E-mail to Your Friend(s)Print Friendly

Prof. Jimmy Yu on United College

Prof. Jimmy Yu
Head of United College
(Photo by Keith Hiro)

What goals have you set for yourself as Head of United College?

I want to create a relaxed and happy atmosphere for both students and staff on the United College campus, to sooth them and alleviate the pressures from their studies and work. Nowadays, the daily routines and normal undertakings of life in a university are fraught with demands, commitments and deadlines, often tense and conflicting. For those of us who take the College as our home it should be a haven for us where we can get some breathing space to reinvigorate ourselves. It should also be a place where we can roam freer, not just physically but also intellectually and socially. United College, with its 56 years’ history and a solid foundation and all the infrastructure and facilities laid down by my predecessors over the years, is very well placed to achieve that.

What are the tasks that require your immediate attention now?

We are reviewing the workload and workflow in conducting college affairs and found it necessary to revamp them a little, chiefly to reduce the number of committees and meetings and to streamline the deliberation procedures for greater efficiency. All my colleagues and staff are very dedicated, and some alumni and friends are very generous with their advice and help. Greater efficiency will ensure that their time and efforts are put to the best use while keeping their minds fresh. It will decidedly enhance the operation of the College as a whole.

How would an established College like United work with the new Colleges?

Collaborations exist on many levels—academic, social, even cultural—and not only with new Colleges but also with other founding Colleges. Collaborations are based on equal partnership and participation, so there’s really no difference between veterans and newcomers. Every party has a role to play and a contribution to make to the common venture. To give a recent example, we are organizing with Chung Chi College and Wu Yee Sun College a trip to the tea regions in Fukien to let our colleagues and students experience and appreciate the arts and sciences of tea. The sport grounds and other forums or occasions are also meeting places where members of our College mingle with those from the other Colleges.

Do you find the natural settings of CUHK convenient to your own research?

Ironically, the natural settings of CUHK, with its blue sky and clean air, are anathema to my research, as I am into pollution management. I have done some work in photocatalysis, or the purification of air and water with light. The air over our campus is fresher and cleaner than that in many parts of the territory. So I have to go elsewhere to conduct my experiments and test my hypotheses. But I can always bring my research indoor. That’s what I did. In the last couple of years, I have invented devices that improve the quality of air indoor and inside a vehicle. I call this my own brand of technology transfer.

Do you practise environmentalism in daily life? How?

Environmentalism needs to be practised consistently and subliminally, in our everyday life, so that one doesn’t need to be reminded of doing it. Whenever I can, I walk. I only drive on a strictly need-to basis, for example, when I have to show visitors around campus under a time constraint. Our College is doing many things systematically to preserve our precious campus. For example, we are very conscious of the treatment of wastes including construction and food wastes.

What public service(s) do you perform?

On the professional side, I sit in a number of committees and panels such as the Physical Science Panel of the Research Grants Council and the Innovation & Technology Fund. On the service side, I am an advisor to Friends of the Earth and Green Council, and served on the Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies. I also take part in the activities of a number of charitable organizations and the Fukien community.

What interests or hobbies do you pursue in your spare time?

I derive great pleasure from chasing a ball with a racket. So, tennis, table tennis, badminton and squash are my favourite games. I play tennis a lot, often with Professor Charles Kao and Mrs. Kao. They are strong but good opponents. Like many members of the CUHK community, I also take a liking to hiking. There is a trail behind my home in Tai Po. Joan and I would like to invite everybody to enjoy this healthy and relaxing activity.