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29 January 2010

Former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Charles K. Kao to Grace CUHK Nobel Exhibition

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is honoured to announce that Prof. and Mrs. Charles K. Kao are returning to Hong Kong at the invitation of the University and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. They will make their first public appearance in Hong Kong after the presentation of the Nobel Prize Award at the opening ceremony of the CUHK exhibition ‘The Lore of a Laureate: A Tribute to Charles Kao, Former CUHK Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Laureate’ next Friday (5 February) on campus. Dr. the Honourable Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR and CUHK Chancellor; Dr. Vincent Cheng, CUHK Council Chairman; Prof. Lawrence J. Lau, CUHK Vice-Chancellor; as well as two CUHK Distinguished Professors-at-Large and Nobel Laureates, Prof. Yang Chen Ning and Prof. Sir James A. Mirrlees will officiate at the ceremony. Thanks to fibre optic communication technology, the public will be able to see the ‘Father of Fibre Optics’ on CUHK website (http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/cpr/charleskao) with live broadcast of the ceremony.

Prof. Lawrence J. Lau warmly welcomes this glorious visit by Professor Kao, and praises him for doing the Chinese University and the Chinese community worldwide proud, ‘The University is most delighted and proud to have Professor Kao returning to our campus as a Nobel Laureate. Professor Kao's relationship with CUHK goes back almost 40 years. He established the then Department of Electronics and has been contributing to the development of the Faculty of Engineering, laying a solid foundation for the Chinese University to develop into a world-class comprehensive, research-led university. He developed the principles of fibre optics and turned optic fibre communication into reality, eventually heralding the age of the Internet. And his contribution to mankind has earned him a much deserved Nobel Prize. We at the University are humbled by the honour that we are privileged to share.’ Professor Lau also encourages young people to look upon Professor Kao as their role model and contribute to society with their knowledge and wisdom one day.

CUHK is privileged to receive the Nobel Prize Medal and Diploma, and 18 other precious medals of Professor Kao, most of which will be shown at an exhibition that is open to the public.

The exhibition will also make use of multimedia presentations to highlight Professor Kao’s lifetime of achievements as well as his legendary contribution to fibre optic communication technology. Important video footages of Professor Kao will be shown, which include the presentation of the Nobel Prize Award to Professor Kao in Stockholm last December, the Nobel Lecture in Physics by Professor Kao delivered by Mrs. Kao, as well as the various University activities attended by Professor Kao during his Vice-Chancellorship at CUHK.

The exhibition will focus on six themes with highlights as below:

1. Professor Kao’s Chronology: The audience can follow Professor Kao’s footpath to gain a deeper understanding of him: from his childhood, education, the birth of fibre optics, how he has led CUHK to excellence, to his receiving international acclaim, and his life after retirement. His groundbreaking research paper published back in 1966 is not to be missed. It proposed using glass fibre as a conductor for optic communication, ushering in the era of optic fibre communication.

2. The Nobel Prize: Showcasing photographs and materials of the Nobel Prize award ceremony and the Nobel Lecture fresh from Stockholm, including the brochure of Nobel Week, the programme of the award ceremony, the lecture script, publicity poster on the Nobel Laureates in Physics, and congratulatory letters to Professor Kao from all over the world, including some from eminent statesmen worldwide, such as Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Dr. the Honourable Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR; and Prof. Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, PRC.

3. Relationship with CUHK: Illustrating the significant advancements of the University during Professor Kao’s nine years of Vice-Chancellorship. Some related publications and Professor Kao’s personal belongings will be shown, such as his name card, the academic dress worn by him when he was conferred CUHK Honorary Doctorate in 1985, as well as his open letters to all teachers and students of the University. He is the first Vice-Chancellor of CUHK to issue open letters as a means of strengthening communication in the campus community.

4. Development of Fibre Optics: Photonics experts at CUHK will guide the audience through the history of fibre optic communication, and share insights on the emerging technology. The audience will learn about the early research on fibre optic communication initiated by Professor Kao in 1966, how the Institute of Optical Science and Technology at CUHK has contributed to research on fibre optic technology, as well as the future development of the technology, such as all-optical network architecture, high-capacity data transmission, high-speed optical signal processing, radio-over-fibre, and the latest nano-photonic devices.

5. Publications by Professor Kao: As an academic giant, Professor Kao has written widely on fibre optics, and technological development in Hong Kong and on the mainland. All of his books, including his biography, will be exhibited.

6. Professor Kao - The Person: Interesting objects about Professor Kao will be displayed, such as his lecture notes and household utensils made of pottery by him, to unveil his artistic talent.

The exhibition will commence next Saturday (6 February) until 20 March at the Exhibition Hall on G/F of University Library, Main Campus, CUHK, Shatin. Free admission. The public are welcome to attend. The opening hours are as follows:

During the Chinese New Year:

Prof. Lawrence J. Lau relayed CUHK's congratulations to Prof. and Mrs. Charles Kao in the US last October and presented to them a scroll calligraphed by Prof. Jao Tsung-i, world-renowned sinologist and CUHK Wei Lun Honorary Professor of Fine Arts (Due acknowledgement must be given to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Strictly for editorial use only and commercial redistribution is prohibited)	Prof. and Mrs. Charles Kao happily showing the Nobel Prize Medal and Diploma after the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony (Due acknowledgement must be given to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Strictly for editorial use only and commercial redistribution is prohibited)
Professor Kao’s Nobel Prize Medal with the Nobel Prize Diploma behind. Dedicated to Professor Kao, the painting on the left hand side of the Diploma was drawn by artist Sture Berglund, which he describes ‘In my landscape, on the Bothnian part of the Baltic Sea in northern-most Sweden, right now – a few days before the winter solstice – there is a weak stripe of light on the horizon. ‘Poor light – a magic, blue tone that soon, during the next six months, increases to a flowing light – round the clock… ‘I think that this amplification of light is found in your scientific work and landscapes. ‘As an artist, I myself constantly seek the changeability of light in Arctic nature…’ (Due acknowledgement must be given to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Strictly for editorial use only and commercial redistribution is prohibited)	The initials of Professor Kao’s name ‘C’-Charles, ‘K’-Kuen and ‘K’-Kao are designed on the cover of his Nobel Prize Diploma (Due acknowledgement must be given to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Strictly for editorial use only and commercial redistribution is prohibited)