Professor HUI Pak Ming

Department of Physics

 

Prof. Pak Ming HUI is Professor in the Department of Physics. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1981 and received his PhD in physics from the Ohio State University in 1987. After postdoctoral work at Harvard University, he taught at the National Central University in Taiwan before joining CUHK in 1992. He found teaching a rewarding experience. He has taught a wide range of physics courses, covering the major areas of mechanics, quantum physics, electromagnetism, and statistical mechanics. He was award the Science Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, and 2012. He was a recipient of the Vice-Chancellor Exemplary Teaching Award in 2006. In recent years, he spent more time writing on the white-board during lectures and designing assignments for students to explore a topic by themselves.

He served as an Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Science in 2007-2011 and helped in the transition to the 4-year curriculum. He has been chairman of the committee on designing the senior secondary physics curriculum since 2005. In research, he works on the optical properties of condensed matter systems, complex systems and complex networks. He coauthored a graduate-level textbook on physicists’ views of market behavior entitled Financial Market Complexity in 2003. He served as the President of the Physical Society of Hong Kong in 2003-05 and Council Member of the Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies in 2005-2010.





Abstract:

The Physics Undergraduate Programme at CUHK – The Journey from 4-to-3 Era to 3-to-4 Era Through the Eyes of a Teaching Staff

The past 20 years was a rough time for higher education when we went through the change from the 4-year curriculum to the 3-year curriculum at CUHK, introduction of the JUPAS system, changes in University administration, and the change from the 3-year curriculum back to the 4-year curriculum. The physics undergraduate programme barely survived the storms and came out stronger. It is a story of how colleagues in the physics department worked collectively and responded promptly to the needs of the students and to the external factors. A short-preview of this 20-year long film would include: the struggle through the early years of JUPAS, split classes design to cater for student diversity, timely design of streams within the curriculum, efforts on outreach programmes, creating non-formal education opportunities for students, maintaining a strong tie among students, alumni and the Department, and implementing quick fixes to curriculum in response to feedbacks. At the heart of these all are the spirit of caring for our students, a persistent demand on quality, teachers who run the extra mile on curriculum design and teaching, and a tradition of taking undergraduate teaching seriously in the Department. The speakers would also like to take this opportunity to discuss with colleagues in other programmes on teaching and learning.

 

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