In 1925, a group of brilliant young scientists, including Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Born, and Dirac, founded a new field of “Quantum Mechanics”, which helped us better understand the natural world and transformed physics, chemistry, and technology.

Also in 1925, composers such as Arnold Schönberg, Berg, and Webern developed "Atonal Music”, a new approach that moved away from traditional harmony. This shift allowed for freedom, dissonance, and new structures in music.

To celebrate the 100th birthday of Quantum Physics and Atonal Music in 2025, the College of Science (CSCI) and the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Carpe Arte Limited, organised a series of celebration events in November, which concluded successfully with a musical concert at Hong Kong City Hall.

Event highlights included a music competition, a Grand Opening Ceremony, on campus interactive exhibition featuring fun STEM experiments, engaging VR/AR demonstrations, and scientific talks. The climax of the event was public talks with Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and Professor Sir Michael Berry, recipient of the 1998 Wolf Prize in Physics.

We were honoured to have the following Officiating Guests joining the Grand Opening on 8 November morning:

•    Professor Herman Hu Shao-ming, GBS, SBS, JP 
     Co-Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the CityUHK Foundation cum 
     Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Shanxi Union Community 
•    Professor Alice Chiu Tsang Hok-wan, Hon. Doctor, BBS, JP 
     Director of Henyep Development Holdings Limited 
•    Professor Wu Xiaodong 
     Founder of Executive Medical Physics Associates, Miami, Florida 
•    Mr David Ng, MH 
     Chairman, Hong Kong Shanxi Union Community 
•    Ms Ng Ching 
     Director and Project Lead of Carpe Arte 
•    Professor Chan Chi Hou 
     Vice-President (Community Engagement), City University of Hong Kong 
•    Professor Wang Xin 
     Dean, College of Science, City University of Hong Kong 
•    Professor Ren Yang 
     Head, Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong 

In his public talk on 9 November, Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov shared insights on Quantum Materials. Professor Sir Michael Berry, on the same day, talked about how Quantum Physics democratised music in the afternoon.

The evening concert at Hong Kong City Hall, performing the musical named “Quantum Odyssey”, marked the finale of the whole event, offering a unique and precious chance to explore the profound connections between quantum physics and atonal music.

Professor Denver Li shared more in this article.