HKU Bulletin April 2006 (Vol. 7 No. 2)

CONTENTS Editor The Registrar Editorial Board Sheila Stimpson, Dora Yue Writers Kathy Griffin, Allison Jones Photographer Richard Jones, sinopix photo agency Graphic Designer trinity & co. Printer HeterMedia Services Limited Items for Publication Items for publication in The University of Hong Kong Bulletin or suggestions for subjects which might be included should be addressed to the editorial board, Knowles Building, telephone number: 2859 2229, fax number: 2559 9459 or e-mail: bulletin@hku.hk . Items should include the author’s name and University contact details. If you have any comments or suggestions to make regarding the content or format of The University of Hong Kong Bulletin , please direct them to the editor for consideration by the editorial board. Printed on recycled paper. 1 NEWS ROUND-UP The Return of Chris Patten T he University took great pleasure in welcoming back Hong Kong’s last Governor, the Rt Hon. Chris Patten, who returned to the territory to promote his latest book Not Quite the Diplomat . Speaking to an audience of students and staff in a packed Loke Yew Hall, Lord Patten said that he cared passionately about universities, higher education and investment in research and development. “The position of Chancellor of Oxford University,” he said, “gives me the opportunity to act as an advocate for higher education and in that capacity to recognize how much we share, and how much it is opportunities as well as problems which make national frontiers porous. I think that is particularly true in the pursuit of knowledge and learning.” In speaking of the rise of China and Asia he declared that world is changing dramatically and that the Western world needs to recognize that change. “What do I mean by that? What I mean is the extraordinary rise of Asia and of China and India. We need a sense of history in order to appreciate the extent to which what is happening is a turn of the wheel. “You all know that Donald Rumsfeld has a certain way with words. And I notice a few months ago he said he hoped that he would be able to encourage China to join the civilized world. It sort of makes you wonder about education!” “I mention that because it’s important for all of us to remember that from about 1500 to 1820 India and China represented fifty per cent of the world’s GDP, and for 18 out of the last 20 centuries China has been the largest economy in the world and it will be the largest economy again in this century.” He said he expected China and India to become ‘mightily important’ economic and political forces. “There isn’t a single global problem, there isn’t a single global opportunity, which we can successfully tackle without the involvement of China and India.” He went on to describe universities as the most important pillars of free societies. “People talk about the importance of universities in relation to the knowledge-based economy,” he said. “But universities are principally repositories of the values of a free society. And what you do here, the way you stand up for those ideas and the way you develop those ideas, is going to play, in my judgment, an important role in creating this century.” He spoke openly about his admiration for Hong Kong describing it as one of the freest cities in Asia and added: “If you want to learn about responsible free-market economics I guess you can read Adam Smith or you can buy a plane ticket and come to Hong Kong. And I wish that some of those who are so hostile to free trade – both the rich who think that they should protect their own markets and some who come from poorer countries and think that free trade is a threat to their own impoverishment – could spend a little time here and see what a community with absolutely no resources whatsoever can achieve through energy and vigour and its own creativity.” NEWS ROUND-UP 1 u The Return of Chris Patten 2 u In the Arms of a Goddess 3 u Human Rights Generosity 4 u Liver Pioneers Win Top Prize DEVELOPMENT 5 u University’s Vision for Modernity COVER STORY 6 u Unlocking the Secrets of Ageing TEACHING AND LEARNING 8 u Conservation Experience 9 u Mentors Teach Outside the Classroom RESEARCH 10 u Language Study Is a Family Affair 11 u Learning to Understand Autism 12 u Probing the Brains of Men who Abuse 13 u Professor Retires to the Hot Seat PEOPLE 14 u A Perfect Match 16 u Leading Astronomer Returns Home 18 u There Is Room at the Top 20 u Demand Increases for Humanities BATTLE AGAINST BIRD FLU 22 u Research into H5N1 Virus Continues Apace 24 u Molecules that Protect EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH, 2004-05 26 u What Makes a Good Teacher 28 u Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award 30 u Outstanding Young Researcher Award 34 u Outstanding Researcher Award 37 u Special Research Achievement Award