Newsletter No. 311

中大通訊 CUHK Newsletter 童聲稚語　迎長途客 A Long but Rewarding Journey 紅鄧屯位處廣西省偏遠山區海拔約500米的山巒上，上 山的道路險峻崎嶇，車輛不能到達。由香港前往紅鄧 屯，要先坐十六個半小時火車到桂林，再坐五小時公 車到融水縣，然後乘三小時小型巴士到大浪鄉，最後 徒步三小時，每程約花時兩天半。 由於地點偏遠，鮮有外人到訪，姜藝思及嚴英傑是首 兩位到該村留宿的村外人，每次到訪都得到村民熱 情招待，更視他們為解困英雄。村長說當地小孩為 了與他們溝通，努力學習普通話及寫字，一年內進 步神速。每次見面，小孩都會爭相把親手寫的信交 給這兩位哥哥姐姐。 Hongdeng village lies 500 metres above sea level and can only be reached on foot through a long and bumpy road. It took Louis and Karen two-and-a-half days to go from Hong Kong to the village—16.5 hours by train to Guilin, five hours by coach to Rongshui County, three hours by van to Da Lang, then another three hours on foot to the village. Visitors are rare in the remote village. Karen and Louis were the first two to stay overnight. The villagers received them warmly. The village head said the children were eager to learn Putonghua so they could communicate with the two visitors from Hong Kong. 「瑤學行」和另一中大學生作品「微型精密加工中心」，於兩 年一度的「挑戰杯」全國大學生課外學術科技作品競賽中， 獲得特等獎，中大更贏得「港澳優勝杯」。這是香港高等院 校自1997年參加挑戰杯比賽以來，首次有院校連續三屆取得 港澳地區冠軍。 第十屆「挑戰杯」於去年11月15至19日在天津南開大學舉 行，有一千多所內地高校參賽，包括全國所有重點高校，另 有二十多所港、澳、台和新加坡的高校參加，約900件作品入 圍終審決賽。大會設有兩項特等獎，頒予港澳地區56個項目 中最傑出的作品。中大的六項參賽作品，全屬中大校長杯創 新比賽的優勝發明，除了囊括兩項特等獎，其餘作品亦獲得 一項一等獎及三項三等獎。 各方推薦　代表出選 姜藝思表示，「瑤學行」得以代表中大出戰挑戰杯，全因得 到各方人士協助。她以該項目作為建築學碩士學位課程的畢 業功課，但由於規模甚大，要與同學嚴英傑合作，最後獲得 導師吳恩融教授極力保薦，才可打破畢業功課須為個人撰 作的規定，並以此參賽。 她續稱，在校內的校長杯比賽，即挑戰杯遴選賽中，「瑤學 行」並非最突出的作品。該比賽著重創新，他們的作品卻主 要是改良現有技術，應用性較高，後來因副校長鄭振耀教 授、化學講座教授黃乃正教授及計算機科學與工程學講座 教授梁廣錫教授舉薦，才破格獲准代表參賽。 此外，學術交流處（國內事務）特別安排教師，訓練他們普 通話應對及表達技巧。建築學系的研究助理、實驗室技術 員的傾力協助，以及領隊鄭振耀教授、黃乃正教授，隨隊的 梁廣錫教授，都曾為他們的作品出一分力，並給予支持及鼓 勵。 取得特等獎的另一項目「微型精密加工中心」，由機械與自 動化工程學系碩士生陳毅承設計，是一台耗能低、體積小， 並能為結構複雜的零件加工的工具，可應用於機械手表零 件、半導體和外科手術探針。相對現時市場上的龐大機牀， 該發明可大大節省能源，而又不降低加工微小零件所要求 的精密度。 中大將於1月2 9日至2月4日在大學圖書館展覽館舉行 「2007年學生創新創業作品展覽」，展出中大參加挑戰杯及 其他創意比賽的學生作品。 The Chinese University swept top awards in the Hong Kong and Macau Cup of the 10th Challenge Cup National Competition of the Chinese College Students’ Extracurricular Academic and Scientific Achievements with its projects ‘A School to Learn’ and ‘Millimetre-Scale Turning Centre’. The cup is considered the premier biennial national competiton of extra–curricular technological projects. The University was the first institution to win the Hong Kong and Macau Cup for three years in a row, since 1997. The 10th Challenge Cup was held at Nankai University, Tianjin, from 15 to 19 November. It attracted the participation of over 1,000 mainland institutions, includingall national key institutions, and over 20 institutions fromHong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore. About 900 entries made it to the final. CUHK projects won both of the Special Awards presented to the top two entries of the 56 from Hong Kong and Macau. Of the other four entries from CUHK, one received the First Award and three received the Third Award. Karen thanked different units of CUHK for their help, and in particular, Prof. Edward Ng at the Department of Architecture who she said lobbied the department to let them submit a joint, rather than individual, final-year project. She also thanked Prof. Jack Cheng, Pro-Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Wong Nai-ching Henry, Professor of Chemistry, and Prof. Leung Kwong-sak, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, for recommending the project to represent CUHK in the Challenge Cup. The other project receiving a Special Award was ‘Millimetre-Scale Turning Centre (MMT)’, designed by Chan Ngai-ching, a Master’s student in automation and computer-aided engineering. TheMMT centre, despite its small size, is capable ofmachiningminiature components with complicated features such as mechanical watch components and semi-conductors. The University will hold an exhibition on ‘Student Achievements in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Exhibition 2007’ from 29 January to 4 February at the University Library Exhibition Hall to showcase the winning projects of the Challenge Cup and other innovation competitions. from flooding. They are constructed without nails or concrete, using traditional mortise and tenon joints. Drawing upon their architectural knowledge, Karen and Louis studied local mortise and tenon structures, made adjustments based on scientific calculations, and designed a simple wooden structure that allowed for maximum loading. They also took care of other aspects of the project, such as fund-raising, site selection, construction, and negotiation with different units. Louis explained, ‘The design took into account the traditional architectural style of the village, and made use of materials available locally. Heavy machinery was not used.’ Karen added, ‘The construction methods were simple. This means that the villagers can make repairs and even rebuild the school when the need arises. This is a sustainable approach to eradicating poverty.’ As the saying goes, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. With this unique vision, they raised over HK$500,000 for the project. Karen and Louis paid several visits to the village. They searched for carpentry masters to teach them the ancient joining technique which they, in turn, taught (接上頁 Continued ) 挑戰連番　捷報頻傳 CUHK Clinches Third Regional Championship in Challenge Cup 左起：姜藝思、嚴英傑、陳毅承 From left: Karen Kiang, Louis Yim, and Chan Ngai-ching the villagers. They also sourced building materials. The experience was challenging but it taught them a lot. ‘We integrated our knowledge with practical needs. We took everything into consideration, including theory, practicality, villagers’ needs, environmental issues, and limitations. We revised the proposal repeatedly.’ Besides building the school, the two were joined by students from other institutions in Hong Kong in teaching the children basic hygiene and sanitation. Karen and Louis graduated last year but they will stay on the project to witness the completion of the new school premises in the coming summer. 「瑤學行」的設計模型 The model of ‘A School to Learn’