Kao gets special royal treatment at Nobel awards ceremony

Physicist Dr Charles Kao Kuen received his Nobel prize from Sweden's King Carl Gustaf with a special honour.

Because he suffers from Alzheimer's disease, the physicist did not have to approach the king to receive his medal and award.

Instead the king came to him, leaving the podium and walking down to the stage where the beaming "father of fibre optics" walked forward a few confident paces to meet him and shook his hand firmly.

The special arrangement was made by the organisers because of doubts whether the Shanghai-born, 76-year-old retired head of Hong Kong's Chinese University could negotiate the full distance to the podium, where the other laureates were to receive their prizes.

Various parts of the ritual including bowing to and shaking hands with the king, bowing to past prize winners seated on the stage, and to the 1,500-strong audience, were all dispensed with.

A day before the presentation ceremony, Kao's wife of 50 years, Gwen Wong May-wan, after delivering a speech at Stockholm University on behalf of her husband, hinted to media he might receive the prize in person.

Kao, who had been in Stockholm with his wife and children since Saturday said excitedly to the press on Wednesday in a rare complete sentence in English: "The only thing you have to do is practice."

Hours before the ceremony his wife said he did well in rehearsal. Kao won the physics prize for what the Nobel jury said were his "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication, that has shaped the foundations of today's networked societies".

The award comes with a cash prize of 10 million Swedish kronor (HK$10.8 million), of which Kao will receive half. Two American co-winners of the prize, Willard Boyle and George Smith - for their pioneering work on semiconductors and digital imaging - will split the other half.

It was the third time Kao had received an honour from the Swedish king, after winning the Ericsson Prize in 1979 and becoming a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1988.

SCMP. Dec 11, 2009.