The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences congratulates Professor Henry Nai-ching Wong on his being conferred Honorary Fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2022, in recognition of his exceptional achievements within his profession and his outstanding contributions to the University and the community.
Professor Wong is a founding member of ASHK. After graduating from CUHK, he furthered his studies at University College London and Harvard University. In 1983, he joined the Department of Chemistry of CUHK. During his time at CUHK, He served as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of Chemistry. He also concurrently served as Chairman of the Department, Head of New Asia College, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK and Dean of the Faculty of Science. Professor Wong became Emeritus Professor of Chemistry upon his retirement in 2018. He is currently the X.Q. Deng Presidential Chair Professor at CUHK (SZ) and a Research Professor at the Department of Chemistry of CUHK (HK). He also holds visiting and honorary professorships at various higher educational institutions in mainland China.
Professor Wong’s research interests are synthetic methodology, synthesis of non-natural molecules, and total synthesis of natural products. He verified Hückel’s rule by experiment and broadened the enquiry into iron-catalysed carbon-carbon cross-coupling reactions. His successes brought him numerous honours, including Second Class Prize of China’s State Natural Science Award, the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries. Professor Wong’s long service record has also made history at CUHK by being appointed the Head of New Asia College two times, for a total of 15 years.
More information about Professor Wong is available at the ASHK website: