Book excerpt: Professor Kok Khoo Phua is the Founding Director and Emeritus Professor of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Adjunct Professor of Department of Physics both at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS). He is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd.When he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2009, the citation read: 'For tireless efforts to strengthen scientific research throughout Asia and promote international physics education and scholarly exchanges, and for enriching science and education through the World Scientific Publishing Company he founded.'This unique volume on the occasion of his 80th birthday is a compilation of tributes from his friends who have known him for decades along with scientific articles that celebrate his visionary approach to promote science worldwide.