The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) received a HK$100 million donation from Lo Kwee Seong Foundation in support of the University’s frontier research in life science.
The magnanimous gift will not only allow HKUST to purchase a state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM) – a technology that has recently revolutionized the field of structural biology, it also helps the University establish an endowment fund named “Lo Kwee-Seong Research Fund” for the nurturing of research talent. In appreciation of the Foundation’s benevolent support, the University named the laboratory section of its Academic Building “Lo Kwee-Seong Building”, where the Cryo-EM machine will be housed.
A donation presentation ceremony was held today in gratitude for the generous donation made by the Foundation – set up by the late Dr. LO Kwee-Seong in 1991. Officiating guests included Dr. Peter LO Tak-shing, Chairman of Lo Kwee Seong Foundation; Mr. Winston LO Yau-lai, Ms. Myrna LO Mo-ching, Mrs. Irene CHAN Lo Mo-lin, and Ms. Yvonne LO Mo-ling, who are Trustees of Lo Kwee Seong Foundation; Mr. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing, Council Chairman of HKUST and Prof. Wei SHYY, HKUST President. Other senior management of the University also attended the ceremony.
Dr. Peter Lo said, “The Foundation is very pleased to build a close partnership with HKUST – a leader in scientific research. I believe your researchers will make good use of the new infrastructure, leading to breakthroughs and discoveries beneficial to mankind as a whole. We are also delighted to see the establishment of the University’s first Lo Kwee Seong endowment fund, which seeks to promote international collaboration among researchers at graduate and postgraduate levels. We wish the University would continue to break new grounds by harnessing the power of technology.”
Mr. Winston Lo added, “When Vitasoy was founded 78 years ago by my father, the late Lo Kwee-Seong, we had a simple vision: to make nutritious, tasty plant-based beverages that would lead to improvements in public health. With this vision and conviction, Vitasoy has worked tirelessly with different partners to foster nutrition knowledge and education in our communities. Today, we are honored to call HKUST, a leading university with global acclaim, to be a partner of ours, and we are delighted to see that our donation will serve as a foundation of a fruitful partnership for many years to come.”
In an expression of gratitude, Mr. Andrew Liao said, “Dr. Lo’s creativity, perseverance, and courage had inspired many, and today, HKUST is striving to achieve a similar mission—to advance knowledge and assist in the economic and social development of Hong Kong with innovation, technology, and a can-do attitude. With this generous gift from his Foundation, HKUST will be able to elevate the caliber of our research output and foster intellectual collaboration among Hong Kong and overseas researchers.”
Prof. Wei Shyy added, “The partnership between the Foundation and HKUST began in 2001, and since then we had created a lab and several scholarships and acquired much valuable equipment to further our effort in frontier science research. The gift we received today from the Foundation is the most significant milestone to-date in our 17-year partnership and because of it, we expect many more multi-disciplinary, cross-institution collaborations and interactions to take place and result in many exciting scientific discoveries.”
The Lo Kwee-Seong Research Fund will support HKUST in fostering research talent development by attracting overseas talents and encouraging local students to develop a research career through the granting of scholarships. Part of the fund will also be used to support interdisciplinary research exchanges through the hosting of international conferences at HKUST.
Meanwhile, the new cryo-EM machine is expected to commence service by early 2019. This powerful instrument allows scientists to study biological molecules and complex cellular processes in the highest resolution, which is fundamental for the understanding of the mechanism behind many diseases and disorders, as well as the development of new treatments. An HKUST research team for example, has recently made a groundbreaking discovery on DNA’s replication mechanism (For details, please refer to press release) with this novel technology.
About Lo Kwee Seong Foundation
The late Dr. Lo Kwee-Seong formed the Lo Kwee Seong Foundation in 1991 with the following missions: to promote vocational and technical education, general education, learning culture and the arts; to give financial assistance for the furtherance of health and relief of poverty and sickness; to promote social welfare and support charity; and to support hospitals, vocational or technical schools, home for the aged and art museums for the benefit of the public.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the Research Assessment Exercise 2014 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, and is ranked as the world’s best young university in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2018. Its graduates were ranked 12th worldwide and top in Greater China in Global Employability University Survey 2017.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Anita Lam
Tel : 2358 6313
Email: anitalam@ust.hk
Johnny Tam
Tel : 2358 8556
Email : johnnytam@ust.hk
