49 umagazine issue 18 ‘I was born with military discipline’ Yuen is not just a leader in Bayesian methods for structural dynamics, he is also the first scholar at UM to become a full professor before the age of 35. He was the head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, associate dean (academic affairs) of the Faculty of Science and technology, associate dean (research and graduate studies) of the same faculty, a member of the Administrative Committee of UMTec Limited, and an academic advisor of the Research and Development Administration Office. In 2012, he was listed in the People’s Republic of China’s Science and Technology Programmes Expert Database, and in the National Science and Technology Award Panel Expert Database. Yuen is comfortable in assuming various roles and responsibilities, a result of his long years of selfdiscipline and hard work. In 2008, John Wiley & Sons discussed a book project with Yuen, asking him to finish his manuscript within 24 months. However, he took just 15 months to complete the book-writing. At that time, he had taken on the role as the head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, with an onerous increase in administrative work. On top of that, his wife was pregnant with their second child. Both domestically and professionally, Yuen’s plate was full. But he took it all in stride. He says, smiling, ‘I am a man with military discipline, and will adhere strictly to a pre-set time-table. If I slacken my pace, precious time will be lost. If I am given ten days to finish an assigned task, my target is to get it done within three days. By getting it done ahead of time, I earn extra time to make sure that the job is done to perfection. This will give me the cushion to deal with the unexpected.’ To keep himself in shape, he jogs 30 kilometers a week, 52 weeks a year, rain or shine. This is part of his personal discipline regimen which he has followed religiously for over a decade. Opportunity Favours the Prepared Yuen looks back with fondness on his undergraduate years in Taiwan. Pressure was palpable. In his first year, Yuen was assigned to study calculus under Prof Tong Un-Hien. Senior students warned him against taking his course: ‘Forget about studying under him. You are bound to fail,’ they said. It is true that Tong was notorious for flunking up to two thirds of his students. Out of a class of 50-plus students, only six or seven would make the grade after two semesters. But Yuen was undeterred. He poured himself into the coursework and rose to the challenge, emerging triumphant as the top-ranked student in the course. All his life, Yuen has learned to cope with pressure. He is practically pressure-proof from years of domestic discipline summed up in two things: resilience and a refusal to admit defeat. ‘Thanks to my mother, I have acquired soft power in these two forms,’ he says. ‘They were part of my growing up, and part of what got me through my low ebbs in life. I project positivity in adversity. Besides, I use sport and reading to enrich myself, to keep myself primed for the bigger challenges of the future.’ He adds, ‘When you are prepared, opportunity will come knocking. But if you are unprepared, it may knock, but you won’t be there to answer the door.’ Being prepared, and never turning down an assigned task, are two characteristics which invite opportunity. In Yuen’s view, there is no such thing as an easy victory. Triumph takes time, and is earned step-by-step. Above all, the desire to win must come from within. In the fullness of time, that will make all the difference in the world. 澳大人愛回家：阮家榮教授 UM Members Return to Their Hometown: Prof Yuen Ka Veng
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