Bulletin Vol. 8 No. 2 Sep 1971

T H E C H I N E S E U N I V E R S I T Y 〇 F H O N G K O N G T H E U N I V E R S I T Y BULLETIN VOLUME EIGHT SEPTEMBER 1971 NUMBER TWO CONTENTS Page Science Equipment from Volkswagenwerk Foundation 1 New Developments of Social Research Centre 1 Certificate Courses offered by EMSD . . 3 Vice-Chancellor attends International Conferences 4 Training Course in Cataloguing and Classification 4 Symposium on Science Teaching . . . . 4 Amendment of Statutes 5 Personalia 5 Staff Profiles 5 Comings and Goings 6 College News 6 Obituary 7 Science Equ i pment f rom Vo l kswagenwerk Founda t i on The Volkswagenwerk Foundation of West Germany has made a generous grant to the University for purchasing a Helium Liquefaction Plant and accessories made by Messrs. Linde, an Electron Microscope and accessories made by Messrs, Zeiss, and other scientific equipment. This initial contribution of DM 435,000 (approximately HK$770,000) for the above purchase is a manifestation of the Foundation's interest in The Chinese University and in promoting research in science and technology. The Electron Microscope was delivered in August 1971 and is already in use. The Helium Liquefaction Plant will be delivered in late 1972. Both will be installed in the University Science Centre which is scheduled to be fully operational by 1972. These pieces of equipment are urgently needed by the University. In order to carry out research at low temperatures liquid helium, which is at a temperature of -270°C, is an absolute essential, but liquid helium is not available anywhere in Hong Kong. The Helium Liquefaction Plant will be the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The University had no electron microscope, although a number of faculty had been actively engaged in research studies that require such an instrument, and had been using electron microscopes at the University of California and the University of Tokyo, which obviously is a far from satisfactory arrangement. Now, however, with this timely gift from the Volkswagenwerk Foundation, ten research projects will be started within the University as soon as the equipment is properly installed. Negotiation wit h the Volkswagenwerk Foundation was started in 1966 by Vice-Chancellor Choh-Ming Li. In June 1971, after many discussions and exchanges of details and information during which the German Government also assisted, the Board of Trustees of the Foundation agreed to this purchase of equipment for the University. New Developments of Soc i al Research Centre Research Projects "Started as a dream, the emerging programme of the Social Research Centre has earned international support. The Centre has potentialities of making an important contribution t o the Foundation Colleges, to The Chinese University and to Hong Kong for its work on Chinese society and its changes." This is how Prof. Robert Chin, Visiting Professor of Sociology, conceives the role of the Social Research Centre of the University,