Newsletter No. 263

E -NEWSLETTER ABSTRACT Volume 2 No. 16 Lee Shau Kee Foundation Donates HK$50 Million to CUHK The Chinese Universit y o f Hon g Kon g has received a generous donation o f HK$5 0 million fro m th e Le e Sha u Ke e Foundation . Th e mone y wil l b e use d t o se t u p scholarships an d t o enhanc e othe r area s i n th e University' s pursui t o f academi c excellence. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Delivers Distinguished Lecture at CUHK His Excellenc y Mr . Shauka t Aziz , Prim e Ministe r o f Pakistan, delivere d a distinguishe d lectur e title d 'Pakistan's Visio n fo r th e Asia n Century : Promotin g Cooperation fo r Peac e and Development ' a t the Chinese University o n 12t h August . CUHK Researcher Third i n Nationwide Astronautic Innovation Competition Dr. Yang Yubin, postdoctora l researc h fellow o f the Joint Laboratory fo r Geoinformatio n Science , won thir d priz e at the nationwid e Astronauti c Innovatio n Competitio n 'Flyin g int o the Future' . Dr . Yang's project was the only entr y from Hon g Kon g and Macau that made i t into the finals. CUHK Clinches One Gold, Three Silvers and Two Bronzes at National Badminton and Tennis Tournaments The Chinese Universit y badminto n and tennis teams outperformed their opponents a t nationa l badminto n and tenni s championships . The y also receive d the Sport s Ethic s an d Fair Pla y Prizes . Volume 2 No. 17 Ph.D. Student Honoured with IEEE Graduate Student Fellowship Mable Fo k Mei-po , Ph.D . studen t i n th e Departmen t o f Electronic Engineerin g o f th e Chines e University , ha s bee n awarded a Graduat e Studen t Fellowshi p b y th e Lase r an d Electro-Optics Societ y (LEOS ) of the Institut e of Electrica l an d Electronics Engineer s (IEEE) of the US . Mable was one of tw o recipients fro m Asia this year . Father of Laser Charles Townes Lectures at CUHK Prof. Charles Hard Townes, the inventor of the laser and Nobel laureat e i n physics i n 1964 , delivered a lecture entitled 'The Laser' at the Chinese Universit y on 18t h August. For details, please visit http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/enews/ . C a n a d i an M i n i s t er of State Visits C U HK T he Hon . Dr . Caroly n Bennett , Canadian Ministe r o f Stat e fo r Public Health , visite d th e Schoo l o f Public Health of the University on 8t h August t o exchang e lesson s learn t from SARS an d discuss preparedness strategies fo r futur e epidemics . Th e visit wa s part o f a longer visi t b y Dr . Bennett an d a Canadian delegation t o Hong Kong , Vietnam , an d Thailan d from 7t h to 12t h August. The Canadian s ha d a meetin g with senio r public healt h doctors an d clinicians a t CUH K . Discussant s included Prof. Sia n Griffiths, directo r of the School of Public Health , Dr. E. K. Yeoh and Dr. Fung Hong, honorar y professors a t th e Schoo l o f Publi c Health, Dr . Thoma s Tsan g o f th e Centre fo r Healt h Promotion , Departmen t o f Health , Prof . Kennet h Young , actin g vice - chancellor o f the University, Prof. Lee Shui-shan , acting director o f the Centre for Emergin g Infectious Diseases, and other CUHK facult y members. They exchanged ideas on preparedness for future threats such as avian flu an d the long-term impact of SARS to healthcare profession s and the public. They also identified opportunities for continuing dialogue and for strengthenin g existing an d future collaboration . The Schoo l o f Public Healt h and the Offic e o f the Minister o f Stat e (Public Health ) ar e collaborating i n the public healt h genetics initiative , a n international grou p concerne d wit h the genome and society. Aspects of the initiative includ e understanding the population impac t of genetic screening, use of genetics for developing vaccines for prevention, and future research developments. Dr. Carolyn Bennett (front, left 2), Prof. Kenneth Young (left 1), and Prof. Sian Griffiths (front, centre), and other faculty members Hong Kong' s Qualit y of Life Improving, Study Shows T he CUHK Hon g Kong Qualit y o f Life Inde x compile d by the Faculty o f Socia l Scienc e shows that quality o f life i n Hong Kong has been improving continuousl y i n the last two years. The index , launche d i n 200 3 an d released annuall y t o provid e policy-maker s an d th e community wit h useful references, consists of 2 1 indicator s groupe d under three sub-indices . The indicator s ar e selected according to the coverage, measurability, representativeness, an d importance t o Hong Kong's qualit y o f life . The socio-cultura l an d economic sub-indice s were found to have increased continuousl y from 2002 to 2004, while the environmental sub-inde x was found to have declined slightly i n 2004. Compare d with las t year, 1 2 of the 21 indicator s improve d i n 2004. Th e stres s index , overall crime rate , and unemployment rat e decline d this year . Lif e expectanc y a t birth, th e press criticism index , the inde x o f curren t economi c conditions , an d public expenditur e o n education a s a proportion o f the GDP wer e highe r i n 2004 . Hon g Kon g peopl e wer e mor e satisfied with their live s an d with the performance o f the HKSAR government . Water qualit y and recycl e rat e o f municipa l solid wast e wer e muc h bette r than in the previous year. The ai r i n d e x s h o w e d m i n i m a l improvement. Seven indicators performe d worse thi s year , including pres s freedom, housin g affordability , and the rea l wage index . Ther e was also more noise pollution i n 2004. Standardize d mortalit y rate an d public expenditur e o n health as a proportion of the GDP remained unchanged . (From left) Prof. Catherine Tang, Prof. Chan Ying-keung, Prof. Paul Lee, Prof. Andy Kwan, and Prof. Ng Sai-leung 1 No. 263 4t h September 2005

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