Professor Yao Liang (Physics 1963), a Fellow of Gonville & Caius College for 54 years, says he can trace much of his life to chance encounters and good fortune.

There was one a few weeks ago when Yao, on an afternoon stroll from his College office in Caius Court, overheard some tourists in Senate House Passage. He takes up the story.

“I have a habit of getting out of the College for a brief walk for fresh air and a change of scene in the afternoon,” he says.

“That day I opened the Gate of Honour (Fellows and staff use a door within the Gate daily) and I overheard these Indonesians speaking.

“I haven't heard or spoken Indonesian for years. It's a very nostalgic language for me as I was born and grew up in that country.

“I then approached the three of them, two women and a man, and asked, in Indonesian, ‘Are you from Indonesia?’ to start the conversation.

“We started talking and they were lamenting the fact that they couldn't visit any college because of exam period.

“So I said, ‘well, why not come to my College?’ I was pleased for the opportunity as I wanted to hear more Indonesian. They seemed to be very happy, but I think it was a greater pleasure for me.”

The perfect host, Yao took what transpired to be three students from the London School of Economics for tea in the Senior Combination Room where Yao shared his journey from Indonesia to the UK.

Yao Liang as a PhD student at Caius' Harvey Court

Yao matriculated at Caius in October 1963, shortly after his 23rd birthday, for a PhD in Physics. He became a Fellow in October 1969.

His story from Indonesia via London, Portsmouth, London (again) and Cambridge has been featured in Once a Caian, the College magazine (available by clicking here).

Yao did not learn any useful English as a child at a Chinese-speaking school in Indonesia. When he travelled to the UK he felt lucky to have received support from friends and connections. His ability in maths and physics was not in doubt; his written work led to questions about his future in academia.

He says he received help and support from kind people all his life, most only become clear long after the event. A week after arriving in the UK, a newly acquainted friend helped him to get enrolled at Portsmouth College of Arts and Technology for his A-Levels, which he did well enough to enable him to proceed to Imperial College, London. But his written English continued to trouble him.

He says: “When I graduated from Imperial I had no idea I would be good enough to do any research. I signed up to work for Unilever on quality control of ice cream because I’ve always been fond of ice cream!”

Yao Liang in the laboratory

After the final exam results at Imperial and with the behind-the-scenes enquiry of Dr Bryan Cole he received an offer from Manchester, only for Dr Philip Bowden (a Fellow of Caius) to intervene, inviting Yao to the Cavendish Laboratory, and Caius.

“Who wouldn't come, having been invited by the Cavendish? This is the Mecca of the world of physics,” Yao says.

Dr Bowden directed Yao from the Cavendish Laboratory in Free School Lane to Caius to complete the application procedure, where he found the Senior Tutor Freddie Stopp in N staircase. His broken English confounded Stopp.

“He couldn't understand why and where I came from, and why I was there,” Yao says. “He just received a phone call from Bowden out of the blue a few minutes earlier. Such was the admissions process in those days.”

Yao adds: “I couldn't communicate with him very well. I could only talk physics and maths.”

After completing his PhD, Yao was poised to move to America for post-doc work at Chicago University, only for the intervention of Dr John Casey, a Fellow in English.

“I had finished my PhD and was no longer a student. I thought to myself I should just have a last look of the College and say goodbye to this place,” Yao says.

During a chance meeting in Caius Court, Dr Casey recognised Yao and asked if he had considered a Research Fellowship. Yao had no idea about a Research Fellowship, but then raised it with his PhD supervisor, Dr Abe Yoffe. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Life is full of accidents, but they're good accidents,” Yao says.

“You never know when somebody – I call them guardian angels – just helps you, from God knows where and without you knowing.”

Yao Liang with his wife, Choo

Chance had a role in Yao’s personal life, too. His wife Choo, who died in 2014, told him she first saw him from the Cambridge Union viewing gallery (women were not allowed in the Chamber in those days), as Yao attended his one and only Union debate. They did not meet on that occasion, but subsequently did at a party and enjoyed a long marriage, with three children and two grandchildren.

Dr Yoffe, who died in 2022 aged 102, was more than a supervisor to Yao.

“He was a superb human being, generous as well as a good physicist,” Yao adds.

“He was my mentor. I learned everything from him. He shaped my attitudes to students, to teaching, to research. Everything.

“Yoffe’s background was physical chemistry, not physics, but he was always a few steps ahead of other people, mainly because he didn't read much. He was just very creative.

“One thing I learned from him was about working with research students.

“I would tell my research students when they first arrive: ‘In your first year, I have something to teach you. In the second year we ought to be talking like equals. And in the third year you should have something to teach me’. Otherwise, we have both failed.”

Yao does not offer advice to his students – and he is still active in teaching – except to “follow your nose, have a target and do your best”.

He adds: “Decisions set the direction of your journey, but not the end. You don't know where you will end up, and it doesn't matter where you end up.”

Professor Yao Liang during a supervision with two students in a photo displayed in his office in Caius Court

Photos courtesy of Professor Yao Liang; main image: Professor Yao Liang at General Admission (June 2023)