In Memoriam: Kwong Lau


Kwong Hon Lau, professor of physics, passed away on April 2, 2017, at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, Texas, USA. He was 65.

Kwong Hon LauProfessor Lau was a significant contributor to the Daya Bay neutrino experiment, which determined one of the neutrino mixing-angles. The demonstration of neutrino oscillations revealed a new frontier beyond the standard model of particle physics.

This landmark work received the Breakthrough Prize in 2016; the leaders received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics. In addition, Professor Lau took part in the exciting experiments to detect dark matter using depleted liquid argon.

Professor Lau made significant contributions to the University of Houston’s Department of Physics and was considered one of its leaders. He was at the University for 32 years and was an active participant in the affairs of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the University of Houston as well.

A celebration of his life will start at 9 a.m., Saturday, April 8, 2017, at the Winford Funeral Home, 8514 Tybor Drive, Houston, Texas 77074. Visitation will take place on Friday, April 7, 2017, from 6-8 p.m. The Department of Physics is planning an on-campus memorial service at a later date.

The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the American Physical Society.