Obituary: Lai Kow Chan 1940–2020
AUGUST 31, 2021

Lai Kow Chan, an IMS Fellow with expertise in statistical quality control and a visionary academic leader, died in Hong Kong on December 23, 2020, aged 80.

Lai was born in Hong Kong on November 5, 1940. His first university degree was from Hong Kong Baptist College in 1962, after which he obtained an MA and a PhD in statistics from the University of Western Ontario in 1964 and 1966, respectively. He was then a lecturer at the University of Toronto for one year before returning to Western, where he rose to the rank of Full Professor. He had worked with M.M. Ali for his thesis and, over the next 15 years, contributed regularly to distribution theory and studied both finite- and large-sample properties of estimation methods for various classes of models. He published in top statistics journals such as Biometrika and The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, but also in more applied venues and actuarial journals.

In 1980, Lai was recruited as Head of the Department of Statistics at the University of Manitoba. This was a turning point in his career. Seeking to unite the group around a common cause, he identified statistical quality control as a research area and invested himself fully in the subject. Under his headship, which lasted 14 years, the department became a center of excellence in quality management. His 1988 article proposing a new process capability index, coauthored by his colleague Smiley Cheng and their joint PhD student Fred Spiring, is one of the most cited papers in the Journal of Quality Technology. Over the years, department members gave more than 100 workshops on statistical process control, total quality, and industrial experimental design to local firms, generating funds to support students and research.

While becoming an expert in statistical quality control, Lai helped the Canadian statistical community in many ways, serving on the Board of Directors of the Statistical Society of Canada (1985–87), supporting the Society’s 13th Annual Meeting in Winnipeg (1985), serving as Editor-in-Chief of The Canadian Journal of Statistics (1992–94), contributing to the creation of the Canada Award for Excellence in Quality, and chairing/sitting on national grant and award selection committees. He also served as a Council member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI).

In 1994, Lai returned home to become Professor and Chair of Applied Statistics and Operational Research at City University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Research-wise, this was perhaps his most fruitful period, supervising many PhD students and coauthoring, notably with Ming-Lu Wu, highly impactful work on quality function deployment.

Under Lai’s leadership, the CUHK College of Business rose to the forefront of business education and research. Various new programs were launched and he spearheaded the school’s effort in achieving AACSB accreditation in 2005. In this period, Lai was an advisor on statistics teaching material for China’s State Statistical Bureau, he sat on the Statistics Advisory Board for the Commissioner for Census and Statistics of the Hong Kong SAR, and he served on the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies Panel of Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council.

At the age of 66, Lai joined upper management in the forming years of the Macao University of Science and Technology. He soon became an advisor for the sustainable economic development strategy and the Pearl River Delta Region development plan for several departments in the Macao SAR Government. Also noteworthy is his involvement in the construction of economic indices such as the Hong Kong Consumer Satisfaction Index (1998) and the Macao Consumer Confidence Index (2008).

In recognition of his contributions to research and his service towards the development of statistics and total quality in Canada and in China, Lai was elected a member of the ISI in 1979 and he was made a Fellow of several associations, including the ASA (1981), IMS (1985), the American Society for Quality (1990), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1991).

In addition to his talents as a scientist and an administrator, Lai was a conscientious and kind-hearted man who cared for people around him, and inspired trust. His level of energy and passion was difficult to match. He drew inspiration from, and strove to emulate, the famous American statistician W. Edwards Deming and Hong Kong’s visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Gordon Wu, who started his engineering studies at the University of Manitoba and received an honorary degree from this institution in 2012.

Lai is survived by his wife Fung-Yee, their children Bertha, David, and Leo, as well as five grandchildren whom he loved to spoil. We were fortunate to have known him. He will be missed dearly but never forgotten.
—
Written by Christian Genest, McGill University, and John F. Brewster, University of Manitoba

Lai Kow Chan
Submitted by Christian Genest, McGill University, and John F. Brewster, University of Manitoba

Lai Kow Chan, a longtime member and fellow of the ASA who was praised for his work in quality assurance and his academic leadership, passed away at home on December 23, 2020. He was 80.

Home for Lai was Hong Kong, where he was born on November 5, 1940. After graduating from Hong Kong Baptist College in 1962, he completed his education at the University of Western Ontario with an MA in 1964 and a PhD in 1966. He then taught at the University of Toronto for one year before returning to London, Ontario, where he was offered a tenure-track position. Over the next 15 years, he progressed through the ranks and published regularly in statistics and actuarial journals on popular topics such as distribution theory, estimation, and asymptotics.

The first major climacteric in Lai’s career occurred in 1980, when he was recruited as head of the department of statistics at the University of Manitoba. To give a new impetus to the group, he proposed statistical quality control as a common research topic and walked the talk by reorienting his own work in this direction. His success is epitomized by a 1988 paper by Lai, Smiley Cheng, and Fred Spiring (who was then a PhD student) on the Cpm (also called Taguchi) capability index. This paper became a classic.

During Lai’s 14-year headship, the department’s reputation in quality management rose steadily and awareness of the use of statistical methods for quality improvement was raised within the Winnipeg business community by the dozens of workshops on statistical process control, total quality, and industrial experimental design given by department members. The group also hosted the 1985 Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC), and Lai served on both the SSC board of directors (1985–1987) and as editor-in-chief of The Canadian Journal of Statistics (1992–1994). The International Statistical Institute also benefited from his membership on council.

A second decisive moment in Lai’s career occurred in 1994, when he chose to go home only a few years before the handover of Hong Kong to China. He accepted a position as professor and chair of applied statistics and operational research at City University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and served as both the head of the department of management sciences (1994–1997, 2000–2001) and dean of the faculty of business (2001–2006). Under his leadership, the CUHK College of Business reached unprecedented heights in business education and research. Various new programs were launched, and he spearheaded the college’s effort in achieving AACSB accreditation in 2005.

Eager to support the development of statistics in China, Lai supervised several PhD students during this period. He also coauthored influential work, notably with Ming-Lu Wu, on quality function deployment. Among many other commitments, he acted as an adviser on statistics teaching material for China’s State Statistical Bureau and served on the Statistics Advisory Board for the Commissioner for Census and Statistics of the Hong Kong SAR.

A third critical turn in Lai’s career occurred in 2006 when, at the age of 66, he took up the challenge of helping build the Macao University of Science and Technology in its formative years. Besides serving as director of the Institute for Sustainable Development (2006–2017), he was vice president (2007–2011) and dean of the school of business (2009–2014). He was also adviser for the sustainable economic development strategy and Pearl River Delta Region development plan for several departments in the Macao SAR government. Moreover, drawing on experience acquired in Hong Kong with the design of economic indexes such as the Centa-City Property Index (1999), Lai was involved in setting up Macao’s consumer confidence and satisfaction indexes (2007–2008).

Needless to say, Lai’s outstanding record of research and service earned him much acclaim. He was an elected member of the International Statistical Institute (1979) and became a fellow of the American Statistical Association (1981), Institute of Mathematical Statistics (1985), American Society for Quality (1990), and American Association for the Advancement of Science (1991). He was also a fellow of the UK Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications.

Lai was not only an esteemed scholar and a visionary leader but also a meticulous, good-natured person who inspired confidence and genuinely cared for his fellow human beings. He was energetic, passionate, and persuasive. He drew inspiration from quality guru W. Edwards Deming and Hong Kong’s visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Gordon Wu.

Surviving Lai are his wife of more than 50 years (Fung-Yee), their three children (Bertha, David, Leo), and five grandchildren who were his greatest pride. We were lucky to have crossed his path. He will be greatly missed but forever remembered.

In memory of Lai Kow Chan (1940–2020)

Lai Kow Chan, who was an active member of the Canadian statistical community for nearly 30 years, passed away in Hong Kong on December 23, 2020, at the age of 80.

Members of the community old enough to remember will recall that Lai started out as a professor of statistics at the University of Western Ontario (1966–80) and was later head of the Department of Statistics at the University of Manitoba (1980–94). He arranged for the Statistical Society of Canada’s 13th Annual Meeting to be held in Winnipeg in June 1985, served as a regional representative on the Society’s board of directors (1985–87), and was editor in chief of The Canadian Journal of Statistics from 1992 to 1994. For a time, he was also an elected council member of the International Statistical Institute. However, Lai was a man of energy and vision, and there is much more to his long and distinguished career.

Lai had completed his undergraduate studies in 1962 at Hong Kong Baptist College before moving to London, Ontario, where he received an MA in 1964 and a PhD in 1966. His thesis, written under the supervision of Mir Maswood Ali, was concerned with linear estimation of location and scale parameters of a continuous symmetric unimodal distribution using order statistics from censored samples. After being an instructor at the University of Toronto in 1965–66, Lai joined the faculty at Western, where he gradually climbed the academic ladder while raising three children (Bertha, David, and Leo) with his wife Fung-Yee, whom he had met while studying in London. In the 1960s and 1970s, he contributed regularly to model construction, estimation methods, and asymptotic theory. Some of his work appeared in Biometrika, The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, and the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B. He cared deeply about students and nurtured several PhD students, including Smiley Cheng, Harry Panjer, and Tak Mak, who went on to have successful university careers at Manitoba, Waterloo, and Concordia, respectively.

Lai’s move to Winnipeg in 1980 was an important milestone in his career. His research interests had already begun to shift to applied statistics and actuarial science in the mid 1970s. In an effort to revitalize his department and forge links with industry, he set up the Statistical Quality Control Research and Applications Group (SQCRAG). Under his headship, the department became a center of excellence in the area of quality. Over two decades, members of SQCRAG gave more than 100 workshops on statistical process control (SPC), total quality management (TQM), and industrial experimental design to companies and organizations, generating funds to support students and research. The workshops on SPC and TQM, presented by Brian Macpherson and Smiley Cheng, were particularly effective at raising awareness of the use of statistical methods for quality improvement within the Winnipeg business community.

Former students fondly remember Lai for being supportive and encouraging. Emblematic of Lai’s work with students is the Cpm process capability index, which he designed with Smiley Cheng and their joint PhD student Fred Spiring, now principal at Western Quality Centre; their 1988 paper in the Journal of Quality Technology has been cited over a thousand times.

Lai’s expertise in quality management led him to be involved in the drafting of the criteria for, and adjudication of, the Canada Award for Excellence in Quality, whose patron is the Governor General. He also served on, and chaired, the Statistical Sciences Grant Selection Committee of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Lai loved Hong Kong, where he was born on November 5, 1940. In 1994, he decided to return home to become professor and chair of Applied Statistics and Operational Research at City University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He was head of the Department of Management Sciences (1994–97, 2000–01), and dean of the College of Business (2001–06). Research-wise, this was perhaps his most active period. He supervised many PhD students and published very impactful work with Ming-Lu Wu on quality function deployment in the European Journal of Operational Research, the International Journal of Production Research, Omega and Quality Engineering.

A respected leader, Lai brought the CUHK College of Business to the forefront of business education and research and took its internationalization to the next level. Under his leadership, various new programs were launched and he spearheaded the college’s effort in achieving AACSB accreditation in 2005. To promote statistics, Lai also became as advisor on statistics teaching material for China’s State Statistical Bureau, sat on the Statistics Advisory Board for the Commissioner for Census and Statistics of the Hong Kong SAR, and on the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies Panel of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.

In 2006, at an age where most people envision retirement, Lai chose to pick up yet another challenge by joining the upper management team in the forming years of the Macao University of Science and Technology. There he served as director of The Institute for Sustainable Development (2006–17), vice president (2007–11), and dean of the School of Business (2009–14). He became an advisor for the sustainable economic development strategy and the Pearl River Delta Region development plan for several departments in the Macao SAR Government. He was also involved as principal or co-investigator in the construction of various economic indices, such as the Hong Kong Consumer Satisfaction Index (1998), the Hong Kong Centa City Property Index (1999), the Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index (2007), and the Macao Consumer Confidence Index (2008).

Now aged 77, Lai finally retired in 2017. In his later years, he travelled the world with his wife, often with their children. He loved cruises and enjoyed good food, especially seafood, fruit, and desserts. He also took pleasure in spoiling his five grandchildren, allowing them to eat pie for breakfast, and more importantly he encouraged them to be themselves.

Lai’s professional accomplishments earned him many accolades. He was, among others, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute (1979) and a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (1981), the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (1985), the American Society for Quality (1990), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1991).

With his unique combination of wit, common sense, integrity, and compassion, Lai earned the respect of all his colleagues and his students. He was a kind and gracious man, and a true gentleman who cared passionately about the people around him. He will be dearly missed.
By Christian Genest and John F. Brewster
McGill University and University of Manitoba
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Liaison Newsletter:
Liaison Vol. 35.4 August 2021

Professor Chan was the kindest and warmest mentor to me. He is also such an excellent researcher that I will always look up to. Can’t believe you are already not with us. I’ll always remember the last time we had lunch at Central, and I’m so so grateful that I got the chance to listen to your wisdom and kindest suggestions. We will always miss you!!!

Rest in Peace, Professor Chan!

需然和陳教授相處的時間唔係太多，但係每一次都感受到教授的支持和鼓勵。
RIP

I have known Prof Chan in the International Statistical Conference in Australia since 1996. He is so kind and positive, and he is also a caring mentor. I take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to Professor L.K. Chan’s family.

RIP

Jason (Alumnus).

RIP

I'm so sad to hear that news. You have been an inspiration to us throughout your tenure as dean. I have many fond memories of you for undertaking EMBA residential trips and will always remember them. You will always be in my heart. Rest in peace, Professor Chen! Deep condolences to all family members.

What a huge loss to the academic world and I believe Professor Chan would rest in heaven with God. 

My condolence to his family especially his wife as I worked for her during her stay in Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education as my superior. 

一路好走 天上又多了一位博學多聞的天使
後學 邦昌敬悼

It's hard to believe that Professor Chan has passed away! I am really sad to hear this! Prof Chan encouraged me a lot when I joined MUST. I remembered every words he said. Thank you so much for your guidance! I will miss you forever! Rest in peace, Professor Chan.

In 1972, FungYee was my fellow student at Imperial College Physics Department. Bertha and David were only 3 and 4 years old. LaiK visited often at their student flat in Evelyn Gardens, South Kensington. For fifty years, the whole family has been our steadfast family friends.

LaiK and FungYee are the best friends one can hope for - sincere, generous and loyal.

Although we live on the opposite side of the world, we managed to see them, and sometimes with their retinue of offsprings, in Macau, HK, LA, London.

They stayed with us in 2016. Here are their nostalgic moments of IC - in Evelyn Gardens, IC Physics Department and with ex IC colleagues.

LaiK had plenty of fun and had plenty of love all his life. We envy him and we will never ever forget him.

Meg and Ian Southwood xxx

I have known Lai for at least 35 years, as an associate in the same profession.
 More than a scholar and a good teacher, he has impressed me as a person.
 Very friendly, generous ,helpful and positive in attitude.
  His passing is a great loss to us . He will be fondly remembered.

永遠懷念的陳乃九前院長，沒有他，沒有我今天學術成就，我終生不會忘記你的恩情。

你永遠的學生
陳振東

I admire Prof L.K. Chan's ability to look at the world in a positive way.

He frequently mentioned the things /persons that/whom he was grateful for.

Focusing on positive happenings help us become more positive and feel happier.

Rest in Peace. Professor Chan.

My deepest condolences to Professor L.K. Chan’s family.

Though I never study under Prof Chan, I had the good fortune to go to the same school as Leo, and then Bertha/David also studied in the US. Over time, my family and Prof Chan's family have gotten to know each other well.  He is a very loving dad and a great teacher - and his family is wonderful. We will miss him dearly.

Steve/Ginger

我认识陳乃九教授是在上世纪八十年代，我邀请他访问中国科学院应用数学研究所，他的女儿跟随。

上世纪九十年代，他在香港城市大学工作，我们常常会见，参加相同会议，我非常欣赏他的领袖才能，

为人真诚，愿意帮助他人。陳乃九教授永远活在我们的心中。

方开泰上

I am deeply saddened to learn that Professor L.K. Chan passed away. I will never forget his enthusiastic teaching at U of M and his recommendation letter for my postgraduate study at UWO. He is a very nice, helpful and highly respected teacher. Rest in peace, Professor Chan.

Professor Chan, thanks for your teaching. You are always in my memory as a caring teacher. I miss you!

Rest in Peace! Professor Chan!

Thanks for your warm support and contributions in the past. Rest in peace.

Dr. Chan had supervised 10 Ph.D. students in his career and he mentioned to me that he was especially proud of two of them - the very first one and the very last one, The first one graduated from University of Western Ontario, got a teaching job at the Department of Statistics, University of Manitoba and did very well in his 37 years career in every aspect - teaching, research and administration; and the last one, she got a academic position at Cambridge University right after her graduation from the City University of Hong Kong.

I am really sad to learn about this news. You were a very supportive and caring professor. You will always be in our hearts. Rest in peace, Professor Chan!

Thank you, Professor Chan, for being a great Dean, colleague, and fatherly figure to us all. Sad to learn of your passing. May you rest in peace, and in a better place. Deep Condolences to all family members.

Professor Chan's inspirational inculcation echoes in my ears. But I cannot hear his voice any longer. Professor Chan, I wish you all the way best.

I am deeply saddened to learn this heart-breaking news today. I have been planning to back to HK and visit you again. Now, there will be no more chances to say 'Thank You' in person for the book you sent to me in September.

You are such a great mentor and a father-like professor to me. It's my honor to be one of your PhD students. What I learnt from you has been and will continue to guide me through my life.

Miss you forever, Professor Chan!

Rest in Peace.

陈教授一路走好

一路好走 天上又多了一位 慈祥 博學多聞的天使

Remember meeting you at an alumni gathering at HKBU few years ago. Remember the old days under your leadership at CityU. Rest In Peace, Professor Chan !

Professor Chan 非常感激你嘅栽培 愿您在另一个世界 一切安好

I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Prof. L.K. Chan. He is not only an efficient department head to me, but also a heartful mentor who inspires me in many ways. Thank you for always being so kind and supportive to us. I will deeply appreciate it. God bless his family.

Rest in Peace, Professor Chan!

懷念您！

Our deepest condolences to the Chan's family. Dr Chan's legacy will forever be remembered for many generations. Shenlone will always remember the wisdom that he provided him during that Christmas party. 節哀順變, 祝他老人家一路好走，在九泉之下安息吧!

The Wu's Family
Ming-Wei, Julie, Shenmei, Shenlone, Shenjone and Shenan

名偉，鴛鴛，顯美，顯龍，顯中，顯安 悼念

Professor Chan, you will forever be in our hearts. You have been an inspiration while you were our dean. We had many fond memories of you and will remember them forever.
Jointly from our Batra family, we extend our deepest condolences to the Chan family and offer our humble prayers to everyone who is feeling the pain of your departure. God bless.
Regards
Deep Batra

My deepest condolences to Professor L.K. Chan’s family. You were so patient and nice when you were teaching us. You can still remember my name after so many years. Rest in peach Prof. Chan. - Linus

I am saddened by the passing of Professor L.K. Chan. When he was Dean of the Faculty of Business at CityU of HK, I learned a lot from his people-oriented leadership and goal-setting on quality education. May his soul Rest in Peace and God bless his family.

Professor Chan had been a great mentor and an inspiration for me ever since we first met in Dalian in 1999. It has been a real honour to be his PhD student. His passing left a void in my heart that nobody could possibly fill. Rest in peace, Professor Chan!

It’s very sad to know that Prof Chan had left us. Prof Chan was one of my best mentors. Prof Chan, I learned a lot from you. Kow Ye, I miss you.

LK was always our good friend and helpful colleague. He contributed a lot in China's statistics education.

I am really sad to hear the passing of Prof L K Chan. Prof Chan is a noble man. He recruited me during his last year as Dean of Faculty of Business into City University of Hong Kong. Although I did not have the privilege of working with him, I was very much moved by Prof Chan's warm and encouraging words during our encounters, which have motivated me to pursue excellence in my career. I am thankful our paths have crossed. Rest in peace, Prof Chan!

My deepest condolences to Professor L.K. Chan’s family. Professor Chan was a fine scholar, a caring mentor and above all, a gentleman.  It has been a real honour knowing him and working with him.   May he rest in peace.

I am sad to hear this news. It is my pleasure knowing Professor LK Chan for many years. He has been a good friend and a good academic leader for me. Rest in peace.

Dad - I love you and miss you. I am so grateful to have many happy memories.

Uncle was patient, kind, nice, talented, and a highly respectful man. He will be missed.  His love and caring will be with all of us forever.

Dad made a difference in so many lives. I am thankful to have been a member of his family, learning and growing from him.