HKU Bulletin January 2005 (Vol. 6 No. 2)

Dr Tatia Lee Mei Chun Associate Professor, Department of Psychology D r Lee is fascinated and inspired by the extraordinary power of the human brain. How does this smal l organ def ine our identities and regulate our everyday emotions and behaviour? How do ageing and injury affect the brain’s regulation? What can be done to maximize the potential of our brains, or to ensure the fullest possible recovery after brain injuries? Dr Lee is challenged by these important research questions, and has been working with scientists of different disciplines to address them, using functional neuroimaging technology and behavioral methodology. Her research f indings in the f ields of neuropsychology and neuroscience have been widel y disseminated. She has authored one book and four book chapters and published 60 international journal papers, and has presented her work at international conferences on numerous occasions. Dr Lee believes in teamwork. Her laboratory has very close ties with other research labs and institutes in the university and beyond. She believes that collaboration across disciplines generates synergies, and is essential for scientific innovation. She also says that it has been a privilege to work with her research staff and students, and that she has enjoyed unfailing support in her work from her mentors, friends and family. They made this award possible, and she would therefore like to dedicate it to them. tmclee@hkusua.hku.hk http://www.hku.hk:8400 /psychodp/people/profile.php? person=tlee Professor Lawrence Lai Wai Chung Professor, Department of Real Estate and Construction P rofessor Lai is an academic who keeps up his professional practice. He coined and promoted the idea of ‘planning by contract’, which articulates a social contract theory of society and institutional economics. In this context, he has worked closely with Professor Chris Webster of Cardiff University on urban management within a property rights framework and with Professor Frank Lorne of California State University on the institutional mechanisms for sustainable development. He has also critically examined Hong Kong’s planning control system in terms of its logical structure and impact on private property rights, and has appl ied statistical techniques to evaluate planning decisions in friendly international competition with researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Professor Lai says that he owes an immense intellectual debt to his former teachers at the University, and is also grateful to the Hong Kong Economic Journal for providing him with a vent for his ideas in the 1990s that enabled him to develop his academic reputation. He insists that two qualities are essential for progress in learning: firstly, humi l ity; and secondly, a passionate desire to discover the truth. wclai@hkusua.hku.hk http://hkusury2.hku.h k 15 14 EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH Outstanding Young Researcher Award