Wilson H. Tang
It is with profound sadness that we share with you the passing of Prof. Wilson H. Tang, former Head of Civil Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in the company of his loving family in Chicago on 5 January 2012, at the age of 68. He joined HKUST as Chair Professor in 1996 and served as the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering until 2001. Under his leadership, the department thrived and became one of the best in Asia. He retired in 2009, but remained active in research, teaching and public service.
Prof. Tang was born in Hong Kong and received his high-school education at La Salle College. He earned his bachelor's (1966) and master's (1967) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his PhD from Stanford University (1969), all in Civil Engineering. He taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 27 years before joining HKUST.
Prof. Tang had a distinguished academic career in which he made significant contributions in the areas of safety and reliability analysis in civil engineering, particularly in geotechnical engineering. An active and devoted member in the field, Prof. Tang led and served on several major international boards and committees, including local professional societies and government boards. He had more than 250 technical publications, and his co-authored book (with Prof. A. H-S. Ang) on Probability Concepts in Engineering Planning & Design, revised in 2007, has been widely adopted by top universities worldwide. The book has also been translated into five languages, including Japanese and Korean, whilst the Chinese translation is currently in progress. His outstanding achievements had been internationally recognised by numerous awards and honours, including the State of the Art Award; Fellow and Distinguished Member from the American Society of Civil Engineers; T.K. Hsieh Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers UK; US Offshore Energy Center's Hall of Fame; and the Natural Science Award from the Chinese Ministry of Education. To recognise and honour his significant contributions, a prestigious keynote lecture, the Wilson Tang Lecture, of the serial conferences of International Symposium on Geotechnical Safety & Risk, was inaugurated in 2009.
Prof. Tang loved his students and had mentored numerous graduate students and younger colleagues throughout his academic career. Over the past year, his passion towards research and teaching activities was never impeded by his illness. While in Hong Kong, he came back to HKUST several times a week to undertake his research. Even before leaving for Chicago last November, he was discussing with colleagues new directions in geotechnical risk assessment. Prof. Tang's wisdom, kindness, gentle and embracing nature will remain in our hearts.
Prof. Tang is survived by his wife of 42 years, Bernadette; a son and daughter-in-law, Tze-John and Ann; a daughter and son-in-law, Joyce and Michael; and three grandchildren.
We seek your support in expressing our sincerest condolences to Prof. Tang's family, who has set up an online tribute for Prof. Tang at: http://www.ultimatetributes.com/pages/explore-tributes.asp?id=6175
Limin Zhang
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong