中大校友－二零零九年十二月號

專題訪問－慶祝高錕教授獲頒諾貝爾物理學獎

鏡頭背後的光纖之父
自諾貝爾物理學獎公佈本屆得主名單，有關高錕教授的報道不絕。當中最常被轉播的，莫過於2000年，由中大新聞與傳播系畢業的張國良校友，為香港電台電視部編導之《傑出華人系列》；就連頒獎禮上，高太亦於演講尾聲引用其中訪問片段，宣揚高教授的科學理念。

作為光纖之父，在國際學術領域獲獎無數，即使當時尚未獲頒諾貝爾物理學獎，高教授仍屬《傑出華人系列》之不二選。
「《傑出華人系列》以人為主，並非單純著墨主角成就，只是藉此入手，探討他的性格、行為舉止、道德觀念、意識形態或信仰，如何塑造出一位蜚聲國際的傑出華人，以及他對社會作出的貢獻。成就只佔其中一部分。」

先行者　蜚聲國際
張國良形容，從不同切入點看高錕－－作為教授、學者、校長、丈夫、父親、一個人或一個被訪者－－感覺迥然不同。
「我們嘗試從上、下、四周六個角度，立體地呈現這個人，當中也包括訪問不同意他的人。須知任何一個人也不可能百分百完美，強項弱項俱備，才能真實地呈現一個人。」
每個人一生中都得扮演多個角色，即使再努力出色，亦不可能面面俱圓，討好全世界。「高教授是個先行者，凡先行者必不被認同。他的目光太長遠，脫離當下現實，未必能輕易說服人。但他毫不介意別人笑他癡人說夢，並沒因碰釘而放棄。高教授的堅持和專注，乃發明家、工程師和科學家的特質。唸工程的人，想法跟一般人大相逕庭，他們非常專注研究；但作為一位大學校長，卻需要另一套思考方法。節目不是要批評高教授這位校長表現如何，旨在反映當時校內校外的聲音和意見。」
張國良不諱言接觸的被訪者當中，並非人人擁戴高教授，當中不乏負面批評。儘管沒有人願意在熒光幕前公開批評，但他們私下的對話卻有助張國良塑造更立體的主角。
協助張國良勾勒出主角輪廓的，還有高教授身邊的友儕至親。《傑出華人系列》透過高太黃美芸、兒子高明浚、女兒高明淇、上海的小學同學，以及中外同僚的眼睛看高錕，從細微處凸顯他對學術科研的興趣。
偕太太往超市購物，面對一個個價錢牌，高教授猶如小孩子進入糖果屋般興奮，迅即將書本上的數字理論，化為日常生活中的數字遊戲，不亦樂乎。鏡頭一轉，高教授正專心駕駛，高太則笑指丈夫曾駕車在家門前不斷徘徊，全因里程計尚差半里路，即會從999999跳至000000。高教授的里程計不單反映他對數字的濃郁興趣和執著，亦帶出了他童心未泯的一面。

專心致志　表裏如一
張國良眼中的高教授善良隨和，毫無架子，唯一教他頭痛的，是如何令這位不善辭令的學者的話變得生動有趣。
「猶記得首次訪問於攝影棚內進行，欲以幽暗的環境突出主角。我早料到學術性言論比較沉悶，只是沒想到竟悶得連攝影師和收音師也在拍攝期間雙雙盹著！為應付這個重大挑戰，我決定接下來所有訪問均不能坐下來做；邊走邊拍，務求令高教授不察覺自己正受訪，如閒聊對話，方得出最終效果。」
為如實呈現高教授豐富的人生歷程，張國良曾分別隨行往美國三藩市、紐約、矽谷、英國倫敦、上海以及香港等地進行實景採訪。「你或會留意，拍攝期間高教授極少穿著西裝，大都穿得很隨意。我們往往從這些細微的瑣事，逐步浮現一個人的立體感，將主角的另一面串連起來。」
提及主角的另一面，相信不少人即時聯想到高太黃美芸。高太在高教授的生命及事業上均佔相當重要的位置，就連個人專訪也花了不少篇幅訪問高太，藉她口述種種，描繪出一個愛情與事業並重的學者。每提及高教授，無論是學術成就抑或生活瑣事，高太嘴角皆不期然往上牽，拉出一個窩心的弧度；鏡頭前後，高教授與太太經常形影不離，兩人在街頭牽手漫步、一同入廚、到海灘弄潮、高太為丈夫整理衣領、高教授蹲下來為太太繫鞋扣等溫馨鏡頭，構成了諾貝爾物理學獎頒獎禮外，最為人樂道的畫面。
校友如欲重溫該《傑出華人系列》特輯，可瀏覽香港電台網址：http://www.rthk.org.hk/classicschannel/tv_personalprofile.htm。

自高教授患上阿兹海默症，高太黃美芸照顧，無微不至，多次代夫上台，甚至發表諾貝爾獎演說，字字鏗鏘。據說高教授一直因未為66年論文向太太致謝耿耿於懷。高太文筆巂永，經常為教授潤飾，曾投稿南華早報，奪英詩大獎，本文題目《Sand from centuries past; Send future voices fast》為其手筆。

Sand from centuries past;
Send future voices fast.
..... In the 43 years since his seminal paper of 1966 that gave birth to the ubiquitous glass fiber cables of today, the world of telephony has changed vastly. It is due to Professor Kao’s persistence in the face of skepticism that this revolution has occurred.
In the 1970s the pre-production stage moved to ITT Corp Roanoke VA, USA. Whilst Charles worked there, he received two letters. One contained a threatening message accusing him of releasing an evil genie from its bottle; the other, from a farmer in China, asked for a means to allow him to pass a message to his distant wife to bring his lunch. Both letter writers saw a future that has since become past history......
..... The race between circular microwave waveguides and optical communication was on, with the odds heavily in favour of the former. In 1960, optical lasers were in their infancy, demonstrated at only a few research laboratories, and performing much below the needed specs. Optical systems seemed a non-starter.
But Charles still thought the laser had potential. He said to himself: ‘How can we dismiss the laser so readily? Optical communication is too good to be left on the theoretical shelf.’
He asked himself the obvious questions:
1. Is the ruby laser a suitable source for optical communication?
2. What material has sufficiently high transparency at such wavelengths?.....
..... They wrote the paper entitled, ‘Dielectric-Fibre Surface Waveguides for Optical Frequencies’ and submitted it to the Proceedings of Institute of Electrical Engineers. After the usual review and revision, it appeared in July 1966 – the date now regarded as the birthday of optical fiber communication.....
..... The substance of the paper was presented by Dr Kao at an IEE meeting in February 1966. Most of the world did not take notice – except for the British Post Office (BPO) and the UK Ministry of Defense, who immediately launched major research programs. By the end of 1966, three groups in the UK were studying the various issues involved: Kao himself at STL; Roberts at BPO; Gambling at Southampton in collaboration with Williams at the Ministry of Defense Laboratory.
In the next few years, Dr Kao traveled the globe to push his idea: to Japan, where enduring friendships were made dating from those early days; to research labs in Germany, in the Netherlands and elsewhere to spread his news. He said that until more and more jumped on the bandwagon, the use of glass fibers would not take off. He had tremendous conviction in the face of widespread skepticism. The global telephony industry is huge, too large to be changed by a single person or even a single country, but he was persistent and his enthusiasm was contagious, and slowly he converted others to be believers......

高黃美芸代高錕教授領獎致辭節錄

（全文可於http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/cpr/pressrelease/091208_Lecture_Eng.pdf瀏覽）