Charles K. Kao and CUHK: A Combined Archive — From Founding the Department of Electronics to Nobel Laureate Vice-Chancellor (1970–2018)

In one semester in 1970, a 37-year-old engineer who had just completed a foundational paper on fibre optics in a British industrial laboratory returned to Hong Kong to build a Department of Electronics at a university barely seven years old and still lacking any engineering education. Twenty-six years later, he retired from that university's vice-chancellorship. Thirteen years after that, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded him half the Nobel Prize in Physics and listed "The Chinese University of Hong Kong" among his institutional affiliations — the first time a Hong Kong research institution had ever been named on a Nobel award. This entry weaves together the two threads that connect Charles Kuen Kao (1933–2018) and CUHK into a single archive: his institutional legacy as founding department builder and third Vice-Chancellor, and his scientific legacy as the "Father of Fibre Optics" and Nobel laureate, together with CUHK's memorial infrastructure around him. These two dimensions represent the same person's twofold founding imprint on the same university, and are therefore best placed side by side, each providing the fuller context for the other.

Editorial note: Kao's Nobel prize belongs to the highest tier of association in CUHK's "distinguished scholars" classification system. For an overview of that tiered framework, see nobel-and-awards.md. The present entry is the dedicated Kao file, covering his university governance, scientific research, and memorial legacy in full.

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# 1. Two Beginnings: Building a Department in 1970, Leading a University in 1987

Kao's relationship with CUHK has two distinct starting points, corresponding to "building a department" and "leading the university":

According to Hong Kong Laureate Forum profile^※, Kao was born in Shanghai in 1933, received his higher education and doctorate in the United Kingdom, and his career spanned industrial research (ITT/STL, etc.) on both sides of the Atlantic and academia. His landmark 1966 paper demonstrating the feasibility of fibre-optic communication was completed in a British industrial laboratory before he came to teach at CUHK. In other words, when Kao arrived at CUHK in 1970 to build a new department, he was already an established international authority in fibre optics, not a junior scholar at the start of his career.

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# 2. Building the Department (1970): Planting the Seed of "Engineering" at CUHK

According to CUHK memorial article^※, Kao returned to Hong Kong in 1970 to become the founding head of CUHK's Department of Electronics. This appointment carries deep significance in the University's history:

• Until then, CUHK had been centred on traditional disciplines in the arts, sciences, and business; engineering education was a blank space.
• The creation of the Department of Electronics planted the first seed for CUHK's later development of engineering and information technology disciplines.
• According to the source, Kao subsequently fostered the development of information engineering-related directions, laying the departmental groundwork for the Faculty of Engineering founded in the 1990s.

A small point of clarification: Some records state that Kao "founded the Department of Information Engineering in 1989." This does not contradict the "founding of the Department of Electronics in 1970." The former represents the further institutionalisation of information engineering around the time he became Vice-Chancellor; the latter is his earliest department-building achievement. Both belong to the same continuous contribution of bringing CUHK's engineering and information disciplines into being from nothing. For the specific evolution of academic units, the official university history prevails.

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# 3. Leading the University (1987–1996): Founding the Faculties of Engineering and Education

Kao's nearly nine-year tenure as Vice-Chancellor was a period of significant expansion in CUHK's disciplinary map. According to CUHK mourning press release^※ and memorial article^※, the most important institutional legacies of his term include:

# Faculty of Engineering (1991)

According to the sources, Kao's vision led to the establishment of CUHK's Faculty of Engineering in 1991. Per the memorial article^※, the new faculty consolidated two existing departments (Computer Science, Electronic Engineering) with two newly established ones (Information Engineering, Systems Engineering), elevating CUHK's engineering education from a single department to a full faculty. This configuration was the direct, lineal extension of the Department of Electronics Kao had founded two decades earlier.

# Faculty of Education and Research Institutes

According to the same sources, Kao's term also saw the establishment of the Faculty of Education and multiple research institutes, actions that "laid a firm academic infrastructure for CUHK." What he bequeathed to the University, in other words, was not merely a list of faculty names but an entire disciplinary infrastructure oriented towards technology and modern society. As the official assessment puts it, Kao's contribution to CUHK combined "the foresight of a scientist and the blueprint of an educator." He was at once the scientist who sent light through glass fibres and the builder who laid CUHK's skeleton of engineering and education disciplines.

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# 4. Why Did Charles Kao Win the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics?

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics was announced on 6 October^※, shared by three scientists with a total prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor. Charles Kao received one half, awarded for "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication"; the other half was shared by American scientists Willard Boyle and George E. Smith for the invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD).

The origin of Kao's award lies in a single paper from 1966. Together with his colleague George Hockham, he authored "Dielectric-Fibre Surface Waveguides for Optical Frequencies"^※, published in the Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. The paper systematically argued that the main cause of signal loss in glass optical fibres was impurities in the glass, not physical effects like light scattering, and proposed that high-purity fused silica could bring attenuation below 20 dB/km — the threshold for practical long-distance communication. This proposition was experimentally confirmed in the 1970s, fibre-optic communication technology was commercialised, and the first commercial fibre-optic system was built in 1981^※. Throughout this process, Kao did not patent the core invention but placed the research findings in the public domain, accelerating global adoption — a gesture later regarded as his distinctive contribution to "open science."

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# 5. What Part Did CUHK Play in the Nobel Listing?

After stepping down as Vice-Chancellor in 1996, Kao maintained an institutional tie to CUHK as Honorary Professor of Engineering. According to multiple media reports^※, when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced his award in 2009, the listed institutional affiliations included both Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (UK) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. This was the first time in history that a Hong Kong research institution had been listed among the affiliations of a Nobel laureate — a landmark moment.

This dual listing reflects the Nobel committee's recognition of the full arc of Kao's academic life: the 1966 paper was completed at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories, but his academic home for the subsequent twenty-six years — whether returning to Hong Kong in 1970 to found a department, or serving as Vice-Chancellor from 1987 to 1996 — was CUHK. The University may therefore legitimately claim this Nobel honour within its institutional history, and the strength of this association far exceeds that of other Nobel laureates connected to CUHK through titles such as "Distinguished Professor-at-Large" or "visiting speaker" (see nobel-and-awards.md for the tiered classification). To put it plainly: although Kao received the Nobel Prize (2009) more than a decade after leaving the vice-chancellorship, and his foundational paper (1966) predated his CUHK teaching appointment (1970), CUHK can rightfully claim this as a source of pride — because he was its third Vice-Chancellor and the founding builder of its engineering education, an association of rare depth and authenticity. This belongs to the highest tier: Vice-Chancellor and department founder.

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# 6. The Award Ceremony: Why Did Mrs. Kao Deliver the Nobel Lecture?

Kao was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004^※, and his verbal faculties declined progressively thereafter. Consequently, when the Nobel lecture was delivered on 8 December 2009^※ in the Aula Magna at Stockholm University, it was read on his behalf by his wife, Mrs Gwen Kao. The lecture was titled "Sand from centuries past; Send future voices fast" — a title that alludes to the fact that glass is made from sand, an abundant and cheap raw material with boundless communication potential.

Meanwhile, CUHK organised a live broadcast viewing event on campus. According to a CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office press release^※, the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lawrence J. Lau, together with Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Kenneth Young, joined around 300 staff, students, and members of the public to watch the broadcast live at CUHK. Display boards introducing Kao's achievements were set up at the venue, along with a message board for attendees to leave their congratulations. In his remarks, Professor Lau observed: "It is because of optical fibre that we are able to share this historic moment with Professor Kao in real time."

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# 7. How Did Kao Repay CUHK with 18 Major Awards?

On 5 February 2010, Charles Kao made his first public appearance in Hong Kong after winning the Nobel Prize — and the venue was CUHK. According to a China Daily Hong Kong edition report^※, the ceremony was attended by more than 200 people, including the then Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang. Although Kao's mobility and speech were already affected by Alzheimer's, he stood and bowed to those present.

At the opening of an exhibition titled "The Lore of a Laureate: A Tribute to Charles Kao, Former CUHK Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Laureate," Kao formally donated his Nobel Prize medal and diploma, together with 17 other major awards from his lifetime — 18 precious honours in total — in perpetuity to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. A selection of these awards includes:

According to CUHK University Gallery exhibition zone materials^※, the above medals and diplomas are now displayed in an exhibition space on the CUHK campus for public viewing.

At the ceremony, Mrs Gwen Kao remarked: "Charles attended secondary school in Hong Kong, later served as Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, and retired in Hong Kong — CUHK has always been his home." The statement encapsulates Kao's half-century-long bond with both Hong Kong and the University.

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# 8. What Facilities Has CUHK Named in Kao's Honour?

CUHK's physical memorials to Kao were established at several distinct points in time, forming a three-layer memorial apparatus spanning architecture, sculpture, and exhibition.

# Charles Kuen Kao Building (1996)

According to Wikipedia^※ and map sources, CUHK officially renamed the Science Centre North Block on campus as the "Charles Kuen Kao Building" in 1996, in recognition of his contributions to engineering and science education during his vice-chancellorship. The naming occurred around the time of his retirement as Vice-Chancellor (July 1996) and stands as the University's formal commemoration of his more than two decades of institution-building. The building remains one of the key teaching blocks for CUHK's Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering, its name a permanent, visible memorial.

# Statue Unveiling (September 2010)

According to a CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office press release^※, CUHK held an unveiling ceremony for a bronze statue on 27 September 2010 outside the Ho Sin-Hang Engineering Building. The statue was created by renowned Chinese sculptor Professor Wu Weishan (then Director of the China Academy of Sculpture). Standing 2.2 metres tall and weighing 400 kilograms, it is made of cast bronze and set on a bed of white gravel. Wu described his aim as enabling viewers to see not only the scientist but "a man of compassion and noble character." The then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joseph Sung, stated that the statue "honours his distinguished scientific achievements." Kao himself and Mrs Gwen Kao attended the unveiling. Concurrently, a continuation of "The Lore of a Laureate" exhibition, displaying the donated Nobel medal and archival materials, was held at the University Library and ran until 10 October 2010.

# Posthumous Special Exhibition (2018)

Charles Kao passed away peacefully at the Bradbury Hospice in Hong Kong on 23 September 2018^※, at the age of 84. (According to Britannica^※, he received the Prince Philip Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996 and was knighted in 2010.) As reported by CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office^※, the University promptly mounted a special memorial exhibition at the University Library Exhibition Hall from 28 September to 24 October 2018, displaying Kao's personal effects, including handwritten lecture notes, his Hong Kong School Certificate examination results slip, the Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM, the highest honour of the Hong Kong SAR Government, awarded 2010), and his Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE, 2010) insignia. A dedicated condolence area was set up for visitors to sign, while the Faculty of Engineering simultaneously launched a memorial website at charleskkao-memorial.erg.cuhk.edu.hk to collect messages and contributions from the community.

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# 9. How Does CUHK Sustain Kao's Research Spirit Through Scholarships?

"Commemoration, not mere mourning" was one of CUHK's core stances after Kao's passing. According to the CUHK Faculty of Engineering scholarship page^※, the University operates the Professor Charles K. Kao Research Exchange Scholarship, which awards up to 7 scholarships per year, each worth up to HK$50,000. The scheme funds Faculty of Engineering undergraduates to undertake summer research exchanges at overseas universities for a minimum of 8 weeks, with priority given to students in physics and engineering with a GPA of 3.6 or above. Recipients are required to submit a research report upon completion and to serve as CUHK ambassadors — a requirement that reflects Kao's own view of research as a public undertaking, not a private achievement.

In addition, CUHK maintains the Charles K. Kao Scholarship Endowment Fund, established with private donations in 2010 to reward outstanding undergraduates with innovative thinking who pursue scientific research. Managed by the CUHK Office of Institutional Advancement^※, the fund was one of the primary channels through which the public contributed to commemorating Kao during the Nobel year period (2009–2010).

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# 10. The Other Side of the Father of Fibre Optics: Alzheimer's Advocacy

Kao's later years were closely intertwined with another parallel public cause: Alzheimer's disease advocacy. According to the Charles K. Kao Foundation official website^※, Kao and Mrs Gwen Kao jointly established the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease in 2010, with the aims of raising public awareness of the disease, promoting research collaboration, and supporting patients and their carers.

The founding of this foundation was virtually synchronous with his return to Hong Kong in 2010 for the Nobel commemorative events. In the same year he received humanity's highest scientific honour, he chose to direct his remaining energies towards another ongoing battle — one against illness. For the CUHK community, this also serves as a reminder that Kao's contribution to CUHK and to Hong Kong extended beyond fibre-optic physics, encompassing as well the openness and public-spiritedness that a scientist can display in the face of disease. After Kao's passing, his family made clear that, in addition to donations to CUHK's Charles K. Kao Scholarship Endowment Fund, contributions to the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease were also welcome. The existence of these two parallel donation channels is, in itself, the most succinct summary of his dual legacy.

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# 11. How Does Kao's Fibre-Optic Legacy Live on at CUHK?

When Charles Kao came to CUHK in 1970 to establish the Department of Electronics, fibre-optic communication was still at the laboratory stage. When he stepped down as Vice-Chancellor in 1996, the global fibre-optic network had already taken substantial shape. By the time of his passing in 2018, the total length of optical fibre underpinning the internet exceeded billions of metres. This trajectory — from a research paper to a piece of global infrastructure — has left a clear mark on the Faculty of Engineering's research agenda at CUHK.

According to a EurekAlert 2024 report^※, research teams in the Faculty of Engineering have in recent years continued to produce results in optical and fibre-optic signal processing, including work on all-optical signal processors designed to address transmission bottlenecks in AI data centres. Kao's core vision — "using light to transmit information" — remains an active frontier of engineering research at CUHK, not merely a historical honour on display.

From the Charles Kuen Kao Building (1996) to the bronze statue (2010), the Charles K. Kao Scholarship Endowment Fund (2010), the Professor Charles K. Kao Research Exchange Scholarship, the 2018 posthumous special exhibition, and the Faculty of Engineering memorial website, CUHK has constructed a complete memorial apparatus spanning physical architecture, institutional scholarships, and an online memory archive.

Kao's significance to CUHK can be summed up in two statements. The first is his own: "My motto is: When I die, I should leave a mark on the world — like footprints in sand."^※ The second comes from the Hong Kong Laureate Forum: he is called the "Father of Fibre Optics" and the "Father of Broadband" — the former pointing to his scientific contribution, the latter to the advent of the internet age itself. For CUHK, Charles Kao can be described as a "twofold founder": in science, he laid the foundation for the global internet; in university history, he laid the foundation for CUHK's engineering and technology education. The present archive places his institutional legacy and his Nobel honour in a single file precisely to avoid the danger of letting the halo of the Nobel Prize obscure his foundational institution-building — which, for CUHK, is a legacy of equally profound, far-reaching impact.

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