Gwen May-Wan Kao is an American scientist who has been awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in cancer research. Her work has made her a household name amongst those interested in the disease. This article will cover her life, what led her to win the award, and how the award will help her in her ongoing efforts to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.
Gwen May-Wan Kao
Gwen May-Wan Kao is the widow of Charles Kuen Kao, a British-American physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his studies on light transmission in optical fibers. The couple had two children.
Gwen May-Wan Kao was born in Britain, the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She attended the Anglican Communion. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, she worked as an engineer at Standard Telephones and Cables in North Woolwich, London.
Kao was 6 feet tall. He studied Chinese classics at home with his brother. In 1966, he made the discovery that a fibre optic cable could transmit light over hundreds of kilometers. He proposed using the technology in telecommunications.
He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2009, a cash prize of one million dollars. He and his wife set up a foundation to help Alzheimer’s patients.
Kao died of Alzheimer’s on September 23, 2018, in Hong Kong. He was 84. He was a well-known researcher and a member of the Royal Society. He had suffered from the disease for more than a decade. He was a pioneer in the development of fiber optics.
Before he married Gwen, he had a career as an electrical engineer. He worked in the United Kingdom, China, and Taiwan. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He has also received numerous awards and cash prizes. He and his wife founded the Kao Foundation in 2010 to promote awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.
Charles Kuen Kao
Charles Kuen Kao was a physicist. He was born in Shanghai. His father was a lawyer. He went to school in Hong Kong, Taiwan and England. He also studied French and Chinese at home.
He worked for Varitronix International Limited as a Director of Engineering. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and received the Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 1985. He served as an honorary professor at Yale University. He was a member of the Varitronix International Limited Audit Committee. He retired in 1996. He had Alzheimer’s disease. He died on September 23 in Hong Kong at the age of 84.
He had two children, Simon and Amanda. His wife, Gwen May-Wan Kao, is British Chinese. She was born in 1934. They married in 1959 in London.
Charles K Kao was vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1996. He was appointed a non-executive director of the company in 1991. He also founded the Charles Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease, a charitable organization that aims to promote public awareness about the disease.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010. He was awarded the Faraday Medal in 1989. He was also given the Marconi Prize in 1985.
Nobel Prize
Charles Kuen Kao (May-wan Kao) was born in Shanghai and grew up in Hong Kong. He is considered the father of fiber optics, and his inventions have revolutionized communication around the world. His innovations paved the way for the Internet, and the high-speed connectivity that it brings.
In his early years, Kao worked with British engineer George Alfred Hockham. Their initial research focused on the attenuation of light in fibres. In 1966, they published an article describing the potential of glass fibres to transmit light for optical communication. They also discussed the properties of materials used for fibres, and how this could affect transmission performance.
In addition to his work, Kao was also an educator. He set up an electrical engineering department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During his tenure as vice-chancellor, he was instrumental in making the institution competitive internationally.
He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of London in 1957, and his doctorate from the University of London in 1965. He also served as a visiting professor at Imperial College London’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He returned to Hong Kong in 1986 to become its vice-chancellor.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010. He was also a Member of the Royal Society. He has received a number of honorary awards, including the Faraday Medal in 1989, the Marconi Prize in 2010, the Alexander Graham Bell Medal of IEEE in 1985, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal of the Hong Kong SAR government in 2010.
He was the author of numerous publications, and his work in optical communications was recognized with the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Great Britain.