HKU Bulletin May 2012 (Vol. 13 No. 2)

Teaching and Research Awards 30 Excellence in Teaching and Research 2011 32 Outstanding Teaching Award 34 Distinguished Research Achievement Award 35 Outstanding Researcher Award 36 Outstanding Young Researcher Award 37 Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award 38 Research Output Prize Honours 39 Honorary Degrees Teaching and Learning 42 Teachers Learn, too, in the Common Core Books 44 Living Language People 46 Teaching, Transparency and Tottenham Hotspur Arts and Culture 48 Wandering in the Wonderland News in Brief 01 Arts Bids Farewell to the Main Building 02 HKU Academics Sweep 2012 Croucher Senior Research Fellowships The Sixth Inauguration of Endowed Professorships 03 Newest Fellow of the NAS Professor Vivian Yam Professor Tony Fung Elected Fellow of the AAAS 04 City Planning Forum – Do Taipei’s Challenges Hold Lessons for Hong Kong? ‘Szeto Wah Collection’ Turnover Ceremony cum Exhibition 05 Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre Sam Hui ‘Brightens’ HKU with His Music Centenary 06 Relics Tell the Stories of HKU Cover Story 10 The Art of Reading the Brain 12 Mindfulness over Matter 16 The Philosophy of Pain and Suffering 18 Tripped up by the Tongue Research 20 CO 2 ’s Role in the Big Freeze 22 HowClimate Change Sparks Major Human Crises? 24 Hong Kong’s Pivotal Role in the Pacific War 26 The Truth about the Gin Drinker’s Line Contents News in Brief As one of the three founding faculties of HKU, the Faculty of Arts, which commemorates its 100 th anniversary in 2012, has called the Main Building home for nearly a century. Later this year, the Faculty will be moving to a new home, in fact, a new building of its own, on the Centennial Campus. So on April 22, an Arts Farewell to the Main Building event was held in Loke Yew Hall and many staff, students and alumni from the Faculty showed up to reminisce about the good times they had there. The Faculty has nurtured a great deal of talent over the past century, which explains why there were so many eminent guests at the event. The former Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan led the way with her opening remarks for the ceremony, followed by poetry readings by Agnes Lam and Leung Ping- kwan, the presentation of the student Video Competition Prize by University Artists Mabel Cheung and Alex Law, a performance of Haydn‘s Farewell Symphony by the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, and finally a ‘percussion parade’ around the Main Building led by University Artist Lung Heung-wing. A wide range of activities also took place throughout the Main Building, including a calligraphy demonstration by Professor C.Y. Sin, cultural performances, and a creative writing café, just to name a few. Professor Kam Louie, the Dean of Arts, told those attending: “We are excited about these changes, which we believe will further enhance the student learning experience and allow us to maintain our position as one of the finest humanities faculties in the region and internationally. However, we didn’t want to leave our 100-year-old home without a proper goodbye. Of course, the Main Building will remain a symbol not just of the Faculty, but of the University as a whole, for all to enjoy.” The new Centennial Campus building will house all existing Arts departments and will also boast many new specialist facilities – such as special storage for historical and multimedia materials, and innovative venues for performances and exhibitions – which will all contribute to creating an excellent learning environment for our students. M Accompanied by many distinguished alumni, Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui kicked off a ‘percussion parade’ around the Main Building. The Honourable Mrs Anson Chan delightedly recalled her memories in Loke Yew Hall. Performance of Haydn’s Farewell Symphony (Movements 1 and 4) by the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra A calligraphy demonstration by Professor C.Y. Sin A New Era Begins Arts Bids Farewell to the Main Building May 2012 01