Research Express@NCKU

From October 1^st to November 2^nd 2008, Dr. Britton Chance, the legendary icon of utmost human achievement in the sciences, humanitarian endeavor in universal love and compassion, and attainment in physical, mental and intellectual strength, is with us at NCKU. Dr. Chance received an honorary doctoral degree from NCKU in February, 2008, and is currently a Distinguished Chair Professor of the Institute of Innovations and Advanced Studies at NCKU. This is the third time for Dr. Chance to visit NCKU within one year. Dr. Chance’s long stay at NCKU marks his close tie with the NCKU community in both friendship and scientific collaboration.

Dr. Britton Chance enjoyed Miss Leeyo Hsu’s happy birthday party with staff in the Office of Research and Development, NCKU.

During his first several days here at NCKU, his charismatic existence has already charmed anyone who was fortunate enough to be near him! The love and wisdom emanated from him light up anywhere he resides. He has met with several academic officials and researchers of NCKU and some researchers from the Southern Taiwan University of Technology. He is always surrounded by happy and excited students who wish to learn from his wisdom and inspiration and even joined a birthday party of a staff member in the Office of Research and Development at NCKU. Miss Leeyo Hsu, who had her birthday party with colleagues, friends and the special presence of Dr. Chance, recalled that Dr. Chance commented, “your birthday party is the best, but no one has as many birthdays as I do!”

Dr. Britton Chance is humorous and easygoing, willing to help with whatever he can. He has extensive research and life experiences. Whatever topics you are interested in, be it scientific research, modern scientific history, or world culture, etc., you are very welcome to contact Miss Grace Cheng (Tel: 2757575 ext 50926) to schedule a slot to talk with him.

Dr. Chance is scheduled to meet with NCKU faculty and students during his 33-day stay. He visits NCKU because he “wants to see if there’s anything more that he can do and contribute to.” The highlight will be his meeting and interaction at NCKU from October 17^th to 20^th with Dr. Oliver Smithies, the 2007 Nobel Laureate in Medicine, for the discoveries by his colleagues and him of “principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells.”

Dr. Britton Chance (center) with Prof. Julia Chung (right), Department of Electrical Engineering, NCKU, his co-researcher, and Prof. Hung (left) from Southern Taiwan University.

Dr. Chance was discussing about breast cancer detection with Dr. Lili Cheng, who is a Diagnostic Radiologist of the College of Medicine, NCKU.

During Dr. Chance’s stay at NCKU, he wishes to make his dream come true with the help by NCKU research team in realizing one of his inventions of near infrared based early detection and warning technology for common diseases such as breast cancer. Extensive brainstorming and hand-in-hand implementation of the project among Dr. Chance and the NCKU team with coordination by Vice President for Research and Development, Dr. Yonhua Tzeng is being undertaken. Dr. Chance commented that the affordable prototype for smart early cancer detection and warning devices that were presented to him by Professor Julia Chung of Electrical Engineering of NCKU and her collaborators at Southern Taiwan University of Technology were among the best he had ever seen around the world. Working closely with Dr. Lili Cheng of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, NCKU, Dr. Chance and Dr. Chung will refine these devices and formulate a research protocol in order for these devices to benefit millions of people in the world in the very near future.

One of the best possible descriptions in words on Dr. Chance’s life, work and contribution to the world might be the following quote from Synja P Kim, President and Chairman of the ICAS Liberty Foundation, when nominating Dr. Britton Chance for the ICAS Annual Liberty Award 2005, “for his outstanding scholarly achievements and distinguished humanistic leadership advancing the great American values; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Professor Chance is a consummate educator, inventor, scholar, teacher and athlete? Yes, he was an Olympian with the United States Yacht team. Professor Chance epitomizes the truest sense of the inimitable tradition of academic and scholarly preeminence and he embodies a human spirit advancing Arts, Sciences and Medicine and, thus, enhancing humanity.”

Dr. Britton Chance was born in 1913, spent his college years at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his BS degree in 1935 and then remaining for his graduate work. Dr. Chance was a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Tau - all professional and honorary societies in engineering and chemistry. Dr. Chance earned two Ph.D. degrees, one in physical chemistry from Penn in 1940 and another in biology and physiology from University of Cambridge in 1942. While on the United States Yacht team in 1952 for the Helsinki Olympics, he won the gold medal.

Dr. Chance and Yonhua Tzeng,VP for R&D,NCKU enjoyed being together with a soccer team of the Department of Earth Science, NCKU.

Dr. Chance has made important contributions in the identification of and functioning of enzyme-substrate compounds, magnetic resonance spectroscopy in humans, the mathematics of the inverse problem, rf electronics, light transport in highly scattering media, breast cancer diagnostics, and muscle dynamics. He transformed the field of biomedical optics, and developed spectroscopy as a noninvasive analytical tool for clinical diagnosis.

Dr. Britton Chance is Eldridge Reeves Johnson University Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Physical Chemistry and Radiologic Physics, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and President, Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation (MDRF), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Member of the National Academy of Science, Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and Member of the American Philosophical Society.