Newsletter No. 82

Eight More Research Projects Selected for Support Joint Research with UK Universities Seven research projects proposed by staff members of the University will receive grants totalling £43,522.74 (HK$539,682) from the UK/HK Joint Research Scheme. The scheme was established in 1991 by the British Council and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong to promote cooperation in research between institutions of higher education in the UK and Hong Kong, and the University has received funding support from the scheme for the last four years. The seven projects selected for support this year are: • Field Sampling and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Hong Kong Termites Researcher. Dr. Michael Crosland (Biology) Partner Institution: School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College Grant: £6,500.00 • An Electron Microscopic Analysis of the Effect of Metallic Pollutants on Fungal Propagation Researcher: Dr. S.W. Chiu (Biology) Partner Institution: University of Manchester Grant: £5,563.55 • Fabrication and Characterization of Magnetic Thin Films on III-V Semiconductors Researcher. Dr. H.K. Tsang (Electronic Engineering) Partner Institution: University of Bristol Grant: £5,996.77 • Epitaxial Growth of Compound Semiconductor Layers Researcher. Prof. Ian Wilson (Electronic Engineering) Partner Institution: University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Grant: £6,425.81 • Investigations of the Cellular Mechanisms Underlying the Turning of Uncrossed Retinal Axons at the Midline of the Optic Chiasma Researcher: Dr. S.O. Chan (Anatomy) Partner Institution: University of Oxford Grant: £6,110.00 • Neuropeptide Induced Mediator Release fromMast Cells: Effects of Non-peptide Antagonists of Neurokinins Researcher: Dr. Alaster Lau (Pharmacology) Partner Institution: University College London Grant: £6,495.00 • Similarity and Preference as Determinants of Stimulus-response Compatibility Researcher. Dr. Lu Chen-hui (Psychology) Partner Institution : University of London Grant: £6,431.61 ITDC-Supported Research The Industry and Technology Development Council has approved an allocation of HK$3.477 million from the Industrial Support Fund to finance aproject undertaken by the University's Computer Science and Engineering Department. Entitled 'A Chinese Internet Information Server and the Server Access Software', the project will take two and ahalf years to complete. Researchers include Mr. Lee Kin Hong, Dr. Lu Chin, and Prof. Wong Chak-kuen. Two- d ay visit by UGC's TLQPR Panel The Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review Panel from the University Grants Committee visited the University early this month to review its teaching and learning quality assurance processes. It was not an exercise to assess teaching quality per se but one to review the processes that help bring about improvements in teaching quality. Review was conducted along the broad themes of curriculum design, pedagogical design, implementation quality (processes related to how well staff members perform their teaching duties), outcome assessment, and resource provision. The panel was interested in finding out whether a 'culture of quality' had been ingrained in the University's teaching and learning programmes. The first day of visit on 4th January began with a discussion between panel members and University leaders to get the latter's perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the University's framework for teaching and learning quality assurance. It was followed by a plenary session with the University's Committee on Academic Policy and Development, the Task Force on Teaching and Learning Quality, and other senior staff, and then by a meeting with student representatives to hear their views on the matter. In the afternoon, the 18-member review panel broke up into six sub-groups to visit a total of 12 academic faculties/departments/ units. These included the faculties of science, medicine, and education, the departments of chemistry, computer science & engineering, finance, philosophy, geography, psychology, and architecture, the English Language Teaching Unit, as well as the Teaching Development Unit. The review visit ended with ajoint-exit conference held on the morning of 5th January where panel members posed final questions and University leadership clarified uncertainties. UGC is expected to issue a review report to the University in April. ON THE HONOURS LIST Prof. Y.M. Yeung, professor of geography and head of Shaw College, was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) on the Queen's New Year Honours List announced on 30th December 1995. Prof. Yeung is active in public service and is amember of the Hong Kong Housing Authority. He is also director of the University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia- Pacific Studies. ‧Mr. Lee Kam-chung, chairman of the CUHK Convocation and a member of the University Council, was awarded a Badge of Honour on the Queen's New Year Honours List. Mr. Lee is devoted to education and community service at the district level. He has served both the Wan Chai District and the Sha Tin District and is currently supervisor of a few local schools. ‧Dr. Y.N. Hui, who joined the University last August as visiting scholar at the Department of Information Engineering, was recently elected aFellow of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (IEEE) in New York. Dr. Hui studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree in 1983 he has worked for well-known academic and research institutions such as Bell Communications Research, Rutgers University, and Columbia University. He was the recipient of the IEEE William Bennett Prize Paper Award (1985 ), and the Presidential Young Investigator Award(1990 ), USA. His research interests cover multimedia communicatio networks, wireless information networks, switching, protocol, traffic issues for integrated broadband networks, and information and coding theory. CU Student Wins Rhodes Scholarship to Study at Oxford Mr. Jack Wong Chak-kei, final-year engineering student majoring in electronic engineering, has been chosen as the Hong Kong Rhodes Scholar-elect for 1996. He will engage in postgraduate research in control engineering at Oxford University for two years from October 1996. Mr. Wong spent ayear at the University of California at Berkeley as an exchange student in 1993-94. During his stay there, he was able to have a research paper published, which was an exceptional achievement for an undergraduate exchange student. Mrs. Grace Chow, in her capacity as secretary to the Rhodes Scholarship Hong Kong Selection Committee, presented Mr. Wong to Prof. Charles K. Kao, vice- chancellor of the University, on 23rd December 1995. The Rhodes Scholarship was established under the will of Sir Cecil Rhodes in 1902 and selected Rhodes Scholars are expected to possess high intellectual merit, outstanding scholastic attainment, pleasant personality, and physical vigour. The scholarship was originally designed for students from Commonwealth countries, the United States, and Germany. Since the inclusion of Hong Kong in 1985, one student from Hong Kong has been honoured as Rhodes Scholar each year. From left: Mrs. Grace Chow; Prof. Omar Wing, dean of engineering; Mr. Jack Wong Chak-kei; Prof. Charles K. Kao; Dr. W. K. Cham (Jack Wong's academic supervisor); and Dr. P. C. Ching, chairman of Electronic Engineering Dept.