
With the coordination of CityU’s Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, the College of Science hosted a special sharing session on 3 October 2023, featuring the distinguished scholar and Nobel Laureate in Physics Professor Serge Haroche.
Professor Raymond Chan, Dean of CityU’s College of Science, first expressed a warm welcome to Professor Haroche in his opening speech and encouraged the audience to actively engage with Professor Haroche during the interactive sharing session. “The College is committed to providing students with the best education including the opportunity to learn from and interact with successful scholars and professionals in various fields. It is always a pleasure for me to be able to motivate young minds,” he said. “I am sure that today’s event will be a valuable learning experience for all of us.”
During the interactive session, Professor Haroche talked about his research motivation. He explained that his love for Mathematics has led him into the exciting world of quantum physics. He has always been passionate about understanding the wonderful world through basic science. While it may take time to realise the long-term applications of scientific discovery, as in the case of laser or magnetic resonance imaging, Professor Haroche appealed to the general public to trust the scientists and allow them time and freedom to achieve research success and develop unforeseen breakthroughs and applications. Towards the end of the sharing session, Professor Haroche encouraged the young talents in the audience to learn more and work hard for their goals.
Professor Io Chun Hoi from the Department of Physics and Professor Andy Siu from the Department of Chemistry hosted the sharing session and created a lively and engaging atmosphere for all the attendees.
More about Professor Serge Haroche:
Professor Haroche is the Chairman and Senior Fellow at the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study at CityU and Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France. His main research activities lie in quantum optics and quantum information science. Professor Haroche has made significant contributions to cavity quantum electrodynamics, including the observation of single atom spontaneous emission enhancement in a cavity, the direct monitoring of the decoherence of mesoscopic superpositions of states (so-called Schr?dinger cat states), and the quantum-non-demolition counting of photons. He has received many prizes and awards, culminating in the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics (with Professor David Wineland).