Newsletter No. 314

中大通訊 CUHK Newsletter ‘English is our second language. So, in a sense we’re handicapped in our competition with native speakers.’ To overcome this weakness, he read English novels and magazines to improve his English. When he entered the University of Chicago, he met a mentor who corrected his writings tirelessly. Thanks to his own efforts and help from his mentor, his English improved. He made an interesting observation about those famous professors at the University of Chicago, ‘They’re good scientists and they’re also good writers.’ （接上頁 Continued ） Prof. Tsui is someone who sticks to what he believes is right. In 1972 when he saw the promising prospect of medical physics, it was by no means a popular discipline. When he received his PhD in 1977, he already foresaw the advent of three-dimensional imaging. At that time MRI was in its infancy. Prof. Tsui’s teacher told him, ‘MRI won’t work.’ But he thought otherwise and went to UC Berkeley to learn To help his Chinese students improve their English, Prof. Tsui sets a rule that everyone in his laboratories must speak in English. If You Build It, People Will Come Of course, good language skills alone do not guarantee success. Those who succeed are visionaries. Prof. Tsui told the story of PET/CT, the brainchild of his friend Prof. David Townsend. When the idea of combining the advantages of PET and CT crossed his mind, Townsend asked some doctors for their opinion and they all responded similarly, ‘PET is good enough. Why PET/ CT?’ Unperturbed, Townsend steadfastly carried out his research. When the PET/CT scanner was finally invented, everyone switched to PET/CT within five years and nobody used PET alone. Prof. Tsui said, ‘It’s like the message of the film Field of Dreams : “If you build it, people will come.”’ He believes that the keys to success lie in having faith in yourself and pursuing your goals with perseverance and persistence. 醫學影像檔案 Some Facts about Medical Imaging X光的誕生 1895年德國物理學家侖琴發現的X光，就是醫學影像的濫觴。世界上第一張X光片，是其夫人左手的骨骼。在那個年代， 人的骨骼只有在死後才看得見，無怪乎侖琴夫人看到自己的X光片後驚呼：「天啊，我像是看見自己的死亡似的。」 X光改寫遇刺總統的命運 1881年7月2日，上任不到四個月的美國總統加爾菲德遇刺，在那個仍未有X光的時代，那顆留在總統體內的彈頭遍尋 不獲，結果總統傷勢惡化，兩個多月後去世，解剖後才發現彈頭卡在脊骨處。1981年3月30日，列根總統同樣遭到槍 擊，但醫生在X光片的幫助下，很快就找到在心臟附近的彈頭，並將之取出。列根也很快康復。 Birth of X-rays In 1895 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays and ushered in the age of medical imaging. The first X-ray image in the world was the left hand of his wife. Those were the days where skeletons could be seen only after death. Little wonder that when Mrs. Röntgen saw the image of her skeletal hand, she exclaimed, ‘Oh my God ... It makes me somehow feel that I’m looking at my own death!’ X-rays and Fates of Assassinated Presidents American president James A. Garfield was assassinated on 2 July 1881, less than four months after taking office. In those pre-X-ray days, the bullet lodged in his spine could not be found. The president became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection and died after being bedridden for more than two months. On 30 March 1981 President Ronald Reagan was also shot and wounded by a gunman. But with the help of X-rays, the bullet near his heart was immediately located and removed, and he recovered quickly. 校長率團重訪諾貝爾得獎者搖籃 CUHK Delegation Visits ETH Zürich 劉 遵義校長於2月22日率領代表團訪問瑞士蘇黎 世聯邦理工學院，加強兩校之教研合作。 蘇黎世聯邦理工學院（ETHZ）創辦於1855年，歷年培 育多達21名諾貝爾得獎者，例如家喻戶曉的愛因斯坦 及最近到訪中大的結構生物學家Prof. Kurt W ü thrich。劉 校長於2006年4月首訪ETHZ，翌年7月，中大與該院簽 訂合作及學生交流備忘錄，開展了一連串合作計劃。 劉校長是次率團重訪，主要為鞏固雙方的夥伴關係， 並推動現有的合作計劃。中大中醫中藥研究所與 ETHZ藥物科學研究所正合作研究提取具有抑制癌細 胞於血液及淋巴擴散功能的植物成分。中大上皮細胞 生物學研究中心亦正計劃邀請ETHZ細胞生物學研究 所的Prof. Sebastian Jessberger來訪，與中大師生分享 P rof. Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor, led a delegation to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ) on 22 February 2008 to forge closer ties with this leading institution of research and education. Founded in 1855, ETHZ has been a touchstone for science and engineering leaders. A total of 21 Nobel laureates, from Wilhelm Könrad Rontgen (1901) and Albert Einstein (1921) to Kurt Wüthrich (2002) have been associated with ETHZ. Prof. Lau made a brief visit to ETHZ in April 2006. A framework memorandum for general cooperation and details for student exchange were then finalized in July 2007, and joint initiatives are underway. Prof Lau’s visit this time consolidated the partnership. The CUHK Institute of Chinese Medicine is working with ETHZ’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences on cancer inhibition. Plans are already underway for Prof. Sebastian Jessberger of the ETHZ Institute of Cell Biology to visit the CUHK Epithelial Cell Biology Research Centre. With the generous support from Prof. Ralf Hiptmair of ETHZ for the CUHK Department of Mathematics, a research student from CUHK will carry out work on electro- magnetic Maxwell’s equation at ETHZ. The delegation impressed the ETHZ Rector with presentations on their research. Members of the delegation included Prof. Lau, Prof. Jack C.Y. Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Helen Meng, associate dean (research), Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Raymond Chan, associate dean (research), Faculty of Science, Prof. Chan Hsiao-chang, Li Ka Shing Professor of Physiology, Prof. Shaw Pang-chui, deputy director, Institute of Chinese Medicine, Prof. Lin Hui, director, Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, and Ms. Shally Fan, senior programme manager, Office of Academic Links. 劉遵義校長（前排中）率領中大代表團與蘇黎世聯邦理工學院代表合照 CUHK delegation with ETHZ representatives 他在神經再生研究的成果。今年，中大數學系的研究 生更有機會獲ETHZ Prof. Ralf Hiptmair的慷慨贊助， 到該院從事電磁麥斯威爾方程的研究。 代表團在訪問ETHZ期間，向該院校長及教授介紹中 大的科研成果，令他們留下深刻印象。中大太空與地 球信息科學研究所所長林琿教授更在該院地圖製作研 究所主講「地理學語言的演變 ─ 地圖、地理資訊系 統以至虛擬地理環境」。 除劉遵義校長外，中大代表團成員包括：副校長鄭振 耀教授、工程學院副院長（研究）蒙美玲、理學院副 院長（研究）陳漢夫教授、李嘉誠生理學講座教授陳 小章教授、中醫中藥研究所副所長邵鵬柱教授、林琿 教授及學術交流處主任范瑞欣女士。 three-dimensional imaging. Later on when teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he became involved in MRI, helping to improve its image quality. Today, MRI is a useful diagnostic tool in the modern medical arsenal. He has also contributed significantly to the development of SPECT. Steadfastness and far-sightedness have been the keys to Prof. Tsui’s success.