CUHK Research

17 CUHK RESEARCH Ever since its inception 50 years ago, CUHK has embraced research as one of its primary missions. Within a half century, it has developed into a comprehensive research-orientated university and topped the bench and left its marks in many areas in the arts, the humanities, the sciences and the social sciences. In the early days, the University was the cradle of Neo- Confuciansim and home to its representative figures such as Tang Chun-I, Mou Tsung-san and Liu Shu-hsien. In 1988, the late Prof. D.C. Lau and Dr. Chen Fong-ching initiated the CHANT (Chinese Ancient Texts Database) project which eventually made the entire corpus of extant pre- Han and Han classical texts available electronically to sinologists and Chinese scholars. Another undertaking, the Hong Kong Literature Archive almost singlehandedly completed by Prof. Lo Wai-luen, has become an essential resource for the study of contemporary Hong Kong literature and culture. Sociology, with an emphasis on empirical research and quantitative methods, had a very solid beginning at CUHK and made its mark in promoting social research in Hong Kong and in training sociologists on the mainland. The study of human behaviour is distinguished by the development of cross-cultural references and tests, most notably the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory led by Prof. Fanny M.C. Cheung. Spor t science research at CUHK has impact on international academic communities as well as local sport fields, as the group led by Prof. Stephen H.S. Wong has demonstrated. Prof. Cha r les K. Kao, forme r V ice - Chance l l o r and Nobe l L au r e a te i n Physics, had not only revolutionized telecommunications technology but a l so l a i d a f i rm founda ti on fo r the engineering sciences at CUHK. Today, Prof. Raymond Yeung and Prof. Robert Li’s seminal work in network coding is rewriting the rapidly outdated annuals of information technology. In a region where nasopharyneal cancer is a common form of cancer, the late Prof. Dolly P. Huang and Prof. Lo Kwok-wai’s pioneering work has laid down the model and standard practice for better understanding and treatment of the disease. In addition to those mentioned above, many more trailblazers at CUHK have broken old molds, forged new tools and vocabularies, and bequeathed their formidable legacies to their peers and successors.