PLANCKS “Physics League Across Numerous Countries for Kick-Ass Students” is an annual international theoretical physics competition for undergraduate and master’s students that is overseen by the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS). This competition brings together teams of three to four students during a three-day conference for intense competition and a programme of social, cultural, and educational events.
Following their selection to represent Hong Kong by excelling in a preliminary round of competition organized by the Physical Society of Hong Kong, a team of undergraduate students studying physics (PHYS) and electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at HKUST participated in the international finals of the PLANCKS competition that was hosted by the Institute of Physics at Physics Faculty of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain on 1-5 May 2025. The members of the team, who named themselves “Technician Association at Clear Water Bay”, were Hengjian LI (PHYS, year 4), Yifan LIU (ECE, year 4), Yuchen QIAN (PHYS, year 2), and Mingrui ZHOU (PHYS, year 2). The Technician Association at Clear Water Bay proudly reached the podium by placing 3rd among 46 seasoned teams from 29 countries and regions in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America that participated in PLANCKS this year. The four-day program also included a rich program of presentations by global leaders in science and industry and laboratory, tech start-up, campus, and city sightseeing tours.
The accompanying photos show the (left) the PLANCKS organizers and participants and (right) the HKUST team comprised the team (left to right): Mingrui Zhou, Yuchen Qian, Hengjian Li, and Yifan Liu.