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Professor TANG Ching Wan

Professor Tang Ching Wan is the IAS Bank of East Asia Professor of the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Rochester, New York. He received his primary and secondary school education in Hong Kong and holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia and a PhD from Cornell University.

Professor Tang is best known for his work on organic optoelectronics, the research field related to electronic devices based on organic semiconductors. In particular, he has been recognised for the invention of the Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED).

Between 1986 and 1989 while he was a researcher at the Kodak Research Laboratories, Professor Tang transformed the field of organic optoelectronics with his discovery of the donor-acceptor bilayer structure, also known as the organic heterojunction, which allows the generation and recombination of charges to be manipulated to produce highly efficient optoelectronic devices.

He discovered OLED in a sequel to his work on organic solar cells. By engineering an organic heterojunction with luminescent semiconductors of proper energetics, he demonstrated an efficient light emitting device capable of producing high brightness at a low voltage. Published in 1987 and cited over 10,000 times, his research gave birth to OLED technology. By 1989, he had developed an important method for tuning OLED colours, leading to the fabrication of full-colour OLED displays.

Today, OLED technology is a multibillion-dollar industry and is used in many of the consumer and household electronic devices we all take for granted, including mobile phones and televisions.

Professor Tang was awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2011 and is a Founding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

In recognition of his contributions to science, society and the world, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.

Dr Jack MA Yun

Dr Jack Ma Yun is the lead founder and Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group. He holds a BA in English language education from the Hangzhou Teachers Institute.

In 1995, Dr Ma founded China’s first online business directory, China Pages. This entrepreneurial experience made him understand the difficulties facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 1999, he led a team to establish Alibaba.com with the goal of helping SMEs succeed.

The Alibaba Group’s mission from the start has been “to make it easy to do business anywhere.” The company is now the world’s largest e-commerce platform and a world-leading big data platform, serving tens of millions of SMEs and entrepreneurs around the globe with technologies such as e-commerce, online financial services, cloud computing and smart logistics.

Having spent six years as a university teacher, Dr Ma is strongly influenced by his past career. In his view, the title of CEO stands for “Chief Education Officer,” as CEOs should be responsible for helping their customers and staff become more successful than themselves.

After revolutionising e-commerce in China and around the world, Dr Ma has now committed himself to improving the state of the world through culture, entrepreneurship and education. He has established funding opportunities to support entrepreneurs and young people in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Additionally, the Jack Ma Foundation focuses on philanthropic initiatives in the areas of education, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, and entrepreneurship.

Dr Ma is also a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and Chairman of the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce and of the China Entrepreneur Club. He is a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate for the United Nations and a Special Adviser of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development for Youth Entrepreneurship and Small Business.

In recognition of his contributions to technology, society and the world, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.

Dr David MONG Tak Yeung

Dr David Mong Tak Yeung is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Shun Hing Group. He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from Santa Clara University, California.

Dr Mong understood that while formal education was important, the value of experiential learning was also invaluable. So he worked at Panasonic Japan from 1985 to 1989 – to understand first hand the intricacies and processes of the different areas of technology and manufacturing – before joining Shun Hing Electronic Trading Co Ltd as Executive Director in 1991.

Dr Mong has a long history of supporting the education sector, and the University of Hong Kong has benefitted from his counsel and leadership as a member of its Court. As a Director of the HKU Foundation, he has offered forthright and invaluable advice to the University community. And the Prince Philip Dental Hospital has also had the benefit of his experience and expertise, as Dr Mong has served as a member of its Board of Governors.

Indeed, much of the higher education sector in Hong Kong has benefitted from Dr Mong’s support, and in addition to being an HKU Honorary University Fellow, he is also an Honorary University Fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and holds Honorary Degrees from the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Under Dr Mong's leadership, the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund has become a very active philanthropic enterprise and has contributed regularly and substantially to improving the well-being of diverse sectors of society in Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas. Dr Mong’s contributions extend to public service as well, through his service on the Board of Directors of organisations that benefit, inter alia, education, medical services, sports, arts and culture, environmental protection and community service.

In recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.