Chan Yik Hei is a science amateur in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. He graduated from CCC Tam Lee Lai Fun Memorial Secondary School for his secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

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In 2004, he achieved a Second Award in Engineering Category of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world, and is owned and administered by the Society for Science & the Public a 501 non-profit organization based in Washington, DC...

 for his Total Equip, a robot

Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

 for domestic security modelled after R2-D2

R2-D2

R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...

. Therefore, an asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

, 20780 Chanyikhei

20780 Chanyikhei

20780 Chanyikhei is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 1, 2000 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro...

, was named after him by LINEAR

Linear

In mathematics, a linear map or function f is a function which satisfies the following two properties:* Additivity : f = f + f...

under the Ceres Connection

Ceres Connection

The Ceres Connection is a cooperative program between MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Society for Science and the Public dedicated for promoting science education...

 program , which name asteroids after winners of certain science competitions.

Back to Hong Kong, he was called "Son of the star" by the local media

Media of Hong Kong

Media in Hong Kong are available to the public in the forms of: television and radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. They serve the local community by providing necessary information and entertainment.-Overview:...

, and became increasingly famous and popular. A water rocket

Water rocket

A water rocket is a type of model rocket using water as its reaction mass. The pressure vessel—the engine of the rocket—is usually a used plastic soft drink bottle. The water is forced out by a pressurized gas, typically compressed air...

 of his product was launched on the welcoming ceremony for Fei Junlong

Fei Junlong

Colonel Fei Junlong is a Chinese military pilot and an astronaut. He flew on the second manned spaceflight of the Shenzhou program....

 and Nie Haisheng

Nie Haisheng

Colonel Niè Hǎishèng is a Chinese military pilot and CNSA astronaut .-Military career:Nie was born in Yangdang town of Zaoyang, Hubei Province. After graduating from high school he joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force and became a fighter pilot. During his training at the PLAAF's No...

, the Chinese astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

s of Shenzhou 6

Shenzhou 6

Shenzhou 6 was the second human spaceflight of the People's Republic of China, launched on October 12, 2005 on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou spacecraft carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in low Earth orbit...

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In May 2006, he was accepted by the Department of Electronics

Electronic engineering

Electronics engineering, also referred to as electronic engineering, is an engineering discipline where non-linear and active electrical components such as electron tubes, and semiconductor devices, especially transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, are utilized to design electronic...

 and Computer Engineering

Computer engineering

Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...

 of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public university located in Hong Kong. Established in 1991 under Hong Kong Law Chapter 1141 , it is one of the nine universities in Hong Kong.Professor Tony F. Chan is the president of HKUST...

 (HKUST) for a 4-year undergraduate study (including a 1-year preparatory course), making him a rare case to be accepted into university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 without finishing any public examinations in Hong Kong.

In July 2006, his autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 Chan Yik Hei, young man who grabs the star was published, and became one of the bestseller

Bestseller

A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...

s on the Hong Kong Book Fair

Hong Kong Book Fair

The Hong Kong Book Fair is a book fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, held annually at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, stationery, printing, compact discs and other multimedia publishing.The annual exhibition at...

. He is also the honourable scholar of the Priority Academy

Priority Academy

Priority Academy is a program that created in 2006 by Standand Chartered Bank, Priority Academy programmes include a “Shanghai Learning Tour”, a “Summer Banking Knowledge Internship Programme” and a “Studying in the United States Seminar”, which provides all-rounded educational experiences to youth...

, created by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)

Standard Chartered Bank Limited is a licensed bank incorporated in Hong Kong, part of Standard Chartered Bank...

.

Controversies

As he became a celebrity, controversy raised over his admission into HKUST. In August 2006, when he at first refused to announce his HKCEE results, netizen

Netizen

The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen. It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities and a user of the internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in improving the internet, especially in regard to open...

s expressed their dislike in local virtual communities like HK Golden Forum

HK Golden Forum

The Golden Forum is a popular Internet forum for topics related to computer hardware and software, among Internet users in Hong Kong. It has also become a more general Internet community. It is part of HKGolden.com, a computer information portal named after the Golden Computer Centre – a shopping...

, HKEPC, and Miniforum. There was a rumour that he only got 3 grade points in HKCEE, which was proved to be false. It was later announced that he obtained Grade F (Fail) in both Chinese and English, an E in Computer and Information Technology, D in both Mathematics and Chemistry, C in Physics and B in Graphical Communication. In total, he only got 12 points , just slightly above the median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

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In Oct 2006, he "invented" a cup for the blind, which he named "smart cup" . The principle of his "invention" is when the water level reach the two metal strips, the water completes the electric circuit, thus the buzzer sounds to warn the user that the cup is full. The media in Hong Kong said this is a great invention. However, many netizens criticized he copied the design from a mainland inventor and copied from an exam project in HKCEE. Mr Chan declared he had never referred to the design by the mainland inventor. Moreover, Chan did not consider the cases of distilled water (pure water) and soft drinks. Distilled water is an electric insulator and therefore it cannot complete the electric circuit, rendering it useless. Common soft drinks are weak acids and the metal could dissolve into solution, which is potentially harmful for health.