Bulletin Spring‧Summer, 2008

Intellectual Cross-currents Nobel Laureates on Campus S ponsored by Sun Hung Kai Properties, CUHK invited Nobel Laureates to speak to a broad cross-section of the community to promote the discovery and the dissemination of knowledge, professional and entrepreneurial expertise and contributions to humanity. Date : 15 April 2008 Speaker : Prof. Erwin Neher, 1991 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Topic : Current Frontiers in the Neurosciences Contents : He applied precise electrophysiological and fluorimetric techniques to a very special synapse, revealing details of the intricate mechanisms by which calcium signals control synaptic transmission and its short term plasticity. Date : 15 April 2008 Speaker : Prof. Eric S. Maskin, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Topic : Mechanism Design: How to Implement Social Goals Contents : He gave a brief introduction to the theor y of mechanism design. The theory characterizes when, given a social goal, it is possible to find an institution, procedure, or mechanism that achieves that goal. The theory allows us to distinguish situations in which markets work well from those in which they do not. Date : 21 May 2008 Speaker : Prof. Carl E. Wieman, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Physics Topic : Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the Tools of Science to Teach Science Contents : He explained how new prac tices and technology promise to be better options in gauging the learning process and demonstrated how the new practices conform to the findings of cognitive science. He showed particular concern for improving how physics is taught to students who do not intend to become physicists. Intellectual Cross-currents   57