Donor
The Sze-yuen Chung Fund
The late Sir Sze-yuen Chung, GBM, GBE, JP, was an outstanding professional engineer and a successful entrepreneur who had made tremendous contributions to society. He dedicated four decades of his life to Hong Kong’s political, economic, educational and social development. In 1972, he was actively involved in the establishment of the then Hong Kong Polytechnic, the predecessor of PolyU, and was the Founding Council Chairman from 1972 to 1986. He was also named an Honorary Doctor of Engineering by PolyU in 1989.
Born in Hong Kong in 1917, Sir Sze-yuen received most of his secondary education at King’s College and later at St Paul’s College. He studied at St. John’s University in Shanghai for one year before he was transferred to the University of Hong Kong, where he met his wife, Lady Nancy. He graduated in 1941 with a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. He later earned his doctorate degree in Engineering at Sheffield University in 1950.
During the Japanese invasion in 1941, Sir Sze-yuen joined the Auxiliary Transport Services to assist the defence effort. He then spent a few years on the mainland, taking up pivotal roles in factories and returned to Hong Kong in 1946. In 1953, he started his own engineering consultancy business and helped Mr V K Song found V K Song Ltd, which produced flashlights using Sir Sze-yuen’s patented technology. V K Song Ltd was later acquired by the American Eveready Company and renamed as Sonca Industries Ltd. Under Sir Sze-yuen’s leadership, Sonca went on to become the world’s biggest flashlight manufacturer.
Sir Sze-yuen began his endeavour of public services that spans across four decades with his role as a working committee member for the establishment of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries in 1958. Later on, he served as a Legislative Council member, and then an Executive Council member. He was a Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council from 1980 to 1988. Originally retiring in late 1980s, Sir Sze-yuen was persuaded by the then-Governor Sir David Wilson to come out of retirement in 1990, to helm the formation of the Hospital Authority. He went on to assume different roles in preparation of the establishment of HKSAR. In 1997, he was the Convener of the first Executive Council of the HKSAR. He postponed his retirement until 1999 at the age of 82.
Equally devoted to the development of higher education, Sir Sze-yuen was actively involved in the establishment of the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1972, he was also a key player in founding the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong in 1984, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1991.
Sir Sze-yuen passed away in 2018 at the age of 101. In his will, a part of his residuary estate was designated to PolyU for the establishment of The Sze-yuen Chung Fund, exclusively for the promotion and furtherance of higher education. In recognition of Sir Sze-yuen’s staunch contribution to PolyU, two Endowed Professorships, in Precision Engineering and Renewable Energy respectively, were set up.
Appointee
Professor Li Gang
Professor Li Gang, Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology from PolyU’s Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, had his BSc degree in Space Physics conferred by Wuhan University in 1994, and PhD degree in Condensed Matter Physics from Iowa State University, U.S. in 2003. Pioneering in the field of organic polymer photovoltaic (OPV) technology, he has made seminal contributions in device physics, device architecture, materials development, and printing technology of OPV. Currently, he takes interests in researches on organic polymer and hybrid perovskite advanced materials, devices and physics for solar cell applications, and flexible and printable electronics.
Having published more than 160 papers on world-renowned peer-reviewed journals including Nature Materials, Nature Photonics, Science, Nature Review Materials, Chemical Reviews, and Nature Communications, Professor Li also edited one book and contributed to seven book chapters. His research output on printable solar energy has earned him global recognition from a number of prestigious professional bodies and he was named one of the Highly Cited Researchers by Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate Analytics) from 2014 to 2021. His papers have been quoted more than 68,000 times. He was also awarded fellowship by The Royal Society of Chemistry UK and The International Society for Optics and Photonics, as well as Optica.
Professor Li was equally well versed in academic research and business operation. His experience as a research professor at the University of California Los Angeles also proved instrumental to his endeavours before he joined PolyU in 2016. As the Vice President of the California-based start-up Solarmer Energy Inc., he turned the new venture into a world leader in solar energy, breaking several world records.
