More than a half-century ago, when I was a student at the National Taiwan University, a typical original scientific textbook or a reference book published in the West would have cost us almost three months of living expenses at that time. It was the availability of limited low cost pirate editions that kept us from “starvation” in scientific knowledge.

Thus, when I learned three decades ago that Dr. K.K. Phua was planning to establish a science publishing house to make high quality books available at low cost, I was extremely excited and believed that it would make an enormous impact on students and scientists in developing countries. It has been amazing to witness Dr. Phua’s dream successfully being fulfilled in the last thirty years. Because of its high efficiency, low cost production and the great efforts of Dr. Phua to recruit world-class writers and editors, World Scientific has now become the most successful science publisher in the field. In the physics-related area especially, it has become the largest and among the most important publishers in the world. For World Scientific to have accomplished this in a relatively short thirty years has been simply remarkable.

I had the privilege to work with Dr. Phua at the Tan Kah Kee International Society in the early 90’s for many years, and in successfully raising funds for the Tan Kah Kee Hall at Berkeley. His enthusiasm toward public interests, as well as his vision, impressed me immensely.

In this joyous occasion of the 30th anniversary of the World Scientific’s founding, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation for the major accomplishment and contributions that Dr. K.K. Phua and World Scientific have made to the global scientific community.

But here is where true entrepreneurship shows its magic. The intrepid couple had done their homework well. They had found an opening in the world of scientific publishing. K.K.’s rich network of scientists and technologists gave him insights into what was still possible in “special publishing zones” and he and Doreen zeroed in to provide what proved to be an essential service. With persistence and fine management, they ultimately found the road to publishing success that we all now find so astonishing.

By the time I met the Phuas, they had passed the point of confident growth in scientific publishing and were looking for new lands to conquer. Again, they moved into uncertain terrain to add the social sciences and humanities to their natural science list of books and journals. They were entering a very volatile market and K.K. had to build a new network. As I observed how he went about doing this, my admiration could only grow. He and Doreen ventured forth, first tentatively and then with boldness I have rarely seen. It was a second start-up for their publishing house that saw them expanding their editorial and distribution networks across not only oceans but also academic disciplines.

That is now history. With its subsidiaries and collaborators, notably with Imperial College Press, with the Nobel Foundation connection, and with their nine international offices, World Scientific has gained a very strong foothold in the publishing world. Yet it continues to move into new areas, probing and experimenting into the digital age, never content with what has been achieved. No wonder the well-deserved Entrepreneur Award to Doreen in 2010 and the academic appreciation from the American Physical Society for K.K.’s contributions to science and knowledge transmission. Here I join with many friends and well wishers in congratulating World Scientific on its 30th Anniversary. Let there be more mountains for you to climb.