“Our knowledge has to be enhanced from generation to generation, and I have the responsibility to pass on my knowledge to the next generation.”

Being referred to as the “ghost particles”, neutrinos are one of the elementary particles of the Universe. The sun and stars rely on them for emission of light and heat. Unveiling their mysteries may facilitate our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe.

When studying in the university, IAS Paul CW Chu Professor Kam-Biu LUK of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) was curious about the particle physics phenomenon. In the 1990s, in view of a study proposed by Japan to prove the authenticity of neutrino oscillations through the generation of a large amount of anti-neutrinos by all nuclear power plants, Professor LUK decided to focus on the study of neutrino physics.

In 2012, Professor LUK and his international partners discovered the third pattern of neutrino oscillation for the first time in the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. This experiment indicates that neutrinos may violate a combined Charge-Conjugation and Parity (CP) symmetry, and explains the possibility of having the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. The breakthrough proves that neutrinos may violate a combined CP symmetry, thereby providing a new direction for studying why there is more matter than antimatter in the Universe. In addition, Professor LUK received many international awards in scientific research for this achievement, including the Panofsky Prize of American Physical Society, the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the High Energy and Particle Physics Prize of European Physical Society, as well as the 2019 Future Science Prize – Physics Prize. Nevertheless, Professor LUK was humble and did not take the credit. He said, “In fact, such a large-scale experiment required the joint support and contributions from staff members possessing many different skills, so the award should belong to everyone.”

Neutrinos exist everywhere and Professor LUK’s inspiration for scientific research comes from everything in the Universe. In particular, he thinks that the nature remains to be full of mysteries. In his dialogue with the young scientist, Adrian Hoi-chun PO (HKUST’s Hari Harilela Assistant Professor of Physics), Professor LUK said, “In doing experiments, I would encourage students to explore by themselves, and I usually gave them much freedom.”

Spending most of his life in scientific research, Professor LUK attaches great importance to nurturing the next generation, and is passionate about research teaching. He hopes to spend more time in understanding the thinking, strengths and weaknesses of today’s young generation, so as to provide appropriate training for them to achieve inheritance.