Media

Professor S.Y. King, the first Department Head of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), passed away in Vancouver on February 21, 2018. To pay tribute to the father of EEE, the Department organised an event “Celebration of Life – To Professor S.Y. King with Love” where about 100 alumni and guests attended. Most of the attendees were students of Professor King and they shared their thoughts and memories about Professor King, from within the campus to beyond its border. Each sharing received tremendous echo in the Rayson Huang Theatre which ascertained that this dedicated teacher would be forever in their hearts.

In respect to his legacy, Professor King’s students from all over the world made a donation of $1 million Hong Kong dollars to establish “S Y King Memorial Scholarship in Electrical & Electronic Engineering”. Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of Engineering of HKU, received the cheque on behalf of the Faculty. He thanked the alumni for this meaningful donation and praised Professor King’s foresight in the global engineering trend which nurtured many visionary leaders in the engineering industry in Hong Kong, as well as in the world.

Professor King was a pre-war HKU electrical engineering graduate of 1940. He continued his postgraduate studies in the UK and was conferred a Diploma of Imperial College and a PhD by the University of London in 1947. After the war, he joined the Engineering Faculty at HKU in 1948 as an Assistant Lecturer and later served as Head of the Department. He became Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1954 to 1957 and he was the first Chinese and first HKU graduate to become a Dean in HKUⁱ. When the Department of Electrical Engineering was re-established in 1960, he was promoted to Reader and appointed as the first Head of the Department until his retirement in 1980. Professor King served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of HKU from 1974 to 1977 and was conferred an Honorary Degree by the University in 1981. The late Professor Rayson Huang, Vice-Chancellor of HKU from 1972 to 1986, commented that Professor King’s loyalty to his alma mater was proverbial. Professor Norman C. Tien, the Immediate Past Dean of Engineering, believed Professor King’s vision, determination and leadership had left behind a great legacy which lays the foundation for the future generation.

Media enquiries:
Ms Celia Lee, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 8519; Email: leecelia@hku.hk) or
Miss Bonnie Tsang, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 1924; Email: bonniepy@hku.hk)

ⁱ Engineering at HKU: A century of Excellence, The Faculty of Engineering, HKU, page 23 & 43.