Newsletter No. 151

2 No. 151 4th October 1999 CUHK Newsletter CU to Undertake a Comprehensive Environmental Audit TheUn i v e r s i ty is due to start a comprehensive environmental audit and review. This audit, the first of its kind in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, will be coordinated in-house by the Centre for Environmental Studies. It aims to provide the i n f o rma t i on required for the formulation of an environmental plan for the University in the next decade. Initiated by the University's Environmental Monitoring Group and supported by the senior administration including the vice-chancellor, this audit w i l l take six months to complete. As chairman of the Mon i t o r i ng Group and Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies, Prof. Lam K in Che is very excited by the potential benefits the audit may bring to the campus community. He points out that the beautiful campus is one of the greatest assets of the University, and providing a clean and green environment for academic pursuit is fundamental to the fulfilment of the Un i v e r s i t y 's mission. He also sees the audit as an opportunity for the administration and faculty to show to the public that the University practises what it preaches and that it is an environmentally responsible member of society. He foresees a well-conceived plan in place at the conclusion of the audit to build a clean, pleasant, and comfortable campus 一 a place that all can enjoy and be proud of. The audit w i l l assess the existing environmental performance of the campus against en v i r onmen t al legislations; gauge the environmental quality of the campus, including the ambient environment as well as indoor air qua l i ty and energy e f f i c i en c y; review the existing environmental management structure, policies, and practices within the University; identify key issues of concern and preferences amongst staff and students through an opinion survey; establish priorities and set targets for improvements; and identify cost-saving opportunities for the University. A n environmental auditor has been recruited to coordinate the review, an d a number of units including the University Safety Office, Campu s Development Office, Estates Management Office, and the Bursary have pledged to provide the necessary information, assistance, and support. Cooperation from all departments and units w i ll be crucial to the success of this project. Any comments on the campus environment or suggestions to make it better can be directed to the environmental audit team (Ext. 6641 or e-mail: frankymo@cuhk.edu.hk). A New Supercomputer to Support Data-intensive Research Inorder to accommodate the ever increasing volume of data intensive research work at the University, the Computer Services Centre (CSC)/Information Technology Service Unit (ITSU) has recently installed another high performance supercomputer, a Sun Enterprise 6500. With ten 336MHz UltraSparc CPUs, 4 gigabytes of memory, and more than 240 gigabytes of usable disk storage, it can perform high-speed data retrieval as well as data mining and data analysis. The Sun Enterprise 6500 has different strengths from the CSC's Silicon Graphics Origin 2000. While the latter can best be utilized for numeric-intensive calculation, the new machine is suited for use in data-intensive research r equ i r i ng h i gh c omp u t i ng powe r to draw focussed information and classification f r om large pools of raw data. The new supercomputer is positioned in the high- performance computing platform of CSC/ITSU as a data- intensive computing server. I t is, therefore, best suited for research topics or applications that involve huge amounts of data and require fast responses. The High- performance Computing Support Team of CSC/ITSU is responsible for system and end-user support, resource allocation, project proposal vetting, and documentation of projects. In general, project proposals that have well defined objectives, workable solutions, and a clear timetable receive higher priority. More information is available at http:// www.cuhk.edu.hk/csc/compenv/dics. Faculty of Medicine Visit Beijing A 17-member delegation f r om the Faculty of Medicine, headed by Prof. Sydney Chung, visited Beijing from 3rd to 5th September. They attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Be i j i ng Med i cal Un i v e r s i t y / CUHK Joint Eye Centre, and met w i th representatives of B M U to review the collaboration between the two medical schools over the past two years. New projects including the study and development of Chinese medicine-related drugs, the joint supervision of higher degree students, and summer exchange visits were highlighted for action in the next few years. The delegation also visited the Capital University of Medical Sciences to discuss student exchange activities. Colourful Summer for CC Students F orty-seven Chung Chi students participated in the Summer Study Abroad Programme, launched for the first time this year by the college to provide its students with the opportunity to better understand other cultures and broaden their perspectives. Most of the students went to universities in the University of California system : 18 went to Berkeley, 15 to Los Angeles, and four to San Diego. The remaining 10 went to the University of Washington. For five to nine weeks they attended courses of their own choice, interacted with international and local students, and went on sightseeing tours. 中大通訊 CUHKNEWSLETTER 網址 website http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/puo/ 1. 本刊逢四日及十九日出版。 2. 來函或投稿請寄沙田香港中文大學秘書處出版事務處《中大通訊》 編輯部（電話 2609 8584 ，傳真 2603 6864 ，電郵 pub2@uab.msmail. cuhk.edu.hk) 。 3. 投稿者須附真實姓名、地址及聯絡電話，文章則可用筆名發表。 4. 編輯有權刪改及決定是否刊登來稿，不欲稿件被刪者請預先聲明。 5. 本刊所載文章只反映作者之觀點和意見，並不代表校方或本刊立 場。 6. 所有內容未經編者書面准許，不得轉載。 7. 本刊每期發行三千八百份，免費供校內教職員索閱，部分郵寄本地 教育機構及與大學有關人士。私人索閱，請致函本刊查詢。 1. The Newsletter is published on the 4th and 19th of each month. 2. All contributions and suggestions should be sent to the Editor, CUHK Newsletter, Publication Office, University Secretariat, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (tel. 2609 8584; fax. 2603 6864; e-mail pub2@uab.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk). 3. Contributions should bear the writer's name and contact telephone number, and may be published under pseudonyms. No anonymous letters will be published. 4. The Editor reserves the right to reject contributions and to edit all articles without notice for reasons of clarity, length or grammar. Those who do not want to have their articles amended should indicate clearly in writing. 5. The views expressed in the CUHK Newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University or the Editor. 6. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the Editor. 7. This publication has a circulation of 3,800 and is primarily intended for staff members of CUHK. Copies are also sent to local educational institutions and individuals associated with the University. Those who wish to be included on the mailing list please contact the Newsletter direct. 截稿日期 Deadlines for Contributions 期數 Issue no. 出版日期 Issue date 截稿日期 Deadline for contributions 152 19.10.99 29,9.99 153 4.11.99 15.10.99 154 19.11.99 2.11.99 155 4.12.99 17.11.99 156 19.12.99 3.12.99 香港中文大學出版事務處出版 編輯：梁其汝 助理編輯：蔡世彬 李琪 陳偉珠 製作：林綺媚 Published by the Publication Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Editor: Amy K.Y. Leung Assistant Editors: Piera Chen, Lawrence Choi Graphic Designer: Ada Lam 印刷：鮑思高印刷有限公司 Printing: Don Bosco Printing Co. Ltd.