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| Prof. Woo gives a lecture at UM |
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| Students are captivated by Prof. Woo’s lecture |
Today (24 Feburary 2012), the University of Macau (UM) held a Doctor honoris causa Lecture entitled “Reminiscences of the Founding of HKUST: An Old Returnee’s Story”. Keynote speaker Prof. Chia-Wei Woo is a world-renowned physicist, educator, and doctor honoris causa of UM. He shared with the audience the founding of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as well as his several decades of experiences in education and research.
In his speech, UM Rector Wei Zhao praised Prof. Woo for his commitment to advancing science, technology and education in south China, saying that even after Prof. Woo resigned as the president of HKUST in 2001, his effort in this regard continued. Prof. Woo is a member on the International Advisory Committee of UM, sharing his wisdom about development strategies. In recognition of his contributions to education, UM conferred a Degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa upon him in 2011.
Prof. Woo shared with the audience the founding of HKUST and higher education development in Hong Kong, interspersing his speech with witty remarks. He thinks it imperative that higher education be diversified to satisfy the different needs of different students, and to reflect the changes in society and time. In discussing which academic programmes a university should offer, Prof. Woo thinks consideration should be given to three factors: the programme’s role in the economic development of a society, the possibility of recruiting the top people in the field, and the availability of funding.
Not only is Prof. Woo the founding president of HKUST, he is also a world-famous physicist and educator. For decades, he has tirelessly advanced
the development of science and technology and educated the next generation, unwittingly practicing the teaching of an old adage that, “Nothing benefits a person more than education.” Prof. Woo grew up in Hong Kong, and after graduating from secondary school, he went to the U.S. to pursue further studies. He obtained his bachelor degree in physics and mathematics from Georgetown College, and his master and PhD degrees in physics from Washington University. In 1983, at the age of forty-five, he became president of San Francisco State University, the first Chinese American to head a major university in the U.S.
Since 1964 Prof. Woo has published a hundred and twenty papers and books in various fields of physics, including quantum many-body theory, statistical mechanics, liquid crystals, low temperature physics, and surface physics. Under his supervision, twenty-five doctoral students and postdoctoral staff completed their theses and research projects.
