HKIAS News

Professor Serge Haroche (centre), Professor lo Chun Hoi (left) and Professor Andy Siu (right) at the sharing session.

A sharing session on 3 October, featuring Professor Serge Haroche, Chairman of Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS) and Nobel Laureate in Physics (2012), sheds light on the inter-relationship between teaching and research.

Professor Haroche emphasised that teaching is crucial when conducting research. It is not simply the transmission of knowledge to the next generation. The transmission is “essential for doing research as it clarifies your ideas when you explain them to the students.” He also highlighted the significance in providing support and patience to researchers, quoting the 2023 Nobel Prize winner Professor Katalin Karikó as an example.

The sharing session at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) was organised for CityU students, faculty members as well as secondary school students which included winners of CityU Science Patent Challenge 2022, the CityU Science Video Competition 2023, and the Hong Kong Secondary School Cosmetic Formulation Competition 2023. It was facilitated by Professor lo Chun Hoi, Associate Professor of Department of Physics and Professor Andy Siu, Associate Professor of Department of Chemistry. During the sharing, Professor Haroche gave his insights on Quantum Physics and advised students on how to seize the opportunities to prepare for the future. He encouraged the youths to redirect their focus away from immediate gains or funding and emphasised instead the value of investing deeply in their work. Professor Haroche also underlined that researchers would eventually achieve the tangible outcome of their efforts as long as they maintain their patience and immerse themselves in their research endeavors.

After the sharing session, Professor Serge Haroche, who is also Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France, Member of the French Academy of Sciences and Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, was taken on a guided visit, by Professor Xun-Li Wang, Executive Director of HKIAS, Professor Jeff Ou, Chair Professor of Physics and Professor Denver Li, Assistant Professor at Department of Physics, to the Quantum Optics Lab, the Laser MBE Lab, and the Centre for Neutron Scattering, to explore the facilities and advancement of the Physics laboratories at CityU.

(View detailed profile of Professor Haroche at HKIAS website.)

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