"Our Foundation is delighted that the University shares our vision to establish an endowed chair professorship to honour the late Dr Joseph Needham, who directed the monumental work "Science and Civilisation in China", and the late Dr Philip Wen Chee Mao, our Founding Chairman.

Dr Needham's tireless effort resulted in the first rigorous study of the great historical contribution that China has made to scientific knowledge. Dr Mao, a distinguished surgeon in Hong Kong, led the effort to establish a permanent home for Dr Needham's library at Cambridge, England, now known as the Needham Research Institute. We hope that this Chair will encourage even greater cooperation on the study of science and civilisation in China in future."