In memory of the late Professor Lau Oi Wah, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and our former Dean of Science, for her life-long devotion of promoting science education in the University and secondary schools, the Faculty has been hosting an annual Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series since 2005 to extend Professor Lau’s vision of science education.
The past events were well received with over 1,000 senior secondary school students and teachers from around 100 schools each year.
The 13th Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series will be held on 25 February, 2017 (Saturday). To participate, please return the completed registration form by email (man.ng@cuhk.edu.hk), fax (2603 5156), mail (Rm. G43, Charles Kao Building, Science Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.) or register through the on-line registration platform: https://goo.gl/PnEjVC on or before 20 February 2017 (Monday).
| Date | 25 February 2017 (Saturday) |
| Time | 9:30 am - 12:30 pm |
| Venue | LT1, Cheng Yu Tung Building (CYT), CUHK |
| Register | Online Registration |
| Enquiries | 3943 5523 / 3943 1993 / sfo@cuhk.edu.hk |
Lecture Series Topics: 3rd talk delivered in English
| First Talk |
Are Hong Kong corals worth saving? Dr. Chui Pui Yi Apple School of Life Sciences |
| Second Talk |
Mathematics meets medicine Professor Lui Lok Ming Ronald Department of Mathematics |
| Third Talk |
A tale of two seasons in the Arctic Professor Liu Lin Earth System Science Programme |
The late Professor Lau Oi Wah devoted herself to promoting science education in both university and high school, and left a legacy of 35 years of service to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a Professor in the Department of Chemistry who also served as Dean of the Science Faculty from 1994 to 2003, Professor Lau Oi Wah recognized the importance of nurturing young minds of next generation and the necessity to bringing scientific knowledge and advancement to the public.
Professor Lau joined the Department of Chemistry of Chung Chi College in 1968, and retired from the Faculty of Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2003. Active in affairs at both the college and university levels, Professor Lau served as Member of the University Council (1983 – 1986, 1994 – 2003), Member of College Assembly of Fellows (1980 – 2003), Member of College Board of Trustees (1986 – 1995), Chairperson of College Scholarships, Awards and Financial-Aid Committee (1977 – 1985), and Chairperson of College Physical Education Committee (1987 – 2003). During the nine years as the Dean of Science, Professor Lau led the Faculty of Science in building bridges between scientific frontiers and the masses, showing how science is an inherent as well as an integral part of everyday life. Even after her retirement, Professor Lau continued to assist Chung Chi College in promoting campus health education.
After the passing of Professor Lau in 2004 at the age of 63, her former colleagues at the Faculty of Science wished to continue Professor Lau’s legacy in promoting science education to the young people of Hong Kong. First held in 2005, the annual Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series – jointly sponsored by the Faculty of Science and the Lau Oi Wah Memorial Fund – has been one of the ways the members of the Faculty of Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong carry on Professor Lau’s dedication to igniting a passion for science among high school students.
The Lau Oi-Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series was established in 2005, in recognition of Professor Lau Oi-Wah’s contribution to Science Education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and to Hong Kong in general. Professor Lau obtained her B.Sc. degree in 1965 from The University of Hong Kong (HKU). She joined Chung Chi College of CUHK as an Assistant Lecturer in 1968, during which she was still working on her Ph.D. thesis. After the completion of her doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry in 1970 at HKU, she became a Lecturer at CUHK. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1982 and Reader in 1993. She was awarded a Leverhulme Foundation Fellowship in 1971 by Imperial College, London and an Honorary Research Fellowship in 1978 by the University of Birmingham. Professor Lau became a Chartered Chemist and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K., in 1981. She was elected to the Deanship of the Science Faculty for three successive terms, from 1994 to her retirement in 2003.
Professor Lau was a dedicated teacher and a caring research advisor who always put her students’ learning and benefit first. During her academic career, she supervised seven Ph.D. students and about 30 M.Phil. students. To many of us who knew her well, she was a passionate educator with a warm personality. During her Deanship, she had successfully pushed for the establishment of many interdisciplinary teaching and research programmes, which remains a direction for curricula developments of the Faculty of Science for the years to come. In addition to university teaching, Professor Lau had also initiated an effort to promote science education in local secondary schools.
After the passing of Professor Lau, her friends and students have established a memorial fund to support the Lau Oi-Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series in order to recognize Professor Lau’s contribution to science education in Hong Kong and to commemorate her commitment to education. The Lecture Series, now running for the 18th year, continues to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in Science. Professor Lau’s legacy has indeed lived on through the gift of learning as we all wish.
In memory of the late Professor Lau Oi Wah, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and our former Dean of Science, for her life-long devotion of promoting science education in the University and secondary schools, the Faculty has been hosting an annual Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series since 2005 to extend Professor Lau’s vision of science education.
| Date: | 27 April 2024 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 10:00 am – 12:00 nn |
| Venue: | LT9, Yasumoto International Academic Park, CUHK (Seats are limited; first come, first served) |
| Language: | English |
| Registration: | Joining the event is free of charge. Register HERE |
| Registration Deadline: |
26 April 2024 |
| Enquiries: |
3943 1387 / cpse@cuhk.edu.hk |
| First Talk |
The Guard of Secrets: Statistical Privacy Professor CHAN Kin Wai (Department of Statistics) In the era of big data, where vast amounts of information are generated and collected, safeguarding privacy has become one of the most concerning issues regarding the ethical use of data. Since there is always a tradeoff between data privacy and data utility, deriving a statistically insightful procedure that can sufficiently protect privacy at a desired level is, therefore, an important task for statisticians and data scientists. In the talk, the speaker will demonstrate that anonymization by removing identifying information is not sufficient to protect privacy. To handle this problem, the speaker will present two statistical methods for protecting privacy: randomized response and differential privacy. Examples will also be presented to illustrate the principles. |
| Second Talk |
Hundred Years of Good “Learning”: To Improving Learning and Memory Dr. KOON Chun Alex (School of Life Sciences) “Without memory, we are nothing.” Memory is essential to all our lives. Without memory of the past, it is impossible to operate in the present or plan for the future. Without memory, we wouldn't be able to learn anything at all. Since ancient times, enhancing memory has been one of mankind's greatest dreams. Our brain is made up of approximately 100 billion neurons. During learning, neurons must construct new synapses to communicate with one another, thereby forming a neural network; and our memories rely on these synapses and networks to be maintained. Thus, synaptic plasticity is the basis of learning and memory. To date, scientists have accumulated over 150 years of research on learning and memory. What have we learned so far? Are there “super drugs” for memory? Can we apply this knowledge in the clinical setting to help patients of neurodegenerative diseases? How about in the educational setting to improve student learning? In this lecture, we will discuss some of the scientific milestones and explore some of the answers. |
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