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                     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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