Hong Kong Souvenir Cover on "Congratulations to Professor Charles K.KAO on his award of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics"

Souvenir Cover
紀念封
Envelope Comemorativo

Hong Kong

Congratulations to Professor Charles K.KAO on his award of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics

Date of Issue of the Stamp Sheetlet : 21 September 2010

Date Sent : 10 December 2010

To congratulate Professor Charles K. Kao on his award of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics, this definitive stamp sheetlet is issued to honour the Nobel Laureate, respectfully known as the "Father of Fibre Optics", for his distinctive contribution to global communications.

Born in Shanghai in 1933, Professor Kao moved to Hong Kong in 1949 and enrolled in St. Joseph's College. In July 1966, Professor Kao and his research partner published a paper entitled "Dielectric-Fibre Surface Waveguides for Optical Frequencies" in which they proposed transmitting light signals over glass fibres. The release date of the paper is widely regarded as the birthday of optical fibre communication.

From 1970 to 1974, Professor Kao taught in the new Department of Electronics of The Chinese University of Hong Kong as Reader and Chair, and later as the first Professor of Electronics. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University from 1987 to 1996, and became Honorary Professor of Engineering after retirement.

The stamp sheetlet features the winning entry of the Secondary School Division under the "Stamp Sheetlet Design Competition in Honour of Professor Charles Kao's Being Awarded the Nobel Prize" organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

On the souvenir cover, there was an autograph of Professor Kao. We chose to sent this cover on 10 Dec, because the date 10 Dec was the date Professor Kao got the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009.