Conferment
of First Distinguished Honorary Professorships &
Lectures by Nobel Laureates
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Dr
Sir Gordon Wu presented the Certificate of Appointment
to Prof. K. Barry Sharpless (right). |
Dr
Sir Gordon Wu presented the Certificate of Appointment
to Prof. Ryoji Noyori (left). |
Interviewing
Dr William Knowles (left) by Prof. Albert Chan Sun-chi. |
PolyU
conferred the title of Distinguished Honorary Professorship,
the highest academic honour of the University, to the winners
of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry at a special ceremony
held on campus on 29 April. The association with the three
top scholars will be a strong boost to the further development
of the University's Area of Excellence "The Hong Kong
Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and
Synthesis".
The
esteemed academic honour was conferred by Council Chairman
Dr Sir Gordon Wu upon the three Nobel Laureates. They are
Prof. Ryoji Noyori, Director of the Research Centre for
Materials Science of Nagoya University in Japan; Prof. K.
Barry Sharpless, W.M. Keck Professor of Chemistry at the
Scripps Research Institute in the US; and Dr William Knowles,
previously with Monsanto Company in the US.
Although
Dr Knowles was not able to receive the honorary professorship
in person, Prof Albert Chan Sun-chi, Chair Professor and
Head of PolyU's Department of Applied Biology and Chemical
Technology, had made a special trip to the US for an exclusive
interview with him. The video interview was premiered in
Hong Kong after the ceremony, followed by Prof. Noyori's
lecture on "The Science and Opportunities of Asymmetric
Catalysis" and Prof. Sharpless's lecture on "Searching
for New Reactivity".
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