Alumni of NUS School of Computing (SoC) and its
predecessor, the Department of Information Systems and Computer
Science (DISCS) experienced something of the old and a foretaste of
the exciting future at the recent CISAA (Computer and Information
Science Alumni Association)
Homecoming on 1 September 2007.
Introducing alumni to the School’s new home at
Computing 1 (COM1), CISAA Homecoming this year took in a nostalgic
walk from memory lane at the School’s former hub at S16 to the
spanking new
facilities at COM1. Yet more meaningful, perhaps, for the many DISCS
alumni present at the gathering of over 70 people was a poster
display of Professor Yuen Chung Kwong. On it, alumni through the
years put up 'postcards' to pay
tribute to the teacher and mentor who was an integral part of campus
life. The poster echoed a
video that CISAA members have made
in his honour.
Professor Yuen joined the then Department of
Computer Science, the predecessor of DISCS, in 1983. He took up the
headship in 1984. He retired on 30th June 2007, donating over
S$74,000 from his Academic Staff Provident Fund to the School to
reward academic excellence and support needy students.
In a tribute on his retirement, the School Management noted of
Professor Yuen, “With his vision of the potential impact of
information technology on society, he introduced information systems
education into the curriculum, expanded student enrolment eightfold,
and renamed the department the Department of Information Systems and
Computer Science -- or DISCS, as fondly referred to by thousands of
our alumni.”
In his acknowledgement, Professor Yuen unassumingly
deflected credit for the historical development that the department
experienced during his watch. Saying the change was put in motion
before his time, he accepted credit for only fleshing out the
details within the broader idea of combining information systems and
computer science. Even in the implementation of the plan, he
attributed the work to another long-time colleague in the
department.
The unassuming response of Professor Yuen belies his accomplished
scholarly career. Besides being Associate Professor/Professor with
NUS from 1983 till his retirement in June 2007, he has also been an
adjunct professor in Computer Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, and has held visiting positions at CSIRO Division of
Computing Research. He has also been Editor of Australian Computer
Journal, and External Examiner for University of Malaysia and Hong
Kong Polytechnic University, among other appointments. |
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