China News Service, December 8 — This year's Nobel Prize in Physics winner Charles Kao, who is currently in Sweden, will have his speech delivered by his wife, Patricia Ho, today at Stockholm University. The world will be watching as she delivers the acceptance speech on behalf of her husband.
According to Ming Pao of Hong Kong, this speech will primarily discuss how Charles Kao's fiber optic theory revolutionized global communications, with only a small portion dedicated to describing his personal and family life.
Mr. and Mrs. Kao entrusted three physics and engineering scholars from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to assist as behind-the-scenes advisors for writing and editing the speech. It was then finalized by Mrs. Kao, who polished the language and added emotional expressions of gratitude.
Every year, Nobel laureates deliver an acceptance speech in Sweden just before receiving their award, summarizing their most important research achievements and academic ideas. Due to Kao's difficulty in speaking caused by Alzheimer’s disease (a form of dementia), this year's speech will be delivered by his wife Patricia Ho.
It is reported that after being notified of their win in October, the Kaos immediately contacted CUHK for assistance. Among those who responded were long-time acquaintances such as Professor Gangkai Yang, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK and physicist, and two other successors invited by Kao in the 1990s to CUHK: Kwok Wai Cheung and Leung Kwong Chan, current professors in the Department of Information Engineering at CUHK. They formed an expert group without hesitation, helping to complete this highly academic speech.
According to reports, Mrs. Kao personally chose the theme "Sand from centuries past; Send future voices fast." The English-written speech was largely completed by yesterday but is still undergoing final revisions for wording and Chinese translation. The Chinese translation of the title posed a challenge, with hopes to describe it with the most fitting words. Grown up in the UK, Mrs. Kao put considerable thought into crafting rhyming and poetic English sentences for the introduction, which may be written in classical Chinese.
The speech begins with Mrs. Kao introducing herself and apologizing for her husband's inability to deliver the speech in person. She then narrates the historical background and theoretical overview of Kao's fiber optic research in the 1960s, mentioning that the physics community already had theories of optical communication at the time but could not produce materials capable of transmitting light signals over long distances.
Kao recognized that the transmission material was key, so he focused on researching methods for producing optical fibers. In 1966, he published his optical communication theory, proposing that humans could create extremely pure glass fibers to replace traditional copper wires for transmitting high-capacity data.
The speech also recounts how the scientific community utilized Kao's theory in the 1970s, leading Corning Glass Works to manufacture the world's first optical fiber using quartz, thus initiating the rapid development of "fiber optic" technology and bringing about a revolution in global communications.
It is reported that the 2-hour lecture will mainly review the foundation of fiber optic theory and its impact on the world. The content is mainly excerpted from Kao's autobiography and papers, with only a small part discussing Kao's personal life. However, Mrs. Kao will also express her emotions, such as recounting how Kao's dedication to scientific research reduced family gathering time. She will also thank several CUHK professors for assisting in collecting materials and providing theoretical backgrounds to help complete the speech.
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