HKU Bulletin June 2013 (Vol. 14 No. 3)

News in Brief Two eminent HKU academics – Professor Ron Hui Shu-yuen, Philip KH Wong Wilson KL Wong Professor in Electrical Engineering, and Professor Irene Ng Oi-lin, Loke Yew Professor in Pathology and Head of the Department of Pathology – were awarded Senior Research Fellowships by the Croucher Foundation for their prominent scientific achievements and research endeavours. The awards were presented on March 21, 2013 by Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government. Professor Hui’s research interests focus on power-electronics-based electrical energy conversion technologies, with an emphasis on improving energy efficiency and reducing electronic waste. The main research area of Professor Ng, the only academic to receive this award twice, is the pathological changes in the formation and progression of liver cancer, identification of liver cancer stem cells and characterisation of important genes, cell signalling pathways and microRNAs. First introduced in 1997, the Croucher Senior Research Fellowships honour outstanding local academics who have remarkable research accomplishments, judged by leading international scientists invited to provide confidential reviews of candidates nominated in a competitive exercise. M Distinguished HKU Academics Awarded Croucher Senior Research Fellowships 2013–14 Winning Recognition for Our Green and Sustainable Campus HKU’s Centennial Campus has been awarded Platinum certification under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction and Major Renovations, for its high performance in terms of green features and energy efficiency in six areas of assessment, including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality and innovation in designs. As the first higher education institution in Hong Kong and the second organisation in the territory to achieve the highest standard, HKU has been recognised for its commitment to sustainable development. Sustainable features such as the integration of landscaped spaces into the Campus, careful positioning of buildings to capture natural light, breezes and storm water, installation of renewable energy devices for electricity generation and demonstration purposes, just to name a few, all contributed to the commendation. Developed by the US Green Building Council, the LEED rating system is a widely recognised programme for identifying green buildings, homes and communities across the globe in terms of their design, construction, operation and maintenance. M ! " # $ % ! & ' ( ) ( * + , * - ( . / ( A trend in mineral collection and appreciation has been emerging in China in recent years as HKU hosted its first Mineral Festival 2013, organised by the Stephen Hui Geological Museum and the Mineralogy Society of Hong Kong, this past April. The Festival included a wide spectrum of activities, such as the Mineralogy Society’s 7 th Mineral Fair held in Loke Yew Hall, talks, workshops, guided museum exhibition tours and a special field trip to Tung Ping Chau led by Professor Chan Lung-sang, Department of Earth Sciences. A special highlight is the Mineral Treasures of China exhibition in the Stephen Hui Geological Museum, showcasing over 50 world-class and finest mineral specimens found in various provinces in China over the last 30 years. On display are valuable minerals and crystals, including a green fluorite piece from Hunan weighing approximately 70 kilograms, the rare and large scheelite and ottensite crystals from Sichuan and Guizhou respectively, Guangdong’s malachite, and hemimorphite and aquamarine beryl from Yunnan. This collection of rare and exquisite mineral specimens is the private collection of Dr Liu Guanghua, an internationally renowned enthusiast in collecting and preserving Chinese minerals, and includes some precious pieces displayed to the public for the first time. The Mineral Treasures of China exhibition, which is open to the public, runs at the Stephen Hui Geological Museum until August 30, 2013. M HKU Presents the First Mineral Festival 2013 A Kaleidoscope of Beauty in Nature A green campus is not realised through sustainable buildings and infrastructure alone. The lifestyle choices that those on campus make are also key. So HKU has become the first among all universities in Hong Kong to support a campaign to offer vegetarian meals, with all 11 canteens on campus offering vegetarian options every Monday, and some even every day. The campaign is organised by HKU’s General Education Unit, Centre of Development and Resources for Students and ‘Green Monday’, a group of Hong Kong-based organisations and individuals who aim to lessen our impact on the environment by adopting more sustainable ways of living, like eating less meat. This is an example of HKU’s ongoing push to increase awareness of conservation around campus. Since 2011, ‘Less-Meat Monday, Let’s Meet@HKU’, a student organisation, has been promoting meatless meals on campus, and also supports the current campaign. M When Less Is More HKU Serves up MoreVeggies, Less Meat on Mondays 0 ( ' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 5 4 6 9 : 5 4 9 ; < = > 2 3 6 ? @ , 03 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin June 2013