Bulletin Special Supplement on Prof. Charles K. Kao, Former Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Laureate The Love and Labour of a Laureate

30  Chinese University Bulletin Special Supplement 2010  A Short Biography of Prof. Charles K. Kao 1933 Born in Shanghai on 4 November 1949 Moved to Hong Kong, received secondary education at St. Joseph’s College 1953 Enrolled in matriculation course of Woolwich Polytechnic, University of London 1957 Awarded the degree of BSc in Engineering by the University of London Joined the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and was then transferred to the Corporation’s Standard Telecommunications Laboratories in 1960 • • 1965 Awarded the degree of PhD by the University College London 1966 Published a paper which proposed using glass fibers as a conductor for optic communication, ushering in the era of optic fiber communication 1970 Joined CUHK as reader and chair of the then new Department of Electronics, later appointed as the first Professor of Electronics 1985 Conferred the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa , by CUHK; awarded the Alexander Graham Bell Medal by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and received the Marconi International Fellowship 1987 Became Vice-Chancellor of CUHK 1992 Appointed Centenary Fellow of Thames Polytechnic (now renamed Greenwich University) 1996 Retired in July from vice-chancellorship and since then became Honorary Professor of Engineering A minor planet (3463) was named after him as ‘Kaokuen’ by the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Received the Japan Prize of the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan • • • 1999 Awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize by the National Academy of Engineering, USA 2005 Chinese autobiography published 2009 Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ✶ 1938 ✶ 1960 1992