Way Kuo, president of City University of Hong Kong and a National Academy of Engineering member, will discuss higher education during his lecture, “Soulware: The American Spirit in Global Higher Education,” at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday in the Alliant-Lee Liu Auditorium of Howe Hall.

In 2016, Kuo published a book on higher education titled “The Soulware within Higher Education.” According to the Iowa State Lecture Series website, “soulware” is a type of culture, mentality, professionalism, behavior and way of thinking.

Kuo’s goal of his study on soulware is to have universities be viewed more as necessary rather than accessories of learning.

Soulware is a quality in educators that helps create an innovative environment for students to fulfill their academic potential.

Kuo was named the president of City University of Hong Kong in May of 2008 and is known for his work with designing the reliability of electronics systems and nuclear energy. He is also a founding member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences.

Kuo has had various titles throughout his career. He spent some time at Iowa State from 1984-1993 and was promoted to a full professor in 1988.

Kuo’s various positions include, but are not limited to, serving on the senior management team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, being the dean of engineering at the University of Tennessee and being the first foreign expert to be invited to conduct an assessment on post-accident safety of the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant after 2011 earthquakes in Japan.

Kuo holds a doctorate in engineering, which he obtained from Kansas State University, and a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering from National Tsing Hua University located in Taiwan.

“Soulware: The American Spirit in Global Higher Education” is free and open to all Iowa State students, faculty and staff.