Newsletter No. 524

04 # 5 2 4 | 0 4 . 1 0 . 2 0 1 8 前校長高錕教授於2018年9月23日離世，享年八十四歲。 消息傳來，中大同仁固然深感哀痛，廣大市民亦若有所失，國際傳媒也一應  報道。 高教授不單是香港中文大學的第三任校長（1987–1996），更是因光纖研究而 獲頒諾貝爾物理學獎的科學家，叫香港人和全球華人引以自豪。他高瞻遠矚、鍥 而不捨的研究，是對現代通訊劃時代的偉大貢獻，改變了人類資訊傳播與發展 的步伐。今時今日，我們溝通的便捷，辦事節奏的改變，知識的無礙流通，全都 與他的發明息息相關，說他改寫了人類的歷史，亦不為過。這樣一位巨擘離去， 自當跨越地域與界別牽動無數人的情緒。 數以千計人士在中大和各式的社交網頁留言致哀，感激高錕教授的貢獻。位於 何善衡工程學大樓平台的高錕銅像，鮮花簇擁。大學展覽廳內，前來弔唁者絡繹 不絕。 高錕教授最讓人懷緬的是他溫潤如玉的性格，謙謙君子之風。曾受他領導的 大學同工，無不津津樂道他的開明作風，佩服他對大學教研的遠見。當年與他 意見對立的學生，至今回顧，亦感佩他的海量包容。他推動了世界的文明，卻 並不居功。在他的自述裏，曾形容自己的科學突破並非來自瞬間的靈光，而是 「多年的反復試驗。光在玻璃中傳輸本就是非常古老的概念。」在2004年接 受電機電子工程師學會歷史中心訪問時，他也只是說：「我認為這很大程度上 是一項探測工作，需要良好的理論和良好的基礎知識，……所以真的沒甚麼了  不起。」 科技研究由理論層面到應用和發揮影響，過程可以非常漫長，當中更少不免經 歷無數挫敗。高錕教授在1966年發表的論文肯定了利用光纖作為資訊傳輸的 可能性，其長遠影響要到二十與二十一世紀之交才彰顯，且化為席捲全球的資 訊浪潮。儘管到2009年接受諾貝爾獎時，健康狀況已不容許他親自發表得獎 演說，更遑論理解自己對這世界的貢獻，但那無損這位歷史巨人在我們心目中 的形象。健康上的遺憾反而造就他把關愛傳播社群，他與夫人 高黃美芸 女士在 2010年成立的高錕慈善基金，積極加深社會對認知障礙症的認識，並為病患 者、家屬和照顧者提供協助。他晚年在公開場合出現，笑容純真，眼神澄明，令 人神傷，也令人欣慰。 高錕教授，願你安息！你的和煦柔光將繼續照亮世界，無時或息！ Professor Sir Charles Kao, former Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, passed away on 23 September at the age of 84. Professor Kao’s passing is universally mourned by members of the University community and the general public alike. It was also widely covered in local and international media. Professor Kao was the third Vice-Chancellor and President of the University (1987—1996), and a Nobel laureate in physics lauded for his accomplishments in optical fibre research. His farsightedness and perseverance in research gave rise to epoch-defining contributions to modern communications and set the pace for how humans transfer and disseminate information. We owe to Professor Kao the convenience, efficiency and free flow of knowledge we enjoy today; it is therefore not an exaggeration to say that Professor Kao had forever changed the course of human history. The loss of a great mind and a great human being is deeply felt by all inside and outside the scientific and the academic communities. Thousands of people have left their condolence messages on the social media and other platforms of CUHK and by other means. From the first day of the sad news bouquets of flowers began appearing before his statue on the podium outside the Ho Sin-Hang Engineering Building. Long lines of tribute-payers are seen at the University Gallery where a condolence corner has been set up. Professor Kao is a gentleman and a scholar, to those who have the good fortune of knowing him. Staff members who had worked for him praise him for his openness and foresights on education and research. Students who once stood on the other side of the fence now recognize and admire his magnanimity. Professor Kao, however, took very little credit for his huge contributions to humanity. In his memoir, he said that his scientific breakthrough had not resulted from a ‘eureka’ moment but rather from years of trial-and-error experiments. ‘Transmission of light through glass is an old, old idea,’ he wrote. When he was interviewed by the IEEE History Center in 2004, he casually said, ‘I think it was a very respectable bit of detective work as well as good theory and good fundamentals… so there was really nothing spectacular.’ The journey from basic research to applied research and technology transfer can be a long and winding one dotted with disappointments and setbacks. In 1966, Professor Kao published a paper affirming the potential of optical fibre for data transmission, but it was only until the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries that the impact of his research began to reach far and wide. By the time he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2009, his health had made it impossible for him to deliver an acceptance speech or fully apprehend the significant legacy he had bequeathed to the world, but all this does not lessen in our hearts our respect and gratitude for him. His stature had not declined with his physical decline but endeared him way beyond the scientific and the academic communities. In 2010, Professor Kao and his wife Gwen Kao set up the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer‘s Disease Limited with an aim to promote society’s understanding of dementia, as well as offering assistance to patients and their families and caretakers. Friends and strangers who met him in his public appearances in his later years will never forget his childlike smile and bright-eyed sageness, and must have been moved by the mixed feeling of being disheartened and heartened at the same time. Rest in peace, Professor Kao. The light you brought on shall never dim. 高錕教授於2009年獲頒諾貝爾物理學獎 Professor Kao wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics 高錕教授夫婦2015年2月14日與敬文書院師生共度情人節 Professor and Mrs. Kao spend the Valentine’s Day with teachers and students of CW Chu College on 14 February 2015