HKU Bulletin May 2008 (Vol. 9 No. 2)

3 NEWS ROUND-UP Mathematician Scoops State Science Award O ne of our leading mathematicians has received the State Natural Science Award at a ceremony, at the People's Great Hall in Beijing, presided over by Chinese leaders including Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. Professor Mok Ngaiming, Chair of Mathematics, was conferred the award on the basis of his research programme Complex geometry on symmetric and homogeneous spaces . He was one of the only two Mathematics recipients in the last year. The award is a recognition of Mok’s significant contributions to the development of Mathematics in China over the past three decades. As early as 1980 he was invited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences to lecture on the subject of Complex Geometry. This was followed by a number of fruitful collaborations with outstanding mathematicians from the Mainland. In 1989, he published two articles in the flagship journal Annals of Mathematics ; one of the articles, co-authored with the late Professor Jiaqing Zhong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was the first article (co-)authored by a Mainland mathematician to appear in Annals of Mathematics since China opened up to the world in the late seventies. Mok said he was delighted to have received the Award. “I am glad to see that China is attaching great importance to the Basic Sciences, and I am honoured to be able to contribute at a moment when China is making great efforts to develop the Sciences through innovation. Mathematics is of fundamental importance to the development of the Natural Sciences. Through innovations and discoveries in Mathematics, I hope to continue making contributions to the advancement of China’s scientific research,” he said. Mok’s award-winning programme Complex Geometry on symmetric and homogeneous spaces is a comprehensive research programme in Pure Mathematics, covering the theory of the functions of Several Complex Variables, Complex Differential Geometry and Algebraic Geometry. The research encompasses Classical Domains, initiated by the late distinguished Chinese mathematician Professor Loo-keng Hua, and research areas such as rational homogeneous spaces and Fano manifolds in Algebraic Geometry. NEWS ROUND-UP 2 A Generous Donation to Boost University Development T he University was the grateful recipient of $500 million thanks to the generosity of businessman and philanthropist, Dr Lee Shau Kee, Chairman of the Lee Shau Kee Foundation. The donation will be put towards institutional advancement with $250 million going to support student scholarships and the remainder going towards campus development. Dr Lee said of the gift: “Nurturing great talent is a long-term investment. The result, however, is immensely rewarding as the society benefits from the knowledge and expertise that these leaders acquire during their school years. “The University of Hong Kong is an outstanding institution. Through this donation I wish to support the future development of the University, thereby enabling it to continue its excellent tradition of producing exemplary leaders for Hong Kong, Mainland China and the global community.” In thanking Dr Lee the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, said: “This generous gift is a major investment towards higher education in Hong Kong, as with Dr Lee’s astute business sense, this will surely be a valued investment for the future.” In recognition of the donation the Lecture Centre and the Learning Commons on the new Centennial Campus (which is targeted for completion in 2012) will be named the Shau Kee Lecture Centre and the Colin Lam Learning Commons respectively. A New Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering P rofessor Yuen Kwok Yung, Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Diseases and Head of the Department of Microbiology, has been selected a Fel low of the Chinese Academy of Engineer ing and was one of only two Hong Kong academics so honoured at the end of last year. Pro-Vice-Chancel lor and Vice- President Professor Paul Tam said: “This is an exceptional accolade as only six out of all the 721 Fellows of the Academy are Hong Kong academics.” The Chinese Academy of Engineering was established in 1994. As the most prestigious and informative advisory institution in China’s engineering science and technology environment, the academy boasts a group of academicians with outstanding contributions to engineering and technological sciences. They are the cream of the country’s ten million engineering science and technology workers. Yuen, who graduated from The University of Hong Kong in 1981, has the rare distinction of being a microbiologist, surgeon and physician. In 2000, he was appointed the Scientific Co-director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, a joint research venture between the Institute Pasteur and the University, based on his expertise in the area of emerging infectious diseases. Widely known among specialists in infectious diseases, he played a key role in the discovery of the agent causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the SARS coronavirus in 2003, which led to measures that were crucial to containing the outbreak of the disease. He has also led his team in the discovery of other disease agents. Yuen is one of the top 1% researchers in the world and has published more than 300 papers in peer reviewed journals with over 6000 citations.