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This Professor only has a PhD degree

earthsciences.hku.hk

1–10 of 87 posts

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#4
I have a feeling that this was more common in the past.

Except, 1993 is not that long ago and University of Durham is one of the best universities in the UK, especially in his chosen subject. There is no way he could have got into that university on a PhD programme without passing rigorous academic tests.

Oh, and he did it all with English to a high level.

So, indeed, that is quite (art of British understatement) impressive!

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#6
post #4

I have a feeling that this was more common in the past. Except, 1993 is not that long ago and University of Durham is one of the best universities in the UK, especially in his chosen subject. There is no way he could have got into that university on a PhD programme without passing rigorous academic tests. Oh, and he did it all with English to a high level. So, indeed, that is quite (art of British understatement) imp…

"passing rigorous academic tests"

I don't know what this chap did but I would think the "easiest" way to prove that you are up to the level to start a PhD programme (which in the UK at that time were pure research - no class component) would be to have a few publications.

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#7
post #4

I have a feeling that this was more common in the past. Except, 1993 is not that long ago and University of Durham is one of the best universities in the UK, especially in his chosen subject. There is no way he could have got into that university on a PhD programme without passing rigorous academic tests. Oh, and he did it all with English to a high level. So, indeed, that is quite (art of British understatement) imp…

I think it is worth noting he would have been born in the decade after the Cultural Revolution - so he grew up most likely in abject poverty - and into a society recovering from hideous losses. That is one reason why the work would have been undertaken outside of China. (It's probably no exaggeration to say the exceptionally large numbers of Chinese foreign students from 70s onwards in western universities contributed to Chinas recovery.)

Anyway, impressive personally, impressive for the social and family support needed and impressive as part of a society recovering.

Plus research into develoent of agriculture outside of Mesopotamia - cool stuff!

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#8
post #5

Google cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://... Impressive to get the equivalent of an MSc while working in a butcher shop.

To be fair he was "a technician in Guangzhou Institute of Geography" as well. Still quite a feat.

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#10
I know a few cases of researchers who don't have PhDs, but I've never seen this before.

Probably the best known researcher in CS who doesn't hold a PhD is Simon Peyton Jones. He is very well known in the field of programming languages and one of the main implementors of the main Haskell implementation GHC. I think he might have started a PhD in the last few years, but he was appointed a professor at Glasgow without one.

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