Professor N.N. Chan

Written by Tony Lau
Amended and approved by Professor N.N. Chan

Family and Career

The long association of Professor Nai Ng Chan with CUHK dated back to the year 1964, just one year after the formation of our University. He started his career as an academic staff in the Department of Mathematics until 1982. Then he became a founding member of a brand new Department of Statistics until his retirement in 1998. He continued his teaching with the University of Science and Technology for a year and half; followed by another semester with HKU. He and his family migrated to Australia in 1984 and he taught at the University of Melbourne for the year 1985. Also he has held an honorary research position with the University since 2002.

Professor Chan and his family moved to Melbourne in 1984. Mrs Chan studied and worked in London. On her return to Hong Kong she pursued a career in company governance and was actively involved in a number of public share issues including the Hong Kong Cross Harbour Tunnel Company. After settling in Melbourne, she started work in a law firm in Melbourne’s CBD. She is a dedicated mother and in her spare time, she helped business migrants with their business start up and documentation.

On the Alumni Association

Professor Chan is a senior statesman of the Alumni Association. He and Mrs Chan have been very supportive to the Association since its establishment. Professor Chan is highly appreciative of the AA. He felt the Association has provided a forum in which the members, through their common root and links to the University, share their life experience and show their caring to each other. Those who are interested in Professor Chan’s thought about the AA should read the Preface of our book - CUHK Alumni in Melbourne. In addition, he recognised that the global network of CUHK’s Alumni Association makes a powerful representation of the University in which its excellent standing in the global academic community is clearly demonstrated through the good and diligent work of its graduates.

Yesteryear’s Students Against Nowadays Students

In every graduation year, there is always a portion of the student cohort that is extremely bright and will achieve great heights. However the distribution of this student group, according to Professor Chan (who truly speaks as a statistician) is quite different in different era. In yesteryears when university placements were scarce, those who were accepted by CUHK are generally very smart students. There is a high percentage of them (could be as high as 50% or more) who will pursue and excel in their career in fields related to their university education. However due to the rapid expansion of higher education university placements are now more readily available and students have a much wider choice of courses they can enrol in. Their career path may not necessarily link to the training they received at the university. Also due to the smaller number in a yesteryear’s class, there is, in general a better mentorship between teachers and students. Some have extended this bonding into a life-long friendship and I am fortunate enough to be one among them.

Hobby

Professor Chan is a keen table tennis player and plays about twice a week. He is an amazing player at his age. I have the honour and pleasure to play against him many times. His playing style is not particularly attacking but his defensive skill is extraordinary. The way he blocks a fast and furious ball which results in a return hard for his opponent to maintain the attack is very impressive. Players much younger than him will find it difficult to counter his play. I personally enjoy having a hit with him and hopefully we can both improve our skills and fitness through playing the sport.

Professor Chan also practices Tai-Chi every day. He learnt the sport from Master Cheung in classes organised by the AA some years ago. According to Professor Chan Tai-Chi helps him to improve the quality of his sleep and mitigate the severity of his allergy such as hay fever. He highly recommends to the AA members to take up the sport and become a consistent practitioner.

Life in Retirement

Professor Chan has officially retired for more than 12 years. However he is still very active in research and has been working jointly with a former colleague of CUHK. The influence of mental health to one’s physical well-being is well documented. Engaging in intellectual exchanges and stimulation will help to maintain a healthy mind, thus improving physical health. Professor Chan likes to work on mathematical challenges and no doubt he is giving himself a lot of intellectual stimulations.

Professor Chan also emphasised the importance of being socially active in retirement. Indeed he praised the values of our AA which sets up activities and provides opportunities for members and their families to mix together.

Unlike many others, Professor Chan does not favour globetrotting. However he and Mrs Chan frequently go to visit their son who now works in Hong Kong. Their son has an Honours Degree in Electronics from Melbourne University and a Master Degree in Film/TV Production. He is a keen sportsman and enjoys making movies. He is also a gifted cartoonist and I have personally witnessed his creativity in many of his drawings.