Newsletter No. 374

8 No. 374, 19.3.2011 下回〈十方吐露〉將訪問校友鄺頌安先生 Alumnus Mr. Kwong Chung-on will be featured in the next instalment of ‘TEN QUESTIONS FOR’. 預告 Coming 5 是甚麼促使你回港服務？ What made you come back to serve the local community? 我在業界服務十九年，當上了貝爾實驗室院士，又教了十五 年書，是喬治亞理工學院最高級別的「董事教授」。不管 是實戰經驗和教學研究皆有所成，正在想下一個目標是甚 麼。雖然我一直在美工作，但不時回港，或交流，或擔任校 外考試委員，我發覺香港學生不愛修讀工程學，所以決定 回港，為工程教育做點事，多吸納優秀學生入讀。 I had been working in the industry for 19 years and became an AT&T Bell Laboratories Fellow. After that, I taught for 15 years and was the Regents’ Professor, the highest ranked teaching post at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Having made accomplishments in both fields, I asked myself, ‘What next?’ Though I was working in the US, I visited Hong Kong from time to time for academic exchange or to serve as an external examiner. I found that Hong Kong students did not like to study engineering. So, I decided to come back and contribute to local engineering education. I was hoping to attract more outstanding students to the field. 6 港美兩地的工程教育有哪些異同？ What are the similarities and differences between engineering education in the US and in Hong Kong? 美國着重訓練學生的獨立思考和解難能力，學生十分認 真，表現不佳者會被勒令退學，一些州立大學的一年級退 學人數達二三成之多。香港學生傾向全盤接受教師所授， 少有提出挑戰或質疑。到任後，我曾旁聽院內約二十節課， 有一次看到學生一臉疑惑，問他可聽懂了課，他答不懂，於 是叫他舉手發問，他卻無論如何不願意。大抵香港自小的 教育是要學生聽話，似乎我們的學生需要多一點鼓勵。 The US education system emphasizes the training of students’ independent thinking and problem-solving skills. American engineering students are very serious as those who underperform will be asked to quit their studies. About 20% to 30% of the freshmen in some US state universities have to drop out because of this. Hong Kong students tend to accept everything that’s taught in class. They seldom challenge or question their teachers. After assuming duties, I have attended about 20 classes of the Faculty. Once I came across a student who looked doubtful and asked him if he had understood the lecture. He said no. So I encouraged him to ask questions, but he refused. Maybe Hong Kong students have been taught to obey since they were little. It seems that they need more encouragement. 7 作為工程學院首任全職院長，任內有何大計？ What are your plans as the first appointed dean of the Faculty of Engineering? 首要工作是提升收生質素。優異學生不選工程學，主要原 因是在香港出路有限。因此，需先改變學生的觀念，讓他 們明白不應只着眼於香港，內地機會多的是，更可以考慮 到其他國家發展。此外，工程學教育提供了嚴謹且邏輯的 訓練，學生畢業後，也可轉讀其他科系的研究院課程。接 下來就是提升學院的教學質素。另外，在既有教研基礎之 上，院方已界定了六個重點發展範疇，分別為生物醫學工 程學、能源工程學、網絡保安、金融工程學、納米科技及系 統整合—電子與光電子封裝。 My first task is to improve the overall quality of recruitment. Top students don’t choose to study engineering due to limited career opportunities in Hong Kong. We have to change their perception by telling them they should also set their sights on the mainland and overseas where opportunities abound. An engineering education provides rigorous and logical training for students, and they can change their fields in graduate studies, too. The Faculty will also enhance its quality of teaching. In addition to the existing areas of strength, six new focus areas are launched, namely, biomedical engineering, energy technology, cyber security, financial engineering, nanotechnology and systems integration— electronic/photonic packaging. 8 工程學生應具備哪些條件？ What qualities should engineering students possess? 最先決條件是對工程學感興趣，並明白它對社會的影響深 遠。美國國家工程學院去年列出上世紀對人類最大貢獻的 發明，絕大部分屬工程範疇，如飛機、通訊工具、醫學技術 如電腦斷層攝影及磁力共振造影等。由於工程學發展一日 千里，學生亦必須終身學習，且敢於挑戰既有知識，跳出傳 統框框，才會有創新的意念。 They should be interested in engineering studies and understand that it has a huge impact on society. Last year, the US National Academy of Engineering listed inventions in the last century that have made the greatest contributions to humankind. A vast majority of them belonged to the engineering category such as aircraft, communication devices, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Engineering has been developing at an exponential rate. Students should be lifelong learners, challenge existing knowledge and think out of the box. It’s only by doing so that they will have innovative ideas. 9 高錕教授獲得諾貝爾獎對學院招生可有甚麼影響？ Has the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Prof. Charles K. Kao influenced the Faculty’s recruitment results? 從收生數字來看，是有輕微升幅，但並不明顯。我認為最 重要的，是高教授獲獎向社會闡明了工程學的重要性，也 是告訴大家修讀工程學前景的極佳例子。 There has been a small and unobvious increase in the number of applications. But I think the point is that Professor Kao has illustrated the importance of engineering to society, and that the prospects of an engineering education are excellent. 10 有甚麼消閒嗜好？ What are your pastimes? 我喜歡游泳，這也是每天早上堅持必做的運動。我也愛散 步和看書，閒來會聽聽中國古典音樂和老歌。 I like swimming. This is also something I do every morning. I love strolling and reading, too. I listen to Chinese music and oldies when I am free. 汪正平 Prof. C.P. Wong 1 可否談談童年在元朗農村的生活點滴？ Can you tell us about your childhood in Yuen Long? 我在廣州出生，其後全家移居香港。父親在元朗山貝村經 營農場，當年周遭都是稻田和魚塘，小學時代，我最愛在 農場嬉戲。可惜最近重回舊居，再也找不到稻田了。 I was born in Guangzhou. Later my family moved to Hong Kong. My father ran a farm in Shan Pui Tsuen, Yuen Long. There were rice fields and fish ponds. I loved to play there while in primary school. I recently paid a visit to that place. There are no more rice fields left. 2 怎麼到了美國唸大學？ How did you end up studying in college in the US? 初時未想過赴美，不過兩位兄長先後到了美國唸書，告訴 我當地機會較多，所以也跟着負笈美國。 I didn’t think about studying abroad at the very beginning. But my two elder brothers, who were studying in the US, advised me to join them as more opportunities were available there. 3 為何鍾情電子工程？ What attracted you to electronic engineering? 我在大學是唸化學的，畢業後加入了美國電話電報公司的 貝爾實驗室工作，自此轉往通訊研究發展。現今工程學的 發展新趨向是結合如物理、化學及生物等其他範疇，故我 鼓勵工程學生也選讀數理及生化科目，對日後研究或就業 都有裨益。 My major was chemistry. Upon graduation, I joined AT&T Bell Laboratories. Since then I started to develop interest in communication research. The latest trend in engineering studies is combination with other disciplines such as physics, chemistry and biology. That’s why I encourage engineering students to take subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. It’s beneficial for their research and career development. 4 你持有美國專利五十多項，研究之路是苦是甜？ You hold over 50 US patents. How has your road of research been? 我覺得研究着實很有趣。我既從事基礎研究，也兼顧應用 研究，是以才會有專利。研究過程或許漫長和枯燥，不是 一蹴而就—我曾試過做了兩年研究，也沒有丁點兒的進 展；不過，最終憑堅持和毅力，突破瓶頸，取得成果，就教 人滿心喜悅，特別是研究成果能商品化，回饋社會，更感 安慰。 Research is very interesting. I do both basic and applied research, hence the patents. The road of research can be long and boring. Once, for two whole years, I made no progress at all. But finally with perseverance and persistence, I overcame the difficulties, and I was absolutely delighted. If my research output can be commercialized to benefit society, I would be most contented.