Media

HKU awards honorary degrees to four distinguished persons

24 Apr 2007

 

Dr The Honourable David K P Li, Pro-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), conferred honorary degrees upon four outstanding individuals at the 175th Congregation today (April 24, 2007) at Loke Yew Hall, The University of Hong Kong.

Honorary Degrees are awarded to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service and commitment to the University, the community, and to academia. They are also conferred to those who have made valuable intellectual, social and cultural contributions to society and the world.

The honorary degree recipients are:
Doctor of Science honoris causa
- Professor LU Yongxiang
- Professor Daniel Chee TSUI

Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa
- Dr Thomas CHAN Sze-tong, JP
- Mr Rafael HUI Si-yan, GBS, JP

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Professor LU Yongxiang is a world-renowned fluid power transmission and control specialist, the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, PRC, and the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, Professor Lu graduated from Zhejiang University in 1964, and received his PhD in engineering from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany. The Fluid Power Transmission and Control Laboratory he set up on his return to Zhejiang University would later become the Institute of Power Transmission and Control, and was recognized as a State Key Laboratory. He became President of Zhejiang University in 1988.

Professor Lu is a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences a Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. He received the Knight Commander's Cross (Badge and Star) from the Federal President of Germany in 2000, and has served as a member of the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong.

In recognition of his contributions to the discipline of engineering and to the nation, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.

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Professor Daniel Chee TSUI is Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, and a 1998 Nobel Laureate in Physics.

Professor Tsui is a native of Henan, China. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1967, after which he joined Bell Laboratories to do research in solid-state electronics. He remained at Bell for thirteen years, before joining Princeton University in 1982.

Professor Tsui was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1987, is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a recipient of its Buckley Prize for condensed matter physics. In 1997, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award in Physics for his contributions to the discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect, and in 1998, he received the Nobel prize in Physics.

In recognition of his contributions to academia and the discipline of physics, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.

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Dr Thomas CHAN Sze-tong is a neurosurgeon in private practice, Chief Executive Officer of World Vision China, and Area Director, East Asia, of World Vision International.

Dr Chan is a native of Hong Kong and received his MBBS from HKU in 1977. Over the course of his medical career, he has lent his specialist expertise in neurosurgery to many hospitals across Hong Kong as well as the United Kingdom. In 1996, he became Chief Executive of World Vision Hong Kong and World Vision China. He has quietly and steadfastly worked towards the care and relief in society who are less fortunate and the most vulnerable, and winning the respect of many in Hong Kong and around the world.

Dr Chan is a Founding Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Surgeons and was made a Justice of the Peace in 2001.

In recognition of his contributions to humanitarian service in Hong Kong and the Mainland, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.

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Mr Rafael HUI Si-yan is the Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government.

Mr Hui received his BA from HKU in 1970, after which he began a long and illustrious career in the civil service. From 1977 to 1979, he was seconded to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Mr Hui attended Harvard University from 1982 to 1983 and earned his Master's degree in Public Administration. He was appointed Secretary for Financial Services in 1995, and helped strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre.

Mr Hui became Managing Director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority in 2000. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1986, received the Gold Bauhinia Star in 1998, and was appointed Chief Secretary for Administration in 2005.

In recognition of his contributions to the community of Hong Kong, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.

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For photos of the honorary recipients, please download at http://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_5539.html

For photos of the 175th Congregation and the reception afterwards, please click the 'Photo Gallery' icon inside the 'Weekly Notice for the media' webpage http://www.hku.hk/media