Newsletter No. 240

Farewell Dinner i n Honou r o f the Retiring Vice- Chancellor P rof. Ambros e Y.C . King , th e Vice-Chancellor , wil l retir e fro m the Universit y a t the en d o f June 2004 . Durin g hi s 3 4 year s o f distinguished service , Prof . Kin g has made significan t contribution s to th e developmen t o f th e University . A s a tribute t o th e retirin g Vice-Chancellor, a farewell dinne r wil l b e hel d i n hi s honou r o n Saturday, 26t h Jun e 200 4 a t 7.3 0 p.m. , i n th e Gran d Ballroo m o f Hotel Conra d Hon g Kong . Dinner ticket s will b e sold at HK$600 each , which wil l cove r a full-course Chines e dinner. Fo r reservations, please visit http://www . cuhk . edu . hk / f a r ewe l l vc/ an d registe r online . Yo u ma y als o download an d fil l ou t a reservation for m a t the website , an d retur n it to th e Informatio n an d Publi c Relation s Offic e o f th e Universit y (tel: 2609 8893 ; fax: 2603 5115 ; e-mail : ipro@cuhk.edu.hk ) befor e 14th Ma y 2004 . Nobel Laureate in Physics Relates Own Research Experience P rof. Anthon y J . Leggett , 200 3 Nobe l Laureate i n Physics and world authorit y in th e theor y o f low-temperatur e physics , spoke o n 'Superflui d 3-He : The Earl y Day s as Seen by a Theorist' on 15th April in LT1 o f the Scienc e Centr e during a two-day visi t t o Hong Kong . The lectur e was a very personal accoun t of the way in which, in the 12 months between July 197 2 to July 1973 , Prof. Leggett and his research tea m cam e t o a t heo r e t i ca l understanding o f the puzzling experimenta l data on what i s now know n a s superfluid 3 - He. He particularly emphasize d the concep t o f 'spontaneousl y b r oke n sp i n - o r b i t symmetry' whic h turne d ou t t o b e a ke y ingredient i n understandin g th e NM R behaviour. Prof. Leggett is John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professo r and professor of physics at the Center for Advanced Study, Universit y of Illinois . Empirical Economist Examines How Economic Choices Are Made in the Family P r o f . Jer e R . B e h r m a n , William R . Kenan Professo r of Economic s a t th e Universit y o f Pennsy l van i a , de l i ve r e d a public lectur e a t th e Universit y on 19t h Ap r i l i n hi s capacit y a s Wei Lu n Visitin g Professor . Th e lecture, entitle d ' Ho w Parent s Really A f f ec t Thei r Children' s E c o n o m i c O p t i o n s : Som e Selected Examples' , too k plac e i n L T 2 o f t h e E s t h e r Le e Building. In hi s lecture , Prof . Behrma n summarized a series o f studie s h e had conducte d tha t examine d th e impact o f parent s o n differen t aspects o f children. Thi s was done us i ng specia l data , including dat a on twins and experimental data , to separat e th e causa l e f f ec ts o f pa r en t a l characteristics f r o m associations du e t o o t h e r c o r r e l a t e d f a c t o r s , s u c h a s i n t e r g e n e r a t i o n a l ly c o r r e l a t ed gene t i c e n d o w m e n t s o r neighbourhood effects . The specifi c effect s discussed includ e th e impact o f pregnan t women ' s health through birthweight an d o f infant an d child nutrition ove r th e life course , the impac t o f parenta l schooling o n child schooling , an d the impac t o f parenta l wealt h o n intrahousehold allocation s o f adult couples. Ce l eb r a t ed a s on e o f th e most p r o l i f i c emp i r i ca l mi c r o r e s e a r c h e rs i n t h e s o c i a l s c i en c e s, P r o f . B e h r ma n ' s r e s e a r ch i n t e r e s t s l i e i n emp i r i c al m i c r o economi c s , economic development , labou r economics, huma n resources , e c onom ic d emo g r a p h y , an d household behaviours . Prof. Behrman and Prof. Leung Yee, dean of social science Vice-Chancellor of UC Berkeley Shares Views on English Teaching P rof. Donal d McQuade , vice-chancello r (university relations ) of the University o f California a t Berkeley, visited the Universit y on 20th and 21st April. During his stay , Prof. McQuade , who i s also a n English teacher , spok e a t a seminar on 'Raising the Literacy Stakes: Writing Skills and the Demands of the New Economy ' whic h took plac e i n the Ho Ti m Building . H e als o paid a visit t o a local schoo l whose teacher s had joined th e WrITE Projec t (Writin g fo r Integrated Teache r Educatio n Project ) conducted b y th e C U H K Facu l t y o f Education. The WrITE Project , an adaptation of the National Writing Projec t o f the US, i s based on a 'teache r teachin g teacher' mode l and aims a t creating a professional networ k of outstanding English language teachers and improving Englis h teaching and learning i n Hong Kong . Prof. McQuade will join Dr. Barley Mak , director o f the WrITE Project , in introducin g the project t o the public thi s summe r durin g the two-week 2004 WrITE Summe r Institute . Prof. Donal d McQuade , vice-chancello r (universit y relations), Universit y of California, Berkeley (left two) and Prof. Lee Chi Kin, dean of education (left three) Footwear Science Explored for Better Health and Comfort T he applicatio n o f scienc e i n footwea r design, wel l develope d i n Europ e an d North America, has recently emerged as a new science in Asia. Such a development has been reflected i n greate r concer n fro m spor t scientists, footwea r manufacturers , an d footwear purchaser s i n footwear design . On 14th April, a total of 75 delegates from industry an d academi a i n mainlan d China , Japan, Taiwan, an d Hong Kon g gathere d i n LT1 o f the Esther Lee Building t o exchang e ideas on the research and development of new footwear product s a t a workshop. Entitle d 'Application o f Science in Footwear Design , Deve l opment an d Ma n u f a c t u r e ' , th e workshop wa s hosted jointly b y th e Huma n Movement Laborator y o f th e University' s Department o f Sport s Scienc e an d Physica l Education, the Department of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering , an d th e CUHK-WHO Collaboratin g Centre for Sports Medicine an d Health Promotion . A two-hou r keynote lecture was delivered by Dr . Edwar d C. Frederick, forme r directo r of Nike's R&D department , founder o f Nike Sports Researc h Laboratory , an d curren t president o f Exete r Researc h Inc . i n California. Prof . Youlian Hong, chairman o f the workshop mad e welcoming remarks an d Pr o f. Da v i d Johns , cha i rma n o f th e Department o f Sport s Scienc e an d Physica l Education, gav e an opening speech . 1 No. 240 4th May 2004