Newsletter No. 138

CUHK Newsletter No. 138 4th January 1999 3 Department of English Hosts International Symposium A c a d em i cs the world over i n f o r e i gn l anguage a c qu i s i t i on and compu t er corpus linguistics attended the First International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching organized by the University's Department of English from 14th to 16th December 1998. At the opening ceremony of the symposium, speeches were made by Prof. Andrew Parkin, chair of the Department o f English, Prof. Sylviane Granger f r om the Catholic Un i v e r s i ty o f L o u v a in in Belgium, co-organizer of the symposium, and Prof. Joseph Hu n g , cha ir o f the l o c al s y m p o s i um o r g a n i z i n g committee. Prof. Granger also gave a keynote speech entitled 'A B i r d ' s Eye V i e w o f Computer Learner Corpus Research'. Ov er 30 papers we re presented by scholars f r om close to 20 countries. There were also software demonstrations. H K I B T u r n s Ten Mr. Chau Tak Hay (left3 ), Secretary for Trade and Industry of the HKSAR and Mr Chau Cham Son (left 2), deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, officiating at the cake-cutting ceremony. Also present on the occasion was Prof. Arthur K.C. Li (left 4), vice-chancellor of the University. T he Hong Kong Institute of B i o t e c h n o l o g y ( H K I B ) celebrated its tenth anniversary at the Sheration Hong Kong Hotel on 7th December 1998. H K I B was founded by the Council of The Chinese University in 1988 with a donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It is a non-profit-making and self-financing downstream development centre for biotechnology products, and has received grants from the Industrial Support Fund and the Wo r ld Health Organization (WHO) for its activities, including the production of c l i n i cal t r i al material of human vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. Getting to know the New Chair of the Department ofArchitecture— Prof. Tom Peters One Who Traverses Different Cultures Having grown up in three continents, both Ame r i can and Swiss by nationality, a historian, but by profession an architect w i th a strong engineering bent, new chair of the Department of Architecture Prof. Tom Peters feels he has much in common with Hong Kong. ‘I cross borders between cultures. I grew up among other places in India, England, Denmark, Switzerland, and the US. I'm always on the outside of a culture looking in. People in Hong Kong are Chinese, yet there's something else, something more. There's an overlay of internationalism, an awareness of being part of a much larger human culture, but Hong Kong also lends itself to border-crossing between cultures, languages, and ways of thinking. Hong Kong is a connecting point between different places. I think I can contribute and I look forward to it,, he said. Advocate of a Cross- disciplinary Approach to Architectural Education Prof. Peters believes his expertise in teaching technology as architecture, i.e., technology as design, form, and space, was why he was chosen over other candidates for the job. On his part, the main reason he accepted this two-year position is the opportunity to develop a new school of thought based on his field of expertise in a department which has achieved a level of excellence under its founding chair, and his good friend, Prof. Tunney Lee. He pointed out that all existing models of architectural education have been exhausted and are no longer appropriate for the end of the 20th century and the beg i nn i ng o f the 21st. To guarantee the continuation of excellent environmental, building, and urban design that has characterized the development of cities in the 20th century, a general approach to architecture involving a profound knowledge of all the disciplines involved in the process of building is essential. The new school o f thought in question advocates a general and cross- disciplinary approach to architecture and architectural education. One of its integral parts is the integration of architecture with civil engineering, building technology, history, and other disciplines involved in the building process — a reaction to the g r o w i n g e s t r angement b e t we en architecture and engineering, architecture and civil service, architecture and sales. 'Architects have gradually become consultants instead of playing a central role in the process of building. In order to integrate all the elements of building, we need a generalist in charge of the design. Whether we call that generalist an architect or something else is not important,' said Prof. Peters. Expert in Tall Buildings He w i l l begin by developing the technical content of the department's curriculum. Among other things, he will give a course in the h i s t o ry and development of tall building construction, which is an area of his expertise. The course w i ll put the case of Hong Kong and other world cities into the perspective of the development of urban living in the 19th and 20th century, so that pointers can be found to guide this development in the future. This subject is also closely tied to Prof. Peters's professional ideal. He observed that architecture has been one of the basic endeavours throughout the development of human life although, he added, in traditional China architecture was a craft, not a profession and not an art. He continued, 'Hunting, agriculture, and building are perhaps the three most basic professions that human beings have been preoccupied w i th and a lot of thought has gone into each of them. It is this thought I wish to develop into a leading model for our problems, present and future 一 overpopulation, increasing density of cities, handling large numbers of human beings who need to be fed, housed, clothed, educated so that the quality of life on this globe does not decrease but increases with an increase in the number of inhabitants, and that we raise our level of social engagement in the next century and beyond.' Leader of a Young and Dynamic Architectural School Prof. Peters believes that Hong Kong has all the makings of becoming one of the best centres for architecture education, with what it has to offer in this respect, its position as an international city where influences and contacts converge, and its close contact with the major architecture schools in China. He finds the students at the University 'exceedingly intelligent, enthusiastic, and work much harder than students elsewhere'. Yet many of the territory's best architecture students go abroad to further their studies. To reverse the situation and have the best students from abroad apply here, quality is of course crucial, but recognition is also important. Prof. Peters hopes to raise i n t e r na t i onal r e c o g n i t i on f or the department to a level he thinks it deserves or will deserve. 'The department is young with young and dynamic staff members who are interested in change, not conserving the status quo. We have the beginnings of a really good school,' he said. Veteran in Weathering Budget Cuts Would the budget cuts affect his ambitious endeavours then? He seemed undaunted, having just been through eight years of budget cuts in the US. He sees budget cuts as an opportunity not a setback, an opportunity for developing not only new ways to save but new ideas in administration. An example is the wide use of e-mail for daily communication or to conduct small meetings, something that has been practised in the department for eight years but that, Prof. Peters said, is only becoming prevalent in other parts of the University. In the US where he was teaching, downsizing has led to the development of new ways of conducting research projects, e.g., the active involvement of undergraduate students in roles previously reserved for graduate students. This has led to a new level of enthusiasm and comprehension among undergraduate students. A Campus Planner Too During his term here, Prof. Peters w i ll also be involved in improving the quality of the environment on campus. Although there are some 'tough issues to tackle in campus planning', he said the University has one of the most beautiful campuses he has seen in the world. Here again the opportunities are magnificent, all they have to do is to be realized, as Prof. Peters rightly said. Piera Chen