Newsletter No. 162

Wei Lun Professor on Knowledge-based Economy P r o f. T i en C h a n g - l i n, u n i v e r s i ty professor and NEC D i s t i n g u i s h ed P r o f e s s or o f E n g i n e e r i ng at the University of California at Berkeley, and former chairman of the Chief Executive's C o mm i s s i on on I n n o v a t i on and Technology of the HKSAR, delivered a l e c t u r e on ' T h e S y n e r g y a nd De v e l opment of Know l edge - based Ec onomy in Greater Ch i na' in his capacity as Wei Lun Visiting Professor to the University on 21st March. The lecture examined the development trends in wo r ld civilization and their impact on Greater China. Particular reference was made to the synergy between traditional Chinese culture and the new knowledge-based economy. How Hong Kong should position itself in this rapidly developing environment was also discussed. B o r n i n Wu h a n, Ch i n a, and educated in Shanghai and Taiwan, Prof. Tien taught for over 40 years at UC Berkeley and served for seven years as its seventh chancellor. He is internationally recognized for his research in heat transfer technology. Recently he was appointed a member of the US National Science Board and the US National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching f or the 21st Century. More Laurels for BBA Students The University's B BA team beat five other teams from overseas universities to win the Harold Crookell International Case Competition for the second time in two years. Organized by the Richard Ivey School of the University of Western Ontario in Canada in mid-March, the competition, now in its eleventh year, brought the wo r l d 's future business leaders together with Canada's business community to examine the potential of global interaction. This year, six teams were invited to take part in the event: CUHK, the University of the West-Indies ( T r i n i d a d ), I n s t i t u te Te c n o l o g i c io Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Queen's Un i v e r s i ty at K i n g s t o n, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo (Brazil), and the University of Economics in Prague. During the competition, the participants were given about 14 hours to work out a strategy for a Canadian water purification company to enter the China market. The judges were impressed by the depth and breadth of the presentation made by the C U HK team, who captured the championship. The same team, consisting of Heidi Tang, Esther Mai, Regina Kan, and Maggie Cheung, had also won the Business Administration Paper of the Year 1999 in the Business Strategy Competition sponsored by Chekiang First Bank last February. Nobel Laureate Speak s on Cel lular Signal ing i n Vasodilatio n Prof. Ferid Murad, 1998 Nobel l au r ea te i n p h y s i o l o gy and medicine, delivered a pub l ic lecture at the University on 15th March. The title of the lecture was 'Cellular Signaling w i th Nitric Oxide and Cyclic GMP ', an area of scientific study for which he and two other American scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize. Prof. Mu r ad is currently p r o f e s s or and c h a ir o f the D e p a r t me nt o f I n t e g r a t i ve B i o l o g y, Pha rmaco l ogy, and Physiology at the University of Texas- Houston Medical School. He has done pioneering work on the mechanism of nitric oxide-induced vasodilation and the role of c y c l ic GMP as a s i gna l i ng molecule. Specifically, Prof. Murad's laboratory was the first to discover the i n v o l v ement of c y c l ic GMP in the vasodilatory actions of nitric oxide as well as other drugs that release nitric oxide, such as the anti-anginal drug, nitroglycerin, and the anti-hypertensive drug, sodium nitroprusside. Related research has subsequently led to the development of Viagra, an oral drug for erectile dysfunction. Germany-Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme Sponsors Eight CUHK Projects The following research projects by staff of the University have received funding from the Germany-Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 1999-2000: • Parallel and Distributed Computing for Job Shop Scheduling (HK$ 12,000) CUHK investigator: Prof. Wong Chak-kuen (Department of Computer Science and Engineering) • I on Beam Synthesis of Silicon Carbide (HK$30,000) CUHK investigator: Prof. Wong Sai-peng (Department of Electronic Engineering) • Multisensor-based Control of Dextrous Robots (HK$30,000) CUHK investigator: Prof. L i u Yunhui (Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering) • Phosphorous-31 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Evaluation of Progressive B r a in Tumour Versus Radiation-induced B r a in I n j u ry (HK$24,080) CUHK investigator: Prof. Chan Yu-leung (Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging) • Gastric Cancer — a Study on Genetic and Bacterial Mechanisms (HK$29,120) CUHK investigator: Prof. Joseph Sung (Department of Medicine and Therapeutics) • Microsatellite Instability i n the Evolution of Cervical Neoplasm (HK$29,400) CUHK investigator: Prof. Tony Chung (Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) • Changes i n the Expression of Ren i n -Ang i o t ens in System i n Patients w i t h Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy (HK$30,000) CUHK investigator. Prof. Leung Po-sing (Department of Physiology) • Sandwich-like Me t al Bis (Tetrapyrroles) (HK$ 12,000) CUHK investigator: Prof. Dennis Ng (Department of Chemistry) Corrigendum The amount awarded for the following two projects under the UK-Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2000 has been amended as follows by the Research and Technology Administration Office after confirmation with the British Council. The figures supersede those reported in the last issue of the CUHK Newsletter. • The Effect of Diversity in Large-scale Distributed Systems (£2,414.51) • Novel Strategies for the Treatment of Vein Gr a ft Failure (£2,414.51)