Donor
Vincent and Lily Woo Trust
Mr Vincent V.C. Woo (1910 - 1981) ranks among the legendary migrant entrepreneurs from the Chinese mainland who contributed immensely to the local economy. Born in Qiaoqi, Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, Mr Woo went to Shanghai at 19, where he apprenticed at a large textile mill before becoming a factory owner in the 1930s.
His foresight and tenacity allowed him to steer his business through the turbulent times of the late 1930s and 1940s. Mr Woo and his wife, Ms Lily Wang Yu-wo, moved to Hong Kong in 1949, where he re-established his textile business, and eventually set up Central Textiles (HK) Limited in 1953. Having served twice as Chairman of the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Association, Mr Woo was known for his support for new technology and practices.
A well-known philanthropist, Mr Woo established scholarships for both local and Chinese mainland students. He helped found the Cotton Spinners Association Secondary School, and was the first major funder for The Community Chest of Hong Kong. He was Director of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Yan Chai Hospital, Po Leung Kuk, New Asia College, Kiangsu-Chekiang College, and Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School. Like Mr Woo, Mrs Woo devoted herself to community services and was once a Director of Po Leung Kuk. She was also her husband’s stalwart supporter.
His daughter, Ms Alice Woo, founded the Vincent V C Woo Memorial Foundation. Since 2006, she has been a Director of The 1990 Institute and is actively involved in the development of the Institute’s America China Exchange teacher/ student education exchange programme in Jiangsu province. Her accomplishments won her the Education Award from the Wuxi Education Bureau in 2009.
Appointee
Professor Tao Xiaoming
Professor Tao Xiaoming has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in textile engineering from the East China Institute of Textile Science and Technology (1982) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in textile physics from the University of New South Wales (1987). She has been Chair Professor of Textile Technology at PolyU since 2002 and she is also an affiliate faculty member of PolyU’s Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering. Professor Tao is the former World President (2007-2010) and became an Honorary Fellow of The Textile Institute in 2011. She is also Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Design and Commercial Applications, UK. She was the recipient of the Founder’s Award by The Fiber Society of USA in 2013.
Professor Tao is known for her leading research on intelligent fibrous materials, textile-based electronic and photonic devices, yarn manufacturing and textile composites. With more than 200 international journal papers and six research monographs, her work has been cited for more than 7,800 times with an h-index of 44. She authored four books on textile-based photonics and electronics. Her book, Smart Fibres, Fabrics and Clothing, published in 2001, is the first book ever written on the topic. She is the inventor of over 20 patents. The impact of her research is reflected by the fact that 10 technologies invented by her, including nu-torque spinning, solo-spinning and fabric sensor technology, have been licensed worldwide for industrial production.
Building on the existing strength of Professor Tao’s research team, the Endowed Professorship will enable them to engage in further multi-disciplinary research activities such as the fiber-based electronic and photonic technologies to enhance the quality of life for humanity.
