The Department of Electronic and Information Engineering has a dynamic new Head and Chair Professor determined to meet the world's most perplexing problems head on.

For Prof. Michael Somekh, problems are challenges eagerly sought. Recently appointed Chair Professor of Biophotonics and Head of the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Prof. Somekh is looking to extend the Department's reach through creative, interdisciplinary solutions to both research and teaching.

As Prof. Somekh put it, "knowledge itself does not reside in a single discipline but cuts across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Electronics and Information Engineering is at the core of nearly all technologies without which systems would simply be impossible to operate, so we are well placed to influence many areas of knowledge."

Yet this will be no easy matter. Prof. Somekh acknowledged that whether dealing with the laws of nature as an engineer or financial and regulatory conventions as an administrator, "we are limited by constraints". The objective should be to "maximize the benefit for the Department/University and community at large by pushing the boundaries". In other words, "we need to take calculated risks to put the Department at the forefront in Hong Kong and beyond".

Prof. Somekh arrived at PolyU with impeccable credentials for this sizeable task. Having gained his Master's in Metallurgy and Materials Science from University of Oxford, he received a PhD in Microwave Electronics from the University of Lancaster in 1981. His academic career started at Oxford which preceded a shift to University College London, where he was Director of the Wolfson Unit for Micro-Nondestructive Evaluation. In 1989, he joined the University of Nottingham, where he founded the Applied Optics Group and became Director of the Institute of Biophysics Imaging and Optical Science.

In recognition of his pioneering interdisciplinary work, Prof. Somekh was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012. At PolyU, he intends that "the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering will make a substantial interdisciplinary contribution, by developing courses and research programmes that link information and electronic engineering to life sciences, physical sciences and even social sciences and business".

Already influential in a group intent on developing optical and photonic research within different faculties, Prof. Somekh is also hoping to "provide the impetus for PolyU to lead major initiatives in photonic and optical science and engineering in many different application areas".

A related item on the agenda is a revamp of the Department's current course offerings. Prof. Somekh is lending an effort to generate new courses to map the Department's cross-disciplinary research agenda and thus "inculcate a culture where students see the broader implications of the discipline". Also, the key, he said, is to "develop a system that allows and values people who make contributions to different aspects of the institution."

Ultimately, Prof. Somekh is concerned with creating an environment of self-confidence so that students and academics alike "can compete with the best and be prepared to face and tackle some of the world's big problems". ♦