Newsletter No. 27

No.27 February 1992 CUHK Newsletter Dr. Wu therefore was a true scholar in every sense of the word and was bringing a wealth of experience to this university and Hong Kong. This was beginning to be well recognized here and overseas as witnessed by his initiative in launching a Master's Degree Programme in Library and Information Science jointly organized by the Department of Extramural Studies and the University of Wisconsin, and the fact that he was recently elected president of the Hong Kong Library Association. But his plans and initiations are not in vain because in the short period he has been here he has left a legacy which we will try and build on.... We have lost a true friend of the University 一 one who was on the threshold of bringing the fruits of his experience to us all. A man who had wide international respect, a man who respected human values, family traditions. Our sincere condolences go out to members of his family some of whom are here today. Our friend and colleague Dr. Painan Wu will be missed. May his soul rest in peace. New Research Lab for Food Science Can Chinese mushrooms lower cholesterol level and blood pressure? How can we upgrade quality control and hygiene in the manufacturing of traditional Chinese food items such as shrimp paste, sausages and fermented soya beans? Can a better diagnostic test for people allergic to seafood be devised? These are some of the projects now being conducted at the Research Lab for Food Science set up last October under the Department of Biology. It is the first of its kind established by a local tertiary institution to provide consultative service to the food industry here and abroad. According to the lab's director. Dr. Kwan Hoi-shan, the lab serves to coordinate existing food-related research at The Chinese University, and stimulate further projects by providing the expertise and personnel required. At the moment, the lab is focusing its efforts on modernizing the processing of traditional Chinese food, and using integrative biotechnology to develop mushrooms as health food products. The lab has already won over $1 million in grants to conduct research into the breeding of edible mushrooms. Other related projects include analysing their exact medicinal and nutritional value, developing pre-mushroom fungal mycelium as health food, and monitoring the canning of mushrooms. A major US food corporation is sponsoring the lab to develop natural pigments and other microbial products for use in foods. The lab's research agenda also includes a joint project with the University of California at Davis to identify the protein in shrimps that causes all rgic reactio s. Education Conference on Life and Computers Chung Chi College's annual education conference 1991-92 was held on 25th January at the college's C. K. Tse Room. The theme for this year's function was ‘Life and Computers' and there were five major topics for discussion: computers and the human society, the computer humanity and humane computers, personal information management, artificial intelligence and human intelligence, and major areas demanding solutions. Speakers included Prof. Tien-chi Chen of the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Ho Hsiu-hwang of the Department of Sociology, Dr. Chan Lai-wan of the Department of Computer Science, and Prof. Vincent Shen from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The conference was attended by close to 100 staff and students. 3