ceremony, Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui noted proudly: “Since the first inauguration in 2005, we now have 66 Endowed Professorships at the University. We aim to create 100 Endowed Professorships and I am grateful to the community for its support of the University’s goal.”

For more about HKU’s Endowed Professorships, please go to http://www.hku.hk/ephku/.