HKUST Honors Academic and Social Leaders at 16th Congregation

Abstract

[evdate 2008-11-14] The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

14/11/2008 HKUST Honors Academic and Social Leaders at 16th Congregation

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) conferred honorary doctorates on five academic and social leaders at its 16th Congregation today (Friday). HKUST's Pro-Chancellor, Sir SY Chung, presided over today's ceremony. The five recipients of the honorary doctorates were: Dr Chan Sui-Kau, Chairman of Yangtzekiang Garment Ltd (Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa) Prof Aaron Ciechanover, winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2004) and Distinguished Research Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (Doctor of Science honoris causa) Prof David Gross, winner of Nobel Prize in Physics (2004) and Frederick W.Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara (Doctor of Science honoris causa) Prof Chia-Wei Woo, President Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa) Prof Shuji Nakamura, Professor of Materials, University of California at Santa Barbara (Doctor of Engineering honoris causa) The Congregation also saw the presentation of other awards for outstanding achievements. Prof Mordecai Golin, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, was bestowed HKUST's highest accolade in teaching - the Michael G Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching. Prof Golin has impressed his students and colleagues with his unparalleled devotion to teaching and program development. During his 15-year career at HKUST he has created many new courses and developed both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In terms of teaching, he is famous for his exceptional ability to explain difficult concepts with interesting stories. Prof Golin has also been twice voted one of the Top Ten Best Lecturers, and received the School of Engineering's Teaching Award four times. The Stephen Cheong Kam-chuen Medal for Distinguished Service to the Student Body was awarded to Mr Andrew Lau Wai Kin, a third year student in Applied Physics. In the absence of an elected executive committee in 2007-08, the Students' Union Council formed a six-member provisional executive committee to take up the work of the Students' Union. Mr Lau headed the committee, and on top of sustaining the normal functioning of the Union, he helped formulate a new hall allocation system for 2008-09, and motivated student discussion on moving student amenities to a new location in 2012. He also organized visits to other universities in Mainland China and Taiwan, and received visitors from various non-local universities. For the first year, HKUST presented the President's Outstanding Service Award to three non-academic staff members for their dedication to service excellence. They were Mr Michael Cheng, Mr Albert Lam, and Ms Anna Wong. To enable the HKUST community and the general public to share the thoughts and experiences of the 10 finalists in this Award selection, the University published a book in Chinese entitled 'Devotion to HKUST', featuring these finalists and their achievements. The 16th Congregation conferred 1,898 bachelor's degrees, 1,355 master's degrees, and 148 doctoral degrees, expanding the HKUST alumni community to over 33,000.

Students fill the Atrium at which the Congregation is held

Prof David Gross (left) addresses the Congregation on behalf of the recipients of the honorary doctorates (from left) Prof Chia-Wei Woo, Prof Shuji Nakamura, Prof Alan Ciechanover and Dr Chan Sui-Kau

HKUST Pro-Chancellor Sir SY Chung presides over the Congregation

Jubilant students throw their caps high in the air in celebration

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