A Naming Ceremony for “Xu Ao Ao Star” and Ceremony for Unveiling the Plaque of Science Education Lectures was held in Changzhou Senior High School, Jiangsu Province. Professor Xu Ao Ao currently serves as Advisor to Chancellor of Macau University of Science and Technology, and is a renowned astronomer and educator.
Attending the ceremony were many well-known scholars from the fields of astronomy and education, representatives from government offices of Changzhou and Jiangsu Province, and Mr. Zhou Jiang Ming, Senior Technician of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of Macau, and Professor Mei Bao from Macau University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng, Secretary for the Social Affairs and Culture of Macau and Dr. Liu Chak Wan Chancellor of the Macau University of Science and Technology respectively wrote an inscription for the naming of Xu Ao Ao Star.
Fifty years dedicated to education and scientific research
At the ceremony, Director-General Yan Jun of the National Astronomy Observatory of China and Chief Researcher Zhou Xu read out the Minor Planet Center issue on the naming of “Xu Ao Ao Star”, conferred the certificate, and gave an introduction to the discovery and running orbit of the “Xu Ao Ao Star”. Xu Ao Ao Star was discovered by the National Astronomy Observatory of China on February 15, 1988, and the original international permanent number was 55901.
Professor Xu Was born in Changzhou, and after completing primary and secondary education in Changzhou, he entered Nanjing University for further studies in the astronomy department. He graduated in 1962 and decided to stay in the university as a faculty member, conducting teaching and research on solar physics, space physics, and plasma physics. In 1990, he became professor of Nanjing University, and supervisor for doctoral students in astronomy; he also served as head of the Teaching Affairs Department and vice president of Nanjing University, overseeing the teaching and admission work of Nanjing University for about a decade. He became President of Macau University of Science and Technology in January of 2003 and was the second president in the university’s history; currently, he serves as Advisor to Chancellor of Macau University of Science and Technology. Over the fifty years of teaching and research, Professor Xu has trained several generations of excellent talents for the nation; and his students spread across the world. The Space Science Institute at MUST, is founded and guided by Professor Xu, is now striving steadily to reach higher grounds by becoming a state key laboratory, and is making tremendous efforts to become an internationally well-known planetary science center.
Gratitude in mind and Alma Maters in heart
When giving his thank you remarks at the ceremony, Professor Xu noted that he felt deeply-touched and pleased that the naming ceremony was held at his alma mater in his hometown, citing Changzhou as the root of his life and the cornerstone for his career success. He made the point that as is said that when one drinks water, one should remember where the water comes from, he would never forget his alma mater and his teachers. He is grateful to his alma maters – Changzhou Experiment Primary School, Changzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu, and Nanjing University; he specially gave thanks to Dr. Liu Chak Wan for providing a platform for him committing to more meaningful works in his senior years, saying that it was with the Chancellor’s support that he was able to continue to exert his knowledge and talent in the growth and development of MUST.
After the ceremony, Professor Ouyang Ziyuan, renowned astrochemist and geochemist, Professor Ip Wing Huen, renowned Chinese astronomer, and Professor Zhang Keke, renowned astrophysicist gave science education talks respectively on “The Lunar-Probing Dream of China”, “The Ocean World beyond the Earth”, and “The Juno Spacecraft and the Mysterious Jupiter”.
Source: Translation from Macao Daily on November 12, 2017
