Newsletter No. 135

Six to Receive Honorary Doctorates T he Un i v e r s i ty w i l l confer honorary doctorates on six distinguished persons at its 54th congregation to be held on Thursday, 10th December 1998 at the University Mall. The Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, w i ll officiate at the ceremony as Chancellor of the University. Prof. N.G.D. Malmqvist w i ll be awarded the degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa. Prof. Steven Chu and Prof. Zhang Cunhao w i l l both receive the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Dr. Chen Din-hwa, Mr. Chow Kwen-lim and Dr. Fong Yun Wah w i ll each be awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. Citations w i ll be read and delivered by Prof. Andrew Parkin and Prof. Serena Jin. Prof. Steven Chu A prominent American physicist of Chinese descent, Prof. Steven Chu has achieved magnificent breakthroughs in the theory and application of laser cooling and trapping which have led to a deeper understanding of the interaction between light and matter, and opened up new roads to the study of the quantum behaviour of dilute atomic vapours at very low temperatures. Prof. Chu's accomplishments have earned him much coveted honours including the Nobel Prize in Physics (1997), the Science for Art Prize (1995), the Optical Society of America William F. Meggers Award for Spectroscopy (1994), the American Physical Society Arthur Schawlow Prize for Laser Science (1994), the King Faisal International Prize for Science (1993), and the Broida Prize for Laser Spectroscopy (1987). Currently Theodore and Frances Geballe Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University, Prof. Chu is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the American Academy of Arts and Science. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and the American Philosophical Society, as well as a foreign member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. Prof. Chu's contributions to the promotion of scientific development in China and scientific exchange between China and the West have been significant. In this connection he was nominated as a Foreign Academician by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was also invited to the centennial celebrations of Peking University together with other Nobel laureates of Chinese descent. Prof. Zhang Cunhao An internationally renowned physical chemist and President of the National Natural Science Foundation in China since 1991, Prof. Zhang Cunhao has played a crucial role in the promotion of science and technology in China and academic exchange between China and the rest of the world. Prof. Zhang is professor at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and concurrently part-time professor at Nanjing University, Fudan University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Peking University, and Zhejiang University. He was elected academician by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980 and is a fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, a bureau member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and a member of the Optical Society of America. Prof. Zhang's research in areas including the synthesis of liquid fuels from water gas, multilayer flame theory, chemical lasers and spectroscopy, has won him international acclaim and awards such as the Chinese National Science Award and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Award. He has been invited to speak at major international conferences and given seminars at world class universities including MIT, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Heidelberg University. He has published over 80 scholarly papers and served on the editorial boards of various academic journals. Prof. Zhang is also recognized for his contributions to the modernization of China. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a vice-president of the China Association of Science and Technology. He also serves as consultant to the Presidiums of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Prof. Zhang served as Ho Sin Hang Professor of Chemistry to The Chinese University in 1996. The University has also enjoyed his invaluable advice on the development of the Department of Chemistry for years. Prof. N.G.D. Malmqvist A leading sinologist and currently Professor Emeritus of Stockholm University, Sweden, Prof. N. G.D. Malmqvist is a prolific writer with profound knowledge of Chinese culture. A graduate of Uppsala University, Prof. Malmqvist obtained his Fil. lic. in Chinese from Stockholm University. Over the years, he has published widely in English and Swedish on Chinese history and literature and translated over 30 volumes and some 200 literary pieces from Chinese. He has also been a teacher of Chinese in Europe and Australia for over 40 years and played the role of catalyst for important academic and cultural exchanges between Sweden and China and, on a larger scale, between Western and Chinese culture. Prof. Malmqvist's accomplishments have earned him numerous awards, including Knighthood of the Northern Star, the Royal Prize from the Swedish Academy, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Translation prize, the Gold Medal of Merit from H.M. King Karl X V I Gustav, the Swedish Writers Association Translation Prize, the Elsa Thulin Medal for Translation, and honorary doctorates from Stockholm University and Charles University in Prague. He is amember of the Swedish Academy, the Royal Swedish academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. He is also a founding member of Academia Europaea, and an honorary fellow of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He has served as a member of the selection committee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Prof. Malmqvist has always maintained a very close relationship with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, rendering valuable professional advice to the Department of Translation and the Research Centre for Translation over the years. He is currently a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Translation Studies published by the Department of Translation as well as that of Renditions, published by the Research Centre for Translation. He was also Renditions Fellow of the Centre from October 1990 to April 1991. Dr. Chen Din-hwa Chairman of Nan Fung Textiles Consolidated Limited and Nan Fung Development Limited, Dr. Chen Din-hwa has been active in the textile industry for over 40 years. He founded Nan Fung Textiles Limited in 1954. It later became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nan Fung Textiles Consolidated Limited, specializing in cotton yarn production. Through the introduction of innovative technology over the years, Dr. Chen turned the spinning plant into one of the most important business enterprises in Hong Kong in the 70s. His business later diversified into cotton spinning, real estate development, shipping, finance, securities investment, construction, estate management, and overseas investment. An unassuming philanthropist, Dr. Chen established the D.H. Chen Foundation in 1970, through which significant donations have been made to support worthy causes in medicine, education, welfare, and religion. He is a member of the Selection Committee for the First Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a Trustee of the Better Hong Kong Foundation, and Vice-chairman of the Association for Celebration of Reunification of Hong Kong with China. Dr. Chen has given unfailing and generous support to student welfare and academic research at local universities including The Chinese University. Notably he has made contributions towards the University's Chinese Medicinal Material Research Fund, the Three-Year M B A Programme Endowment Fund, and the D.H. Chen Foundation Student Loans Fund for Shaw College. He has also offered his advice to the University in his capacity as a member of the Advisory Board of the Three-Year MBA Programme. Dr. Chen's achievements in business, his commitment to community service, and contributions to society have earned him many honours, including an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

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