News & Events

2016-08-03

Prof Pak Wo Leung Was Awarded School of Science Teaching Award

2016-08-02

Prof Che-Ting Chan Was Awarded Croucher Fellowship

A theoretical physicist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Professor Che-Ting Chan, was today awarded the prestigious Senior Research Fellowship by the Croucher Foundation in recognition of his achievements in material science. A Chair Professor in the Department of Physics, Prof Chan is a pioneer in the simulation and understanding of material properties. His research team is now working on the theory of a variety of advanced materials, including photonic crystals, metamaterials and nanomaterials. Prof Chan has over 200 publications in reputable journals and several US patents. Professor Chan has made outstanding achievements in the theory of photonic crystals and metamaterials which belong to a new class of advanced materials designed to have superb control of waves including electromagnetic waves and sound waves. He and his research team have recently achieved breakthroughs in exploring theories with the possibility of making materials invisible since the materials cannot be detected by waves. The team has also designed conceptual devices which can create optical illusions. As the director of William Mong Institute of NanoScience and Technology at HKUST, Professor Chan takes the lead in the Institute’s research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. He takes particular interest in understanding the physical properties of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and the interaction of nano-sized particles with light. Professor Chan received his BSc degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1980 and his PhD degree at the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He then spent about 10 years as a staff physicist at Ames Laboratory in Iowa prior to joining HKUST as an associate professor of Physics in 1995. He was promoted to professor in 2001 and became a chair professor in 2005. He served as the director of the Institute of NanoMaterial and NanoTechnology from 2003 to 2006, and he is currently the Director of William Mong Institute of NanoScience and Technology at HKUST. He was awarded the Michael Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching by HKUST in 1999 for his outstanding performance in teaching. Professor Chan was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1996, and Fellow of the Electromagnetics Academy in 2004. He was a co-recipient of an Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment Award in the US Department of Energy Material Science Research Competition in 1992. He was also the recipient of the Achievement in Asia Award of the Overseas Chinese Physics Association in 2000. Read more

2016-08-02

Prof Ning Wang Won Achievement in Asia Award

Dr Ning Wang, Associate Professor of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has been awarded the 2006 Achievement in Asia Award (AAA) for his research in nano-technology. The annual Award, made by the Overseas Chinese Physics Association (OCPA) to Chinese scientists below 50 years of age working in Asia, recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of physics. Dr Wang received his award certificate at a ceremony held by OCPA today (29 June) in Taipei. Dr Wang has devoted himself to fundamental research in materials physics for 20 years. One of his most significant achievements was the observation at HKUST in 2000 of the world's smallest single-walled carbon nanotube (0.4nm in diameter). Together with his colleague Prof Zikang Tang, he later showed that nanotubes exhibit superconducting properties. Carbon nanotubes can serve as building blocks for electronic devices, offering potential advantages in terms of size, cost and efficiency. For example, cell phone batteries made of carbon nanotubes may double or even triple capacity when compared to commonly used graphite versions. In 1998, Dr Wang and his colleagues first used an oxide-assisted growth technique to produce one-dimensional silicon nanostructures. The technique has led to the large-scale synthesis of high-purity semiconductor and metal oxide naonstructures. This contribution earned him the Second Class State Natural Science Award 2005. He also received the Chien-Shiung Wu Physics Award in 1990 for his discovery of quasicrystals with 8-fold rotational symmetry. His publications in prestigious academic journals including Nature and Science have been cited over 3,500 times, emphasizing his high impact on the field of materials science worldwide. "I hope our research can be applied to more electronic and medical devices that further improve mankind's health and standard of living," said Dr Wang. Dr Wang earned his PhD in Materials Physics from the University of Science and Technology Beijing in 1990. Prior to joining HKUST in 1993, he worked as a research fellow in Germany. Read more