Newsletter - HKU Graduate School

THE
GRADUATE
SCHOOL
Newsletter
A P R I L 2 01 4
Graduate School Award Presentation Ceremony 2013
The Graduate
School held it s
annual Award
Presentation
Ceremony on
December 9, 2013
to celebrate our
research postgraduate students’
outstanding achievements.
It was our honour to have Professor
Rosie Young (Chair man of the
HKU Foundation), Mr C.F. Man
(HKU Council Member) and
Professor Nirmala Rao (erstwhile
Associate Dean of the Graduate
School) to present the important
prizes and awards. For ty PhD
students with excellent academic
records received the University
Postgraduate Fellowships. The
prestigious Li Ka Shing prizes were
awarded to two MPhil and four PhD
graduates who had submitted the
theses of exceptional quality. Ten
other students who had submitted
excellent theses and demonstrated
outstanding performance in other
academic areas were bestowed
the Outstanding Research
Postgraduate Student awards.
We were also delighted to celebrate
at the ceremony the achievements
of 44 students who have won
external prizes, including the Doris
Zimmern HKU-Cambridge Hughes
Hall Scholarships, RGC-Fulbright
Hong Kong Dissertation Research
Programme Fellowships and Hong
Kong PhD Fellowships, together
with the winners of the HKU Three
Minute Thesis Competition 2013.
For the complete list of award
recipients, please visit http://www.
gradsch.hku.hk/gradsch/2013_
a w a r d e e s. p d f. O u r h e a r t f e l t
congratulations to all of the award
winners!
List of prize winners:
LI KA SHING PRIZES (2011-12)
Best theses in the Faculties of Architecture, Arts, Business &
Economics, Education, Law and Social Sciences
Mr COLLINS Jeremy Charles (MPhil, School of Humanities (Linguistics))
Thesis Title : Grammaticalization and Greenberg’s Word Order Correlations
Supervisors: Professor S.J. Matthews, School of Humanities (Linguistics)
Dr P.S. Ding, School of Humanities (Linguistics)
Dr LAI Suet Lin Selina (PhD, School of Modern Languages and Cultures
(American Studies))
Thesis Title : Lighting Out for the Chinese Territory: Mark Twain & 'Sivilization' in China
Supervisor:Dr K.A. Johnson, School of Modern Languages and Cultures (American Studies)
Dr QI Zhixin (PhD, Department of Urban Planning and Design)
Thesis Title : Short-Interval Monitoring of Land Use and Land Cover Change Using RADARSAT-2 Polarimetric SAR Images
Supervisor:Professor A.G.O. Yeh, Department of Urban Planning and Design
Best theses in the Faculties of Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine
and Science
Mr ZHANG Linquan (MPhil, Department of Computer Science)
Thesis Title : Move My Data to the Cloud: an Online Cost-Minimizing Approach
Supervisors: Dr C. Wu, Department of Computer Science
Professor F.C.M. Lau, Department of Computer Science
Dr FAN Jing (PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
Thesis Title : Heat Transport in Nanofluids and Biological Tissues
Supervisor:Professor L. Wang, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dr LI Yan (PhD, Department of Clinical Oncology)
Thesis Title : Identification and Characterization of Two Oncogenes SPOCK1
and AZIN1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Supervisor:Professor X.Y. Guan, Department of Clinical Oncology
AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING RESEARCH
POSTGRADUATE STUDENT (2011-12)
Dr JAYARATNE Yasas Shri Nalaka (PhD, Faculty of Dentistry)
Dr LAI Chun Cheong (PhD, Department of Microbiology)
Dr LEE Wing Kin (PhD, School of Chinese)
Dr NG Pun Tung (PhD, School of Biological Sciences)
Dr NG Sophia (PhD, School of Public Health)
Mr TSO Ricky Van Yip (MPhil, Department of Psychology)
Dr WANG Qian (PhD, School of Economics and Finance)
Dr YE Lin (PhD, Department of Civil Engineering)
Dr YEUNG Ching Lam Margaret (PhD, Department of Chemistry)
Dr ZHOU Yue (PhD, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
Art and AnEmotion
International Postgraduate Conference at HKU
After a year of planning, on the 12th and
13 th of December 2013, HKU’s School
of Humanities (Philosophy) hosted an
international postgraduate conference on
the topic of “Art and Emotion”.
With the funding we received from the
Postg radua te Students Conference
Grant of the Research Grants Council,
we were able to welcome Matthew
Kieran (Professor of Philosophy and the Arts, University
of Leeds) and Amy Coplan (Associate Professor of
Philosophy, California State University Fuller ton) to
take part in this beneficial exchange with postgraduate
speakers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, New
Zealand, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Covering
a wide range of topics including Chinese philosophy,
philosophy of mind, psychology, music, dance, literature,
and film studies, the conference allowed the speakers to
discuss their work and receive valuable feedback from
both their peers and established scholars.
Coffee breaks supported by the School of Humanities
and a typical Cantonese conference dinner supported by
the School of Humanities (Philosophy) contributed to the
enjoyable atmosphere and made for vibrant interactions.
All in all, this conference was an enriching experience
for all concerned, and was well worth the organisational
effort. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to thank
all those who made this event a success: my fellow
committee members – Kathleen Ho Ka Yan, HongTing Li, Yumi Suzuki, and Lorraine Yeung; Dr Edoardo
Zamuner and especially Dr Timothy O’Leary for their
helpful supervision; Novia Wong for her wonderful
poster; Karen Leung and Loletta Li for their valuable
help; and finally, the Postgraduate Students Conference
Grant of the Research Grants Council Hong Kong and
HKU’s School of Humanities (Philosophy) and School of
Humanities for the funding support.
Ekin Ulas
MPhil Candidate, School of Humanities (Philosophy)
My Experience as the Opening Speaker for the
TEDxYouth Conference
About TED and TEDx
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth
Spreading, which started as a conference in California
26 years ago. At a TED conference, talks are given
by the world’s leading thinkers including Professor
Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Philippe Starck and Sir Ken
Robinson. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is
a programme of local, independently-organised events
in countries around the world that bring people together
to share a TED-like experience. One unique feature of
TEDxYouth Hong Kong is the live-streaming audience,
as 2,000 students in schools around Hong Kong spend
the day live-streaming the conference rather than having
classes, as well as a live audience of 300.
TEDxYouth Hong Kong 2013
I was invited to be the opening speaker for TEDxYouth
held in Hong Kong on November 20, 2013 at the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University. My talk, entitled ‘Creativity in
Memory’, discussed innovative approaches to learning.
The theme was how to ‘play’ with boring data to make
it more memorable, and the lecture featured smoke
'Fans' outside the lecture hall
machines, henna tattoos, rap and dancers. However, far
from being simply entertainment, the science of these
methods and the biological responses they produce
were explained, using examples from my own research
in e-learning under taken at HKU. The finale was a
physical interpretation of mitosis. Together with medical
students from HKU (Joshua Ma and Phoebe Leung) and
CUHK, we performed a four stage contemporary dance
choreographed from prophase, metaphase, anaphase
and telophase.
“
I believe the best lecturers combine excellent
scientific knowledge with creativity. Taking a
‘Rockstar’ approach to lectures can capture the
imagination of students, inspire them in their
learning and show them that creativity and
science belong hand-in-hand.
”
Some other facts
Dance interpretation
Other speaker s included Francis Ngai, the HK
entrepreneur responsible for Dialogue in the Dark, and
Queenie Poon, HK's first female professional magician
with her own series on TVB.
One of the research items discussed was a project
funded by a project grant from CEDARS, for
experimental anatomy teaching using henna tattoos.
See Christopher Yew Hong
PhD Candidate,
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care
MPhil Candidate
Receives Scholarship
for 2nd Santander
International
Summer School for
Doctoral Students
Mr Wong Man Lok Nichol, an MPhil candidate
in the Department of Psychology, has been
awarded a scholarship for the 2nd Santander
International Summer School. The summer
school is taking place at the Internationales
Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg from April 7 to
17, 2014.
With the theme ‘Frontiers in Neuroeconomics –
How Social and Individual Context Matters for the
Biological Mechanisms of Behaviour’, the summer school addresses
how human decision making is affected by personal factors, physical
and mental health, and social and environmental factors. It explores
the interactions between biological and context factors, and how these
interactions influence the process and the outcomes of decision making.
A Lasting Passion for Research
Alumni interview with Dr Wong Ngai
A BEng and PhD graduate of HKU, and now an Associate Professor
in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE),
Dr Wong Ngai shares his experiences and thoughts.
From his early years as a student in
Shau Kei Wan Government Primary
and Secondary schools, Dr Wong’s
passion was science. ‘It took a while
to discover the subtle difference
between science and engineering,
and realise that engineering was
for me. Scientists tend to inhabit
an ivory tower while they explore
t h e s e c r e t s o f t h e u n i ve r s e,
whereas engineers seek practical
applications of their knowledge to
improve human life.’
As a product of the local school
system, Dr Wong’s natural choice
for undergraduate studies was HKU,
although he did have a very brief
interlude at the National University
of Singapore. ‘I was awarded a
scholarship, but I was living in a
dorm and in the middle of the night
was woken up to be a basketball
cheerleader! That was not the sort
of student life I had envisaged and I
didn’t want to have to sleep through
classes, especially given the heavy
tuition fee. But it helped me focus
on what I wanted, so I left after a few
days and enrolled at HKU!’
Following his BEng course, it was
an easy decision for Dr Wong to opt
for research postgraduate (RPg)
study, continuing on from his final
year undergraduate project under
the same supervisor, Professor T.S.
Ng. ‘I was for tunate in Professor
Ng’s free style of supervision, which
I think is crucial to unleash creativity.
An environment without pressure
encourages self-motivated research
(although, of course, without care it
can encourage laziness).’
‘I had in mind to go abroad for
broader exposure after getting my
Master’s degree, but HKU gave me
the opportunity to transfer from the
MPhil to PhD programme after one
year, which meant that it took me
only three years to finish my PhD
thesis after my BEng. Compared to
the US and the UK it takes a much
shor ter time to obtain the PhD at
HKU.’
‘My familiarity with the HKU culture
and environment at the beginning
of my RPg study was cr ucial
in enabling me to adapt fast and
produce early output. I spent
nine months as a Visiting Scholar
at Purdue University fur thering
my research without all the hassle
of taking the SAT and so on. The
US system emphasises technical
courses and training throughout
the RPg study, something which is
lacking at HKU. It is an essential
ingredient for in-depth and impactful
research outcome and it helped
build some of my technical knowhow and consolidate the direction of
my research.’
Immediately following conferment of
his PhD, in late 2003, Dr Wong took
up a faculty position as Assistant
Professor in the Department of EEE
at his alma mater. ‘For family reasons
I was happy to stay in Hong Kong
and I was eager to contribute to my
mother school. That was the only
post for which I applied after my
PhD and very likely it is where I will
spend my entire career.’
Life-work balance is important for Dr
Wong. He enjoys photography as a
hobby, plus long-distance running
and hiking to sharpen the mind. He
likes spending time with his young
daughters, born in 2010 and 2012
respectively. ‘I’m sure they will find
their own ways in life. If by chance
they like engineering then I can give
them a push (although this is unlikely
as my elder one is highly artistic). I
am a Christian so the most I want for
my children is to have them follow
the footsteps of the Father above.’
Dr Wong believes that HKU has
changed in many ways since his
undergraduate days. He appreciates
the campus beautification and the
planned MTR access. He comments
that teaching and learning have
become more systematic and he
is happy to see young people,
like himself, among new faculty
members.
‘In many ways I think the facilities
at HKU are much better than at top
overseas and mainland universities.
Our computer equipment is stateof-the-ar t and our workplace is
spacious. But the graduate students
aren’t as diligent as in my time -a worldwide problem. We should
remember that the quality of RPg
students defines the value of the
research outcome. In past centuries
researchers did not rely on facilities
to produce amazing results: all they
required was to carry their brains
around.’
‘To enhance HKU’s RPg system, I
think there should be better quality
checkpoints throughout the RPg
curriculum, and students should
appreciate that they need to perform
well to earn a degree. In the world’s
top graduate schools students
are self-motivated and compete
for excellence, while at the same
time treasuring synergy among
peer group members. To increase
HKU’s competiveness, RPg students
should “align” their vision with top
students worldwide. Perhaps shortterm overseas exchange schemes
for good HKU RPg students would
help?’
Too many students view RPg study
only as the stepping stone to Wall
Street and big money, cautions Dr
Wong. ‘But RPg study should always
be exclusively interest driven, not
viewed as the means to an end.
Students should also respect their
supervisor as their teacher.’
Dr Wong’s final advice for RPg
students is that, like everything in
life, research has its ups and downs.
‘But if you persevere, you find light
at the end of every (sometimes very
long) tunnel.’
Brief Report on the Conference 'Religion and Power:
Political, Legal and Economic Perspectives'
being non-religious: this leaves us with almost 90% of
the world population – over 6 billion people – associating
with a faith-based identity. Chronology provides
compelling evidence of organised religious activities
since at least 9,000 BC. Seen from an anthropological
perspective, religious beliefs are a natural fact of life,
just like establishing social relations, setting up families
or engaging in trade. It is most observable that religions
have a major impact on dissemination patterns of
influence and affluence within and among societies.
On January 13-14, 2014, a third sequel to the HKU
interfaith dialogue series was organised by the nonprofit society Bridging Gaps, the Faith and Globalization
Initiative and the Centre for Comparative and Public Law.
The conference attracted 18 speakers from 14 countries
who presented Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim
perspectives on the issue of 'Power and Religion'.
This interfaith dialogue series was initiated at HKU in
2011 to provide a platform for academic discussion
on religious issues that are often considered sensitive.
The underpinning logic of these public fora is that it is
only by recognising differences and acknowledging
diverging interests that a true dialogue can contribute
to mitigate intercultural tension and violence. A similar
logic has successfully been used in tackling ideological
and ethnic conflicts through the work of Truth and
Reconciliation Commissions facing national pasts of
intolerance and violence in countries such as Argentina
and South Africa. The HKU interfaith initiative builds on
the idea that this same cultural, social, institutional and
psychological mechanism is not only replicable but is
also applicable in the context of inter-religious conflicts.
This year's conference and the public dialogue forum
built upon the dual and at times ambiguous role religions
play in society: moral guards in the believers' inner world
of spirituality and experienced players in the outer world
of social organisations. The cleavage between religions'
spiritual power and temporal power reflects the schism
between their definition as cultural constructs and their
characterisation as sociological phenomena.
The speakers specifically reflected on how religious
engagement with political, legal and economic issues
can have beneficial and detrimental consequences
in contemporary society. Even if there is no certain
outcome in the interplay between religion and power,
this is undoubtedly a recognised phenomenon that
such interplay exists and that it bears enormous
consequences in contemporary societies. Today, only
2% of the world population is atheist, with a further 9.6%
Keynote speeches from Professor C.F. Lee (HKU),
Professor Graham Ward (Oxford University), Professor
Michael A. Helfand (Pepperdine University) and
Emeritus Professor Jamal Badawi (St Mary's University)
highlighted different examples of such interplays,
scrutinising the linkages between religion and power
in the context of history (Buddhism); constitutional law
(Christianity); legal arbitration (Judaism); and religious
discourse (Islam). The public forum and the four
academic panels explored and discussed, among other
issues, inter-religious correlations with revolutions, civil
power, finance and psychology. The comments and
questions raised in a well-attended public forum bridged
the debate from theoretical to real-life situations.
The HKU platform once again – as in earlier events of the
series – enabled speakers from diverse faith traditions
to openly address sensitive issues in an atmosphere of
impartiality, trust and mutual respect, something that can
only happen in a secular, credible and well recognised
academic venue. While commending the forum,
theologian Graham Ward noted that ‘an atmosphere
of trust between the speakers from the different faith
traditions enabling openness is very rare in inter-faith
work. There are few venues where these conversations
can take place. And there are few faculties that feel
confident in handling the questions raised because they
are not simply religious.’
Mr Thomas Awe, Director of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Beijing, correlated the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s
global mission to this interfaith platform that aims at
‘enhancing mutual understanding among religious
communities w hile raising Hong Kong’s public
awareness towards religious cohabitation', feeling that
‘without doubt this interfaith dialogue will continue to play
a profound and normative role in Hong Kong and in the
region.’
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region within
its pluralistic society has also shown to have a critical
role to play by offering a receptive and neutral ground
– a prerequisite for success of any such intercultural
dialogue. Hong Kong's freedom of speech and
geographic position contribute in making it an ideal
place for the future of cultural mediation in Asia.
Uzma Ashraf
PhD Candidate, Department of Law
Swire Scholarships for Research Students in Residence at
Robert Black College
The Swire Scholarships were established, through
the generous donation by the Swire Company,
to provide a learning opportunity for young members
of the University’s academic community to reside
in the Robert Black College, and thereby mix with
international scholars. Swire Scholars are provided
free accommodation with breakfast at the College.
They are expected to actively interact with the visiting
academics residing in the College, so as to enrich
their learning experiences, and to offer the visiting
academics good company.
The selection process for the 2013–14 Swire
Scholarships concluded in December 2013.
The recipients of the Scholarships are as follows:
All full-time research students who are registered for
an MPhil or a PhD degree at the University are eligible
to apply for the Swire Scholarships. Applications will
normally be called for – via bulk mail, the HKU intranet,
and the Research Services website – in September
every year.
Mr TSO Ricky Van Yip
Ms Anna COSTA
PhD student, School of Modern Languages
and Cultures (China Studies)
Dr SEE Christopher Yew Hong
PhD student, Department of Family
Medicine and Primary Care
PhD student, Department of Psychology
Congratulations to the three recipients
on their achievements!
Deanship and Associate Deanship of the Graduate School
The Graduate School is pleased to
announce the recent changes in the
management team.
DEAN
Professor Nirmala Rao
Serena H.C. Yang Professor in Early
Childhood Development and Education
ASSOCIATE DEANS
Professor Mee Len Chye
Wilson and Amelia Wong Professor in
Plant Biotechnology
Professor Becky P.Y. Loo
(from left) Professor B.P.Y. Loo, Professor M.L. Chye, Professor N. Rao and
Professor B. Young
Department of Geography
Professor Ben Young
Department of Civil Engineering
The Graduate School management
team will continue to work closely with
Faculties to provide first-class research
postgraduate education and learning that
meet the highest international standard.
Produced by:
The Graduate School,
P403, Graduate House,
The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Professor Nirmala Rao (Dean, Graduate School)
Mrs Betty Tsui (Graduate School)
Ms Vicki Geall (Technical Writer, Research Services)
Tel: 2857-3470 Fax: 2857-3543
E-mail: gradsch@hku.hk Url: http://www.hku.hk/gradsch/