Recipient of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships in 1992/93
尤德爵士紀念基金研究生獎學金1992/93年得獎者
Weather is closely related to our everyday life. Thanks to the Hong Kong Observatory (“HKO”), we can always get the most updated warnings and be well-prepared. The recipient of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships in 1992/93, Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (Forecasting and Warning Services), Mr. Chan Pak Wai, strives to provide accurate and reliable weather forecasts to the public, in order to minimize the loss of lives and property under the increasingly severe and extreme weather.
Mr. Chan’s father passed away during his final year of his high school studies. Although the family lost the breadwinner, after graduating from high school, Mr. Chan chose the Department of Physics and Department of Mathematics, which he had always been interested in. Later, he was studying for a Master of Philosophy in Astrophysics to conduct research on neutron stars.
When Mr. Chan finished his Master’s degree, it was just in time for the construction of the Hong Kong International Airport (“HKIA”). Hence, the HKO needed a lot of manpower to conduct nearby weather observations, and forecast the weather, as well as to issue warnings. Mr. Chan availed himself of the opportunity and joined the HKO as a scientific officer. He has worked in the Branch on aviation weather services for more than 20 years. The most memorable part of his work was to introduce different new technologies to the weather forecast system of the HKIA, for example the implementation of weather buoys and laser radars. The geographical features of the HKIA render it susceptible to the influence of windshear. By the time, the HKO was one of the first weather forecast authorities to utilize laser radar to monitor and alert windshear, making it one of the pioneers in this respect. Moreover, Mr. Chan was also once served as the Mr. Weather, reporting the weather to the general public on the television news programme.
The increase in extreme weather caused by global warming has brought new challenges to the HKO. Mr. Chan pointed out that climate change is a worldwide problem. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the global temperature has risen by more than 1 degree Celsius. If the temperature rise cannot be controlled within a couple of degrees, the entire ecosystem will undergo significant changes, leading to food and water crises, directly threatening the survival of mankind.
Mr. Chan received the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Postgraduate Research Students while studying for his Master of Philosophy in Astrophysics degree. This scholarship not only reduced his financial pressure, allowing him to complete his studies, but also connected him with his interviewers and other scholarship recipients during conferences, hence, broadening his horizons.
It has been nearly 30 years since he won the award, and Mr. Chan has risen to become the Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, contributing to the daily lives of Hong Kong people through weather forecasting. In addition, Mr. Chan is also the Vice Chairperson of an expert team of the World Meteorological Organization, as well as the Chairperson of a working group in the Asia Pacific region of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), making great contributions to meteorological community.
天氣與我們的生活息息相關，有賴香港天文台的天氣預報，我們可以隨時獲得最新的警報，廣大香港市民才能做好充分準備。尤德爵士紀念基金研究生獎學金1992/93年得獎者，香港天文台助理台長（天氣預測及警告服務科）陳栢緯先生過去多年無論晴天陰天，都與市民風雨同行，致力提供準確和可靠的天氣預報，在極端天氣日趨嚴重的情況下減少人命及財物的損失。
陳先生在就讀中七時父親不幸離世。雖然家庭失去經濟支柱，陳先生在中學畢業後仍然選修了自己一直以來都很感興趣的香港大學的物理和數學學士，並在此後在修讀天體物理學哲學碩士，進行與中子星相關的研究。
陳先生碩士畢業的時候剛好趕上興建赤鱲角機場的工程，當時天文台需要增聘大量的人手為新機場的氣象所進行天氣觀測、發出天氣預報和警報等工作。陳先生就是在此機遇下加入了天文台。他在機場氣象科工作超過二十餘年，最深刻的莫過於把氣象浮標丶激光雷達等科技引入至新機場的天氣預報中。香港國際機場因地理因素而經常受風切變影響，香港天文台是當時首個使用激光雷達監察風切變的氣象局，並成為了其他氣象所的參考對象。此外，他亦曾經擔任天氣先生，在電視上為廣大市民報告天氣。
全球暖化所造成的極端天氣增多無疑為天文台的工作帶來挑戰。陳先生指出，氣候變化是全人類需要共同面對的問題。自工業革命以來，全球升溫已多於攝氏1度，若果不能夠把升溫控制在1至2度以內，整個生態系統將會經歷重大改變，引致糧食及水資源危機，直接威脅人類的生存。
陳先生在修讀天體物理學哲學碩士期間獲得尤德爵士紀念基金研究生獎學金。對當時的他而言，獎學金舒緩了他的財政壓力，使他能完成他的碩士學位。另一方面，陳先生受邀出席獎學金的招待會，陳先生表示跟其他得獎者以及面試官談天說地擴闊了他的見識。
得獎至今已接近30年，陳先生仍十分感恩能夠在天文台工作。現時他擔任助理台長一職，主要管理天氣預測，致力確保市民能獲得準確的天氣預報。除此之外，他同時兼任世界氣象組織一個專家小組的副主席，以及國際民航組織亞太區一個工作小組的主席，為氣象學界作出較大的貢獻。