Chia-Wei Woo GBS CBE (traditional Chinese: 吳家瑋; simplified Chinese: 吴家玮; pinyin: Wú Jiāwěi), CBE GBS, was the founding president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His work included raising funding and recruiting outstanding faculty for the university. With Chung Sze Yuen, Woo created an institution, including a top ranked Business School, known as the HKUST Business School. The school's MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programs have been consistently ranked as Asia's top programs, and in the World Top 50 MBA programs by the Financial Times of London.[1] Woo retired in 2001 after 13 years of service and remains President Emeritus as well as University Professor Emeritus.
Chia-Wei Woo | |
|---|---|
| 1st President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | |
| In office 1991–2001 | |
| Chancellor | David Wilson Chris Patten Tung Chee-hwa |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Chu Ching-wu |
| 11th President of San Francisco State University | |
| In office 1983–1988 | |
| Preceded by | Paul F. Romberg |
| Succeeded by | Robert A. Corrigan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1937 (age 86–87) Shanghai, Republic of China |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater | Pui Ching Middle School Georgetown College (BSc) Washington University in St. Louis (MA, PhD) |
| Awards | 1996 CBE 2000 GBS 2001 Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Northwestern University University of California, San Diego San Francisco State University |
| Thesis | Theory of the normal ground state of liquid helium three (1966) |
| Doctoral advisor | Eugene Feenberg |
Education and academia
editBorn in Shanghai in 1937, he received his secondary education from Pui Ching Middle School in Hong Kong and went to the US in 1955, where he acquired his BS degree in Physics/Mathematics at Georgetown College in Kentucky, and his MA degree in Physics at Washington University in St. Louis. He went on to pursue his PhD at Washington University in St. Louis under Eugene Feenberg.[2][3] Later, he taught at Northwestern University and at the University of Illinois, served as Northwestern's chairman, Physics and Astronomy Department, then as Provost, Revelle College, U.C. San Diego (where he had pursued post-doctoral work). In 1983, at the age of 45, he became president of San Francisco State University, the first Chinese American to head a major university in the United States.[4]
Since 1964, Woo has published 120 papers and books in various fields of physics, particularly in quantum many-body theory, statistical mechanics, liquid crystals, low temperature physics, and surface physics.
Honors and awards
editWoo has received many honours and awards for professional achievement and civic contribution, including Fellowships of the American Physical Society[5] and the California Academy of Sciences; the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship; Honorary Professorships at Fudan University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Physics), Shenzhen University, and Peking University; the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award by the United Nations Association; the Golden Key of the City of San Francisco; Chia-Wei Woo Day was declared by the Mayor of San Francisco. [citation needed]
He was National President of the National Association of Chinese-Americans during 1984–86. He was the US China Olympics Liaison for the 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles. In 1991, he received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, Washington University. [citation needed]
Honours
editIn 1995, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Georgetown College, and was named an Honorary Citizen by the Municipal Government of Shenzhen. In 1996, he received a Distinguished International Service Award from the University of Minnesota and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Washington University; and was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2000, he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). In 2001, he was awarded "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur" by the President of the Republic of France.
Political career
editHe has served on Hong Kong Government's Industry and Technology Development Council and the Board of Overseers for the Institutes of Biotechnology, and was appointed by the Municipal Government of Shenzhen as Senior Advisor. He served on governing and advisory boards of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Council for the Promotion and Development of Yangtze, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fudan University, Hua Qiao University, Zhongguancun Science Park (Advisory Committee), Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (Pakistan), World Scientific Publishing Company (Singapore), and China Europe International Business School. [citation needed]
From 1993–96, he was appointed by the Chinese government, first as a Hong Kong Affairs Advisor, then a Member of the Preliminary Working Committee, and then a Member of the Preparatory Committee, and was elected to the Selection Committee for HKSAR.[6] He was appointed in 1998 to the Commission on Strategic Development of HKSAR and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 2000, he was appointed to the Council of Advisors on Innovation and Technology of HKSAR, and as Chairman of the Committee on Hong Kong – Mainland Technological Collaboration. He has spoken multiple times at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. [citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Financial Times of London ratings
- ^ Woo, Chia-wei (1966). Theory of the normal ground state of liquid helium three (Ph.D.). Washington University in St. Louis. OCLC 26140867 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Centennial Historical Presidents". San Francisco State University. 20 March 2009. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
- ^ "APS fellow archive". American Physical Society. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa — Professor Chia-Wei WOO — Citation" (PDF). Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2020.