O
verthepast 15 years,Ciarlethasorganizedalectureseries
thathaswelcomedhigh-ranking membersoftheFrench
AcademyofSciencestoCityU.Theserieshasintroduced
manynotableFrenchscientiststotheCityUcampus,includ-
ingFieldsMedalistsandNobellaureates.SpeakershaveincludedNo-
belprizewinnersSergeHaroche,aphysicistwhoseteamwasrewarded
foritswork onquantumsystemsin 2012 ,andchemistJean-Marie
Lehn,who in 19 8 7sharedtheNobelPrizeinChemistryaspartofa
research group working in the ˇeld of supramolecular chemistry, pio-
neeringthediscoveryandapplication ofsyntheticcycliccompounds
knownascryptands.
JacobHuang,executivedirectorofIASandchairprofessorof materi-
alsscienceatCityU,saysthatthisuniqueresearchpartnershipbetween
FranceandHongKong hashelpedfosterhigh-levelacademicdiscus-
sions between the two scientiˇc communities.
ìThisdialoguehashelpedusfurtherimproveourinternational
networkandcollaborationwith globaltalent,which inturnhelps
topromotethecross-fertilization of ideasandthecreation of new
knowledge,îheexplains.
OnNovember 12 ,IASheldaconference,ìCelebratingFranceñHong
Kong Scientiˇc Cooperation in Honour of Professor G. Ciarletís 80th
Birthday,î to highlight Ciarletís important contributions to the univer-
sityís research environment and to reafˇrm the values of international
cooperationandhigh-levelconversationthathavecometounderpin
thework ofIAS.Theinstituteopenedthreeyearsagotopromoteinno-
vativeresearch inHongKongbyworld-renownedscholars.
PresentwereNobelPrize-winnersHarocheandLehnaswellas
membersoftheFrenchAcademyofSciencesandSeniorFellowsof
IAS,including mathematiciansSirJohnBall,TatsienLi,FieldsMedalist
Pierre-LouisLions,andphysicistJeanSalenÁon.ADVERTORIAL PRODUCED BYTHESCIENCE/AAASCUSTOMPUBLISHING OFFICEInstituteforAdvancedStudy,CityU http://www.ias.cityu.edu.hkSharing ideas across borders
Internationallectureseriespromotescollaboration
Thespiritof internationalcollaborationcontinuestothriveatthe
CityUniversityofHongKong (CityU),afactthatwashighlightedlast
monthduringan importantconferencehonoringthe8 0 thbirthday
of Professor Philippe G. Ciarlet. During his career, the renowned
mathematician has pioneered research into the ˇnite element method,
differentialgeometry,andthetheoriesofelasticity,plates,andshells.
CiarletjoinedCityUin 2002 ,andhasbeenaseniorfellowwiththe
InstituteforAdvancedStudy(IAS)atCityUsinceitsinception in 2015.
Hehasdevotedhimselftoconnecting itsstudentsandfacultywith
some of Franceís greatest minds.WayKuo,presidentofCityU,openedtheone-dayconferencewith
aspeechunderliningtheimportanceoftheuniversityísworking
relationshipwithFrench institutions.Overtheyears,hesaid,
thesepartnershipshavehelpedensurethatstudentsandfaculty
at CityU put scientiˇc excellence at the forefront of their research
andteaching,andhavekepttheuniversityattheheartofthe
internationalacademiccommunity.
In his follow-up remarks, Alexandre Giorgini, Consul General of
FranceinHongKongandMacau,highlightedtheimportanceofthe
researchcollaboration forFrance.HepraisedCiarletasanìhonnÍte
homme,îan1 8 th-centuryterm foranenlightenedmanwhoìwants
tounderstandthebasictruthsofthefunctionsoftheuniverse.îHe
alsocommendedCiarletforbeinganambassadorbyusingscience
asaìunifying languageîtohelpcreateacommonbondbetween
FranceandHongKong.
Followingtheopeningspeeches,conferenceattendeesenjoyed
aday-long program ofcarefullycuratedtalksbyinviteddelegates
onsubjectsaswide-rangingastheimpactofItalian physicistand
astronomer Galileo on modern science; quantum physics; and
developmentsin gametheory.
ìWeweredeeplyhonoredthatsixeminentscholarsjoined
togetherontheCityUcampustopresentaseriesof lecturesand
disseminate knowledge in their research areas among the scientiˇc
community,îsaysHuang.ìWehopethesekindsofeventswill
furtherraisetheglobalproˇleofthescienceandengineering
communityatCityUandotheracademicinstitutionsinHongKong
and Greater China.î
TheIASintendstobecomealeaderin interdisciplinaryresearch
that beneˇts society and to be recognized as both a regional and
global intellectualcenter,addsHuang.ProfessorJean-MarieLehn(left)andProfessorPhilippe
G.Ciarlet(right).ProfessorKuo(right)andMr.Giorgini.IASconferenceattendees.(From left)ProfessorJacobHuang,ProfessorLiTatsien,ProfessorJeanSalenÁon,ProfessorSirJohnBall,
ProfessorSergeHaroche,ProfessorPhilippeG.Ciarlet,Mr.AlexandreGiorgini,ProfessorJean-MarieLehn,ProfessorWayKuo,
ProfessorPierre-LouisLions,ProfessorLuJian,Vice-President(ResearchandTechnology),andProfessorAlexJenKwan-yue,Provost.