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

Professor Malik Peiris Personal Professor, Department of Microbiology P rofessor Peiris has been involved in investigating a number of emerging infectious disease threats, including Japanese encephalitis in Sri Lanka, and bird flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong. His recent research has focused on the ecology, epidemiology and pathogenesis of avian and human influenza. He has helped def ine the burden of disease associated wi th human influenza in the tropics, and has improved our understanding of why avian influenza H5N1 causes such severe disease in humans. Last year, he was involved in identi fying the causative agent of SARS. Together with other members of the University and Queen Mary Hospital team, he developed tests for diagnosing infection and helped unravel the disease process and its transmission. Professor Peiris believes strongly that the primary aim of education is to challenge students to think for themselves. His supervisory approach is therefore aimed at nurturing creativity and fostering self-learning in his students. malik@hkucc.hku.hk http://www.hku.hk/m ibpage Professor John Malpas Professor: Chair of Earth Sciences P rofessor Malpas’s research interests range from the history of geology to the origin of high pressure minerals in the earth’s mantle, but he is perhaps best known for his work on the geology of ocean basins, both modern and ancient. He was one of the first researchers to realize that the study of ophiolites – f ragments of old oceans – could produce a bet ter understanding of the processes that have produced more than 60% of the earth’s crust, and has developed models to illustrate these processes. He has also shown the importance of ophiolites in the geological evolution of mountain belts. He was part of a team which made a unique discovery of minerals from ophiolitic rocks in Tibet, which has shed important light on the volcanic processes that have shaped the earth’s geology. Professor Malpas likes to think of the University not as an institution where older, experienced minds simply pass on their knowledge to the young, but as a place where young, active, inquisitive minds challenge the experience of their teachers and mentors, and keep them young at heart, if not – sadly – in body! jgmalpas@hku.hk http://www.hku.hk /earthsci/other/des_fram.htm EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH Outstanding Researcher Award 21 20