Great Minds to shed light on Big Issues

Abstract

[evdate 2006-09-13] 13/09/2006

Great Minds to shed light on Big Issues

A cluster of academic stars is descending on the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) campus, there to think publicly on issues of great importance to us all.

This series of high-powered lectures and a roundtable discussion will be presided over by world intellects. They will speak from a lifetime of work and wisdom.

This year's Shaw Prize Laureate in Life Science and Medicine, Prof Xiaodong Wang will address the question: "How Do We Save Lives by Understanding Death", introducing to the audience how modern biomedical knowledge helps fight against disease - the common enemy of mankind.

Subsequent to the lecture, there will be a roundtable discussion where pre-eminent scientists, including Nobel Laureate Prof Chen-Ning Yang, Shaw Prize Laureate Prof Xiaodong Wang, and Co-President Google Greater China Dr Kai-Fu Lee, are going to project what life will be like for the rest of the 21st Century.

Dr Kai-Fu Lee will also meet with over 30 gifted secondary students from Education and Manpower Bureau's Gifted Program. This meeting will be followed by a talk, entitled "Wisdom of Choice", to HKUST students.

For more photos of the events, please visit the photo album in the HKUST Media Information Center (http://media.ust.hk).

<http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-1z.JPG> <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-1z.JPG> Prof Xiaodong Wang <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-2z.JPG> <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-2z.JPG> (From left) Dr Kai-Fu Lee, Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, Dr Angelina Yee, Prof Chen-Ning Yang, Prof Xiaodong Wang, and President Paul Chu <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-3z.JPG> <http://www.ust.hk/en/pa/photo/pa0609121593-3z.JPG> Dr Kai-Fu Lee

"Great Minds on Big Issues"

Time/Venue

Topic

Speaker/Panelists Shaw Prize Lecture in Life Science and Medicine 10 - 11 am Citigroup Lecture Theater How Do We Save Lives by Understanding Death? Prof Xiaodong Wang (Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine) The Institute for Advanced Study at HKUST Roundtable 11:15 am - 1 pm Citigroup Lecture Theater Scientists as Poets: Imagining Everyday Life in the 21st Century Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (Fields Medalist and Abel Prize Winner) Prof Paul C W Chu (President, HKUST) Dr Kai-Fu Lee (Co-President, Google Greater China) Prof Xiaodong Wang (Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine) Prof Chen-Ning Yang (Nobel Laureate in Physics, Chairman of International Advisory Board of the Institute for Advanced Study at HKUST) The Institute for Advanced Study at HKUST Distinguished Lecture 2:30 - 3:30 pm Citigroup Lecture Theater Organizing the World's Information Dr Kai-Fu Lee (Co-President, Google Greater China) Genius Meets the Gifted 4:30 - 5 pm Foyer, 7/F, Academic Building (lifts 13-15) Dr Kai-Fu Lee (Co-President, Google Greater China) Special Talk for HKUST students - "Wisdom of Choice" 5 - 6 pm Citigroup Lecture Theater Dr Kai-Fu Lee (Co-President, Google Greater China)

Abstract

Organizing the World's Information - Dr Kai-Fu Lee Google has become a spectacular success in its short 8-year history. This success is due largely to four things: (1) Google has a compelling vision, which gave birth to many great products: organizing the world's information. (2) Google has a new model of innovation that matches the model of the Internet. (3) Google has a unique culture and values which fits its vision and model of innovation. (4) Google values talent and people, and creates a unique environment for people to innovate and excel. Dr Lee will describe what he finds to be the most prominent reasons for Google's success, and hope that it will give more inspiration for people to found more companies that are born with vision, driven by innovation, immersed in unique culture and values, and surrounded by talent.

Wisdom of Choice - Dr Kai-Fu Lee Dr Lee will give instructions on how one should learn about his/her own ambition, and make decisions for their personal growth. Using his observations and own experience, Dr Lee will provide methodologies and practical tools to attain the "Eight Wisdoms of Choice". In a lively and interesting way, Dr Lee will summarize the do's and don'ts of the self-questing and decision-making process.

Biographies

Sir Michael Francis Atiyah Sir Michael Francis Atiyah is a British mathematician, widely considered to be one of the greatest geometers of the 20th and the 21st century. In 1966, when he was 37 years old, he was awarded the Fields Medal for his work in developing K-theory and the Atiyah-Singer theorem, for which he also won the Abel Prize in 2004 jointly with Isadore Singer. Sir Michael has been President of the Royal Society and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including a knighthood in 1983 and the Order of Merit in 1992.

Prof Paul Chu Prof Chu is currently the President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of California at San Diego. In 1979, he joined the University of Houston as Professor of Physics. Prof Chu served as Director of the Solid State Physics Program at the National Science Foundation in 1986-87. He gained international renown with his outstanding achievements in the field of superconductivity and was selected as The Best Researcher in the US in 1990 by the US News and World Report. Prof Chu has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the International Prize for New Materials, the Comstock Award, the Texas Instruments' Founders' Prize, the John Fritz Medal, and the Freedoms Foundation National Award.

Dr Kai-Fu Lee Dr Lee is a Vice President of Engineering at Google Inc. and Co-President of Google Greater China. He joined Google in 2005 to start Google’s operations in China. Prior to joining Google, Dr Lee had worked as top management for a number of IT giants like Microsoft, Cosmo Software and Apple. He joined Microsoft in 1998 and was the founder of Microsoft Research Asia, which has since become one of the best research centers in the world. From 1996 to 1998, Dr Lee was the President of Cosmo Software, a subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). Before joining SGI, Dr Lee spent six years at Apple, where he served as vice president of the company's interactive media group.

Prof Xiaodong Wang Prof Wang received his education in China. He graduated in Biology from Beijing Normal University, China in 1984 and attained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 1991. He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA in 2004, and is presently the George L MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA. For his discovery of the biochemical basis of programmed cell death, a vital process that balances cell birth and defends against cancer, Prof Wang won the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2006.

Prof Chen-Ning Yang Born in 1922, Prof Yang was brought up in the peaceful and academically inclined atmosphere of the campus of Tsinghua University, China, where his father was a Professor of Mathematics. Prof Yang received his PhD degree at the University of Chicago in 1948. He has been associated with the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, since 1949, where he became a Professor in 1955. Prof Yang has worked on various subjects in physics, but has his chief interest in two fields: statistical mechanics and symmetry principles. He received a variety of honours and awards, most notably the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.

<http://www.ust.hk/en/cgi-bin/pa0001.pl> Vicki Wong tel: 2358-6317 email: wongpy@ust.hk <http://www.ust.hk/en/cgi-bin/email.pl?email=wongpy@ust.hk>

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