CityU Inauguration of Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) aspires to be an international centre of excellence promoting interdisciplinary and team-based research to address the global challenges of today. The inauguration of IAS was held on 22nd Nov 2015 and I attended the event for supporting my alma mater.

I met Prof. Michael Lam (BCH Dept., CityU) in the hall and took a photo for memory.

Prof. Way Kuo (President, CityU) gave an opening remark. He said that IAS would be the perfect platform for spearheading the University’s drive for excellence in interdisciplinary research through our faculty and students under exciting environment that advance their work and benefits society

Professor David Yao (IAS Director, CityU) gave a speech and he told us some stories about Einstein that he did four experiments. Einstein said the fourth experiment was daydreaming. He also quoted Abraham Flexner (Founding director of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study) that “When the minds of scholars are liberated, they will be free to take advantage of surprises, and someday an unexpected discovery, apparently leading nowhere, will be found to be an indispensable link in a long and complex chain that may open new worlds in theory and practice.” Prof. David Yao explained in the other words that “the fruits of deep scientific discovery can only fall from the tree of liberated minds and unbounded imagination.”

President introduced senior fellows and presented souvenir to each member. Member accomplishments had been recognized by national academies and they had received prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal and the Shaw Prize.
Prof. Serge Haroche is Nobel Laureate in Physics and member of French Academy of Sciences.

Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn is Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and member of French Academy of Sciences.

Group photo taken

After the inauguration, we had light buffet.

At the end, I meet former RA in SEEM and participants. We took a photo for memory.
(Left: Mr. Raymond Lo (former RA in SEEM), Prof. T Wing Lo (Head & Professor, Dept. of Applied Social Science, CityU), Ir. Dr. C.K. Hung (Director, Federation of PolyU Alumni Associations Ltd.)

Reference:
CityU’s Institute for Advanced Study will champion bold new research initiatives - http://wikisites.cityu.edu.hk/sites/newscentre/en/Pages/201511221300.aspx

CityU Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)
VisionCityU IAS aspires to be an international centre of excellence promoting interdisciplinary and team-based research to address the global challenges of today. It brings together research expertise and integrates research capabilities informed by the sciences, technology and the humanities to extend the frontiers of knowledge and contribute to the solutions of real world problems.
Mission
CityU IAS aims at driving and supporting cutting-edge, discipline-based research while at the same time creating an innovative framework for seeding and developing interdisciplinary problem-based research of significant economic and social impact. It provides an exciting platform for global talents to engage in pioneering research and contribute to postdoctoral/postgraduate/undergraduate training, with the goal of strengthening global connectivity, problem-solving capability, team-work and research impact to respond to academic and societal challenges.
Initial Three Themes
- One Health
- Digital Society
- Smart CityU