Newsletter No. 156

3,969 DEGREES CONFERRED AT THE UNIVERSITY'S 55TH CONGREGATION From left: Prof. Ambrose Y.C. King, Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, Prof. Fei Xi a otong, Dr. the Honourable Do nald Tsang, Prof. Daniel Tsui, Dr. Daisy Li, Prof. A martya Sen, D r. Lee Hon-c hiu , Prof. Kenneth Young, Prof. Liu Pak-wai A total of 3,969 degrees were conferred at the University's 55th congregation on Thursday, 9th December 1999 at the University Mall. Prof. Arthur K.C. L i officiated at the ceremory as Vice- Chancellor of the University. The occasion also saw the conferment of master's degrees on the University's first batch of 11 Master of Clinical Pharmacy graduates. This year honorary doctorates were awarded to five distinguished persons. The Honourable Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. Prof. Daniel Chee Tsui, 1998 Nobel laureate in physics and Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, was awarded the degree of Doctor o f Science, honoris causa. Prof. Ama r t ya Kumar Sen, 1998 Nobel laureate in economics and Master of Trinity College at University of Cambridge, Prof. Fei Xiaotong, internationally renowned anthropologist and professor of sociology at Peking University, and Mrs. Daisy L i Woo Tze-ha, philanthropist and dedicated leader in voluntary social services, were each awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. Their citations were written and delivered by Prof. Andrew Parkin of the Department of English and Prof. Serena Jin of the Department of Translation. In the afternoon, the four constituent colleges, the Part- time Degree Programmes (for first-degree graduates), and the Graduate School (for master's degree graduates) also held graduation ceremonies for their students. Degrees Conferred Honorary Doctorates 5 Doctor of Medicine 5 Doctor of Philosophy 82 Master's 964 Bachelor 2,913 Total 3,969 Breakdown of Bachelor Degrees Conferred Bachelor of Arts 422 Bachelor of Business Administration 491 Bachelor of Education 177 Bachelor of Engineering 392 Bachelor of Medical Sciences 1 Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery 149 Bachelor of Nursing 117 Bachelor of Pharmacy 29 Bachelor of Science 597 Bachelor of Social Science 538 Total 2,913 Y2K Information Centre to Conduct Comprehensive Systems Che c king T he Computer Services Centre/Information Service Technology Unit (CSC/ITSU) has set up an information centre for the Y 2 K rollover. The centre is to answer inquiries from University staff and students about Y 2K compliance of CSC/ITSU hardware and software. It also provides information on the operation status of CSC/ITSU-managed computer systems and networks during the rollover. Operation hours: 00.00 1 st January 2000 to 24.00 3rd January 2000 Contact numbers: 2603 7804 and 2603 7854 E-mail address: yic@cuhk.edu.hk Website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/y2k/yic CSC/ITSU would also like to remind all users that comprehensive systems checking will be performed between 18.00 on 31st December 1999 and 24.00 on 1st January 2000. During this period, it is inevitable that some systems w i ll be shut down occasionally or become unstable. Therefore, users should avoid scheduling essential computing activities during this period. In addition, the User Area (1/F of Pi Ch'iu Building) w i ll be closed from 12.00 on 31st December 1999 to 09.00 on 2nd January 2000. For the latest information, please visit the University's Y2K homepage at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/y2k. THREE PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDING SUPPORT Three research projects undertaken by University staff have attracted external funding: Hakka Culture Village — Adaptive Reuse of Wu Ka u Tang Village (HK$512,000) Sponsor: Utahloy Holdings Principal investigator: Prof. Kwok Siu-tong, Department of History Service on Providing Information on the Proposed Country Park Extension at North Lantau (HK$340,000) Sponsor: Agriculture and Fisheries Department, HKSAR government Principal investigator: Prof. Ng Sai-leung, Department of Geography Frontiers in Surface Analysis and Their Novel Applications (HK$600,000) Sponsor: The Croucher Foundation Principal investigator: Prof. Leo Lau, Department of Physics