Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

is the keyword and the commitment to a mutually agreed objective overrides all other considerations. Even relationship between teacher and pupil is to be ignored. Each member of the team should take on difficult jobs himself while reserving credit for others. This is the only way to success. Prof. Zhang is blessed with a generous and liberal mind, and he has come independently to conclusions similar to those o f Prof. Yau Shing-tung, the famous mathematician, and Prof. Daniel Tsui, who won the Nobel Prize for physics this year. Prof. Yau suggests that Chinese scientists should recognize the importance of academic freedom without clinging to traditional individualism, while Prof. Tsui describes scientific research as a joyous, challenging, meaningful, and rewarding undertaking. Thus these three scientists got to the heart of the matter: scientific research has to be fre e and totally unfettered. Prof. Zhang firmly believes that real science should be different from technology. The scientist advocates a ceaseless quest and a pioneering spirit: it is a spiritual yearning for renewal and liberation, and not a pursuit of materialistic ends. To draw a parallel from the Madonnas in the museums in Florence: paintings created before the 14th century are uninteresting portraitures with a dolorous expression and dull eyes. However, Madonnas executed during and after the Renaissance are much more lively and spirited, with eyes that sparkle with life. These changes of course came from an emancipation o f the mind and a revitalization o f the intellect. It was the result of a liberated soul, and the effect thus created has never ceased to amaze. What is true for the visual arts is also true for science. In a similar manner, the work of the National Natural Science Foundation of China is heavy but far from dull. Among the very large number of research proposals reviewed by Prof. Zhang each year, many open up exciting prospects: as a matter of fact, with assistance and support from all quarters, scientific research i n China has made tremendous progress, w i th major breakthroughs, during the years 1996 to 1998. The National Natural Science Foundation, under Prof. Zhang's presidency, has increased its funding five-fold, and is set to play an increasingly significant role i n the promotion of scientific research in China. Prof. Zhang is not only a scientist of meticulous thinking and admirable foresight. He is also a scholar learned in the arts and science of both the past and the present. I n his leisure he enjoys poetry and music, and writing articles which w i ll benefit the younger generations of students. In April 1998 he published an essay on the importance of the linguisti c aspects of scientific and technological treatises. In August of the same yea r he expressed high hopes for Chinese scientists in the international hal l of fame in an article entitled 'Now is the time to have a go at the Nobel Prizes'. It would appea r that Prof. Zhang had some foreknowledge of this year's awards, particularly the nomination of Prof. Tsui's for the award. Mr. Chancellor, Prof. Zhang Cunhao has distinguished himself in China as well as in the international community of scientists. His achievements in scientific research, his international reputation, and his major contribution t o higher education and the encouragement he gives to young scientists are all worthy o f our admiration and respect. 1 therefore present Prof. Zhang for the award of the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. • Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1999