"Although Mathematics can be studied in the abstract, it has many applications. The lack of interest in Mathematics from Hong Kong students can be a barrier to development in science and technology."

Reported by Douglas Lee in Los Angeles

• Ansi (you will need a Chinese language viewer)
• Chinese Big 5 Simplified
• Chinese Big 5 Traditional
• Scanned newspaper article

      Chan studied at the Salesian School and then later at Queen's College in Hong Kong before coming to study in the US at Caltech and Stanford, obtaining there his B.Sc. in Engineering and Ph.D. in Computer Sciences respectively. He became chair the UCLA Math Dept slightly over a year ago. He comments that since the publication of the front page LA Times article in July this year on mathematical research in his department, he has received many inquiries from around the world and is truly amazed by the power and reach of the mass media.

      In his talk, Chan observes that even though mathematics can be studied purely in the abstract, much like music and literature, it has many applications in people's daily lives, especially when combined with the computer. The powerful combination of mathematics and computers allow mankind to make many more accurate predictions, making it possible to make better informed decisions. Even for the lay person, a lack of basic understanding of mathematics can make him less informed about the world around him, and sometimes even be misled as a result.

      Chan points out that the common usage of the term "computer software" often hides the usage of mathematical techniques that are commonly used in computer algorithms. For example, using the principles of fluid dynamics, engineers can complete most of the design for both the aerodynamics and the structural mechanics of airplanes on fast supercomputers before the first model is tested in an actual wind-tunnel (the Boeing 777 was essentially designed this way). Other important uses of computational mathematics include finding better ways to do seismic oil exploration and to design efficient extraction of oil from known fields, the modelling and simulation of the crash worthiness of automobiles, and the simulation of nuclear weapons in the face of Clinton's recent signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Even the ocean waves in the movie Titanic were simulated on the computer (at Digital Domain, a company partially owned by the director James Cameron) by using sophisticated mathematical techniques first developed at Arete for use by the Navy for detecting submarines!

      A relatively new application of mathematics is in entertainment. Chan believes that the use of mathematics in Hollywood is spreading rapidly. Students with talents in both mathematics and the arts will have many interesting job possibilities in the future. He also believes that the often predicted rapid development of the information and bio-medical technologies in the next century will offer many opportunities for mathematicians. He cites an example of David Ho, 1996 Time Magazine's Man of the Year, who uses mathematical modelling to understand the basic mechanisms of the spread of the aids virus within the human body. Ho studied physics at Caltech and was in the MD/Ph.D. program at Harvard/MIT and his mathematical and physical training was no doubt instrumental in his effective incorporation of mathematical ideas in his work.

      Chan also cautions that a lack of understanding of mathematics can easily make a lay person vulnerable to being misled by others who use sometimes dubious mathematical arguments to further their special interest agenda, such as politicians and investment firms. An example is the recently debated "sampling method" for conducting the census, which was voted down by Congress primarily due to political rather than mathematical and statistical reasons. Another example is the recent "Long Term Capital" hedge fund debacle. If one understands the basic mathematical principles used in "risk management", then one can easily appreciate the fact that LTC can still fail even though it has working for it two Nobel Prize economists, who won their prizes in 1997 for exactly the mathematics of pricing of derivatives and other such hedging instruments. This case points out clearly the limitations of the effectiveness of mathematics in non-hard sciences such as economics, where there are no hard "laws" such as those postulated by Newton and Einstein in the hard sciences. In the case of the LTC, mathematics can help assess and even reduce the risk, but the risk must still be taken and the possibility of failure is always there.

      Since Chan was raised and studied in Hong Kong and now travels frequently there on academic and research trips, he has been observing the rapid rise of Hong Kong from a third world economy to being one of the world's richest. He made a few brief remarks about the difficulty of developing hi-tech in Hong Kong, where the government has been trying hard to do exactly that in order to compete with Taiwan, Singapore, Korea etc. He observes that even the best university students in Hong Kong are mostly interested in subjects with secure jobs opportunities, such as actuary and accounting, whereas subjects such as mathematics and basic science tend to end up with the worst students. This reflects that the general level of education in Hong Kong still has a way to go, despite the recent rapid increase in higher education funding. It also points out several fundamental difficulties in developing hi-tech in Hong Kong: the lack of venture capital given the high level of return in other investments (e.g. real estate, until very recently) and the high risk in hi-tech, the Chinese culture in which failure can be viewed as a stigma, unlike the Silicon Valley ethos. He hopes that the Hong Kong government will be successful in its hi-tech policy (former UC Berkeley Chancellor C.L. Tien is currently heading a hi-tech commission appointed by the governor Chi-Hwa Tung). Perhaps mathematics can even play a role in this endeavor.