News & Events

 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) PhD student Zhang Shanchao, Department of Physics, has won the 2013 Young Scientist Award. Zhang was awarded the honor in the Physical/ Mathematical Science category for the project “Coherent Quantum Interaction Between Photons and Atoms”. He also received the Best Poster Award for his poster on “Single-Photon Absorption and Reemission in Two-Level Cold Atoms” at the 21st Annual Conference of Hong Kong Institution of Science. Another PhD student Chen Shuming from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, received the runner-up prize in the Engineering Science Category with his project on white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs).

Now in its 12th year, the Hong Kong Young Scientist Awards scheme was established by the Hong Kong Institution of Science to recognize and honor promising young scientists and engineers in Hong Kong, and to promote science and technology development in the region.

In recent years, the study of light-matter interaction at the quantum level has drawn increasing attention not only because of its importance in better understanding fundamentals of the quantum world but also due to the promise it holds for potential applications in quantum information processing. As part of a major physics research group supervised by Prof Du Shengwang at HKUST investigating this area, Zhang’s main experimental research achievements were controlling and manipulating quantum interaction between photons and atoms, including the first observation of single-photon optical precursors, the realization of efficient photon-atom quantum interface, the invention of a novel dark-line two-dimensional magneto-optical trap, and the coherent control of single-photon absorption and reemission in a two-level atomic ensemble.

By using cold atoms in their magneto-optical trap, the research team demonstrated 49% single-photon storage efficiency of the optical memory, more than double the previously reported efficiency. Such high single-photon storage efficiency will bring the quantum light-matter interface closer to practical quantum information application, fostering quantum communications and quantum information networks. During Zhang’s PhD studies, he published a total of nine refereed journal research papers, including four in Physical Review Letters, two as the first author.

Supervised by Prof Kwok Hoi Sing, Chen Shuming’s research focuses on white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) for displays and lighting applications. One of the big challenges for WOLEDs is to maintain high efficiency without losing the color rendering index (CRI). By designing advanced device structures, engineering emission spectra, developing effective light out-coupling mechanisms, he was able to achieve a WOLED with high efficiency of 66 lm/W and a high CRI of 92. The developed WOLEDs have been applied in 4 inch displays/lighting panels, and pilot produced in a start-up company. Chen has published over 30 SCI papers on international journals including Advanced Functional Materials, Organic Electronics with more than 800 citations.

The Hong Kong Institution of Science was established in 1992 to foster the development of science in Hong Kong and to facilitate links with scientific communities in Mainland China, Taiwan and overseas. The Institution has nearly 400 members, covering physical science, life science, engineering science and mathematics, and actively supports the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. In this year’s Young Scientist Award, members of the audience at the venue were able to vote for awardees for the first time, accounting for up to 15% of the overall assessment.   Read more

Ms Lin Wang, a PhD candidate in the Department of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has received the Chinese Youth Science and Technology Innovation Prize in recognition of her outstanding achievements in innovative science. Ms Wang also became the only young scientist in Hong Kong to receive the Young Scientist Award this year. The Young Scientist honor, presented by the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS), was awarded in recognition of her breakthrough research on the study of two-dimensional graphene structures containing resonant impurities, and their novel properties and physical mechanisms.

The Chinese Youth Science and Technology Innovation Prize was set up in 2004 to commemorate the centenary of Deng Xiaoping's birth. Awards are presented annually to students from universities, secondary and primary schools. E-MRS, founded in 1983, enjoys international acclaim as a professional organization in materials science. Every year, the Society invites leading international scientists to review and nominate young scientists who have made remarkable contributions and show great potential in areas of materials science and technology.

The presentation ceremony for the Young Scientist Award was held in conjunction with the 30th anniversary spring meeting of E-MRS in France, exploring the theme "The route to post-Si CMOS devices: from high mobility channels to graphene-like 2D nanosheets". Graphene is a thin layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure and the world's thinnest, stiffest and most conductive nanomaterial. Its ultra low electrical resistivity makes it an ideal material for next-generation electronics, as it is comparably thinner and more conductive. It can be used to make transparent touch screens, light-emitting panels or solar batteries.

Ms Wang is Hong Kong's only young scientist to receive the Young Scientist Award for research findings on graphene. She was the first to deploy quantum capacitance measurement methods to detect the existence of resonant impurities in graphene and successfully observed the negative quantum capacitance exhibited by graphene at a high adulteration level. Her research opens new avenues to understanding the disorder effects in two-dimensional graphene material and their correlations with physics' strongly correlated two-dimensional electron systems. It has also enriched controlling methods of graphene's nanostructure and enhanced the potential for technology applications, for example, in low-power electronic devices and high-sensitivity detectors for geographical and medicinal purposes.

At the E-MRS award presentation ceremony, Ms Wang presented three reports on the modifications of electronic properties of top-gated graphene devices using ultra-thin yttrium oxide layers; the detection of resonant impurities in graphene through quantum capacitance measurement; and negative quantum capacitance induced by midgap states in single-layer graphene.

Ms Wang commenced her doctoral studies in the Department of Physics at HKUST in 2009. Under the supervision of Prof Ning Wang, she has primarily focused on fabrication and study of the physical properties of nanomaterials and made important discoveries in two-dimensional graphene structures containing impurities and various disorders. She has authored and co-authored 18 papers published in leading international journals. Read more

Two pioneering research projects at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) led by Prof Che-ting Chan, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics and Prof Mingjie Zhang, Kerry Holdings Professor of Science of the Division of Life Science were awarded close to $100 million in total by the University Grants Committee (UGC) under its Sixth Round of Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme.

Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST said, "I am delighted about the tremendous support shown by UGC towards the University's research projects. As an international research university, HKUST has spearheaded interdisciplinary research to address the most pressing challenges facing our world. The two scientific research projects in life science and physics awarded AoEs are vivid proof of our world-leading standards. This is also a reflection of the research strength of our faculty members. Through close inter-institutional and cross-disciplinary research collaborations, we will create invaluable education and training opportunities to boost the standards and competitiveness of local scientific research and make greater contributions to society."
      The following summarizes the HKUST projects awarded for the AoE Scheme:
"Novel Wave Functional Materials for Manipulating Light and Sound" By Prof Che-ting Chan, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics
The research team seeks to create a new generation of functional materials that go beyond the properties of normal ones and are capable of controlling the density of radiation modes in rendering more efficient light emitting devices and thermal radiation control. The materials are also expected to be able to bend and confine light and sound in unusual ways, equipping microscopes with better resolution and facilitating the design of efficient, lighter antennae and optical chips. In addition, the team will work on modifying the scattering and absorption properties of natural materials in order to achieve stealth, reduce noise and increase energy harvesting capability. Increase in local field strength will be another item on the research agenda leading to ultra-sensitive sensors, light manipulation of matter and strong nonlinear effects.

Through manipulating electromagnetic and acoustic waves, the research team will come up with new functional materials including photonic / phononic crystals, metamaterials and plasmonic structures. State-of-the-art nano-fabrication techniques will be employed in fabrication, gauging and verification of the material, which will then be applied on new devices.

The research team consists of partners from the Hong Kong Baptist University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University of Hong Kong.      
“Mechanistic Basis of Synaptic Development, Signaling and Neuro-disorders” By Prof Mingjie Zhang, Kerry Holdings Professor of Science of the Division of Life Science
This research aims to provide new theoretical grounding for understanding an array of neuro-disorders including autism, schizophrenia and depression, at the same time developing medicines and therapies to treat the disease-related effects. Genetic studies have consistently proved that hundreds of genes are associated with autism spectrum disorders, yet our understanding of underlying mechanisms governing the alterations of these genes and their role in causing the diseases is very much limited. For such reasons, the research team intends to systematically characterize the structure, function and interaction networks of a set of key synaptic proteins involved in synaptic development and signaling, while elucidating the impacts of such mutations on mental illnesses.

The research team will also develop peptides, peptide mimetics and low molecular weight chemical compounds which help bring about a greater understanding in the mechanistic basis of genetic disorders and represent potential therapies against mental disorders.

The research team is composed of partners from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University of Hong Kong.
  Read more

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved research breakthrough with a novel approach, using ultrathin lead nanowires to produce magnetic fields which are 200 times stronger and increase the temperature of the environment in which superconductors operate. The research, providing solutions to a bottleneck unsolved for over a century concerning low applications of superconductors due to ultra low temperatures and low magnetic critical fields required, is envisaged to greatly enhance superconductor-based technologies to facilitate their applications in medical and biological fields such as high-resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices for cancer and stroke detection. The breakthrough research is published in the prestigious nanoscience and technology journal ACS Nano.   HKUST’s research, led by Prof Rolf Walter Lortz from the Department of Physics, is conducted by a cross-disciplinary team made up of Prof Ping Sheng from the Department of Physics, Prof Frank Leung-yuk Lam and Prof Xijun Hu from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, as well as researchers from the Department of Physics and the William Mong Institute of Nano Science and Technology. It addresses the longstanding issue of superconductors which, despite having their phenomenon known for more than 100 years, have had few applications because of the cold temperatures, low critical field, complex techniques and high costs required. High magnetic field applications are of particular interest since they are required for high resolution medical and biological imaging techniques. However, there has been little progress in the recent years to take the fields of superconducting electromagnets beyond the current limit of 21 Tesla.   HKUST’s team solved the problem regarding cold temperatures and low magnetic critical fields by demonstrating that the critical field of a standard elemental superconductor can be enhanced by a factor of 200 by nanostructuring the material. They invented an innovative chemical method using the porous silica material SBA-15 and infiltrating ultrathin lead nanowires with a diameter of six nm into the pores.The nanowires form a dense network of parallel wires which are so closely spaced that the superconducting properties of lead could be preserved on the tiny nanometer scale. With lead as the material, the critical field can be enhanced from only 0.08 Tesla to more than 15 Tesla. The team has also found a preparation technique which is relatively simple, affordable and transferrable to the production of similar nanostructured materials.   One of the main applications of superconductors is MRI, a harmless non-invasive technique for obtaining high-resolution images of soft tissue materials from the interior of the human body. The MRI technique is widely used for the detection of cancer, strokes or other diseases, and helps medical doctors monitor the recovery process in the human body. With HKUST’s breakthrough already enhancing the magnetic critical field superconductors, the quality of the MRI image is expected to significantly improve when the fundamental research contributes to applied research.   In order to push the upper limit of the magnetic field well beyond the magic value of 21 Tesla, HKUST’s team will embark on another stage to replace lead with other superconducting materials with higher intrinsic critical fields such as Niobium (Nb) or the widely-applied high-performance superconducting alloy Niobium Tin (Nb3Sn). Furthermore, the researchers aim at exploring the possibilities for a large scale production to enhance the materials’ applicability. Read more

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) last Friday presented its first Common Core Course Excellence Award to courses which demonstrate the University’s efforts to enhance balanced and holistic education in view of the four-year undergraduate reform.   HKUST’s Common Core Program, with more than 260 courses, encompasses humanities, social analysis, science and technology, quantitative reasoning, arts, English communication, Chinese communication, and healthy lifestyle. It comprises 36 credits out of a total of 120 to 126 credits of the four-year degree program.   HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan stated at the presentation ceremony, “At HKUST, we are proud to present the inaugural Common Core Course Excellence Award to recognize outstanding courses which exemplify the University’s efforts to enhance the breadth and depth of undergraduate education. We are glad to recognize the contributions of our faculty, instructors and staff to the development and delivery of our Common Core Program. The University has seized the golden opportunity presented by the four-year undergraduate reform to foster a holistic education to nurture global leaders for the 21st century.”   Prof King-lau Chow, Academic Director (Undergraduate Core Education) echoed, “As an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum, Common Core helps enhance students’ overall education experience on top of their major disciplines of study. We constantly review our offerings to ensure that current and future courses fulfill HKUST’s mission to provide intellectual stimulations to our students, enhance their passion for learning and widen their perspectives.”   Prof Michael Wong, Chairman of the University’s Committee on Undergraduate Core Education said, “HKUST launched the Award to recognize outstanding Common Core courses. We look forward to greater inspirations and innovations in our courses to further motivate students to become active, life-long learners who are passionate in learning and who can apply their knowledge and skills in life.”   The award selection is based on three key criteria: exemplar of a good Common Core course; design of the course syllabus and assessment plan; and course delivery, pedagogy and teaching innovation.   The inaugural Excellence Award went to ‘Music, Drama and Theatre’ taught by Prof Oliver Lo from the Division of Humanities. Now in its eighth year, the humanities course involves having students create their own musicals through team work, from developing storylines to delivering the final performance on stage. Students are encouraged to take on proactive roles in the learning process in the pursuit of creativity and quality, thus gaining valuable learning experience.   The two Honorable Mentions were given to ‘Developing the Leader in You’ by Prof Karen Lee and Ms Agnes Lai from the Department of Management, and ‘Physics in Movies’ taught by Prof Che-ting Chan, Department of Physics. The former focuses on students’ self-reflection and raises their self-awareness to discover ‘why they are doing what they are doing’ in order to better manage their career, achieve personal growth and holistic development and engage others in similar pursuits. The latter uses popular movies, classroom demonstrations and student projects to demonstrate the relevance of physics in everyday life and the connections between physical principles and their real-world applications and phenomena. Read more

UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUALR/RUALRS), a leading global aluminium producer, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted the UC RUSAL President’s Forum today featuring Prof John Ellis, Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London and Physicist at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to address the most fundamental questions of physics and the cosmos.   At the Forum hosted by Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, the world-renowned British theoretical physicist and Maxwell Medalist Prof John Ellis shared his insights on the prospects of finding the answers posed in Paul Gauguin’s famous paintings: “What are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” Putting Gauguin’s questions in the language of particle physics, Prof Ellis asked, “What is matter made of? Why do things weigh? What is the origin of matter? What is dark matter that fills the Universe? How does the Universe evolve? Why is the Universe so big and old? Are there additional dimensions of space?”   Prof Ellis focused on the new particle discovered recently at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which may be the Higgs boson. He analogized the Higgs boson to a piece missing right in the middle of the giant jigsaw puzzle, the Standard Model which describes all fundamental particle physics. He further explained that the existence of the Higgs boson is extremely significant because without it, there would be no atoms. Electrons would escape at the speed of light, and weak interactions would not be weak. In short, life would be impossible: everything would be radioactive. The Higgs boson provides the masses of elementary particles, making possible the existence of atoms and explaining why human beings do not glow in the dark.   Finding the Higgs boson is one of the most important tasks of CERN’s LHC which is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator and one of the largest scientific experiments ever to address the most fundamental questions of physics and the cosmos. The LHC is also the emptiest space in the solar system and the hottest place in the galaxy, with particle collisions creating temperatures which are a billion times higher than the heart of the sun.   “We physicists try to understand how the Universe became what it is today, what it is made of, what it could become in future. To do that, we use the LHC at CERN to analyze what makes up the Universe,” said Prof Ellis. “Finding the Higgs boson is a quest that brings together scientists from around the world, and we look forward to greater participation by Hong Kong and the region in future.”   HKUST President Tony F Chan stated that it is the University’s honor to have Prof Ellis share with the University community CERN’s latest breakthrough discovery. HKUST had two students participating at CERN’s first rate research last year, and the University is keen to have greater opportunities to collaborate with top-notch laboratories to drive world-changing scientific discoveries.   Prof Ellis graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, in 1971 with a PhD in theoretical high-energy particle physics. After two post-doctoral positions at SLAC (now SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) and Caltech, he settled in CERN in Geneva and held a permanent contract there from 1978. In 1982 and 2005, Prof Ellis was awarded the Maxwell Medal and the Paul Dirac Prize respectively by the Institute of Physics. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1985 and of the Institute of Physics in 1991, and is an Honorary Fellow of King’s College Cambridge and of the Serbian Physical Society. Having authored nearly 1,000 scientific papers, some with over 50,000 citations, he is the second most-cited theoretical physicist in the world.   Ms Vera Kurochkina, UC RUSAL’s Board Member and Deputy CEO, Director of Corporate Communications, said, “The mission of UC RUSAL President’s Forum is to bring the world’s most inspiring individuals to Hong Kong, to foster exchange of ideas and share exciting insights with the young generation – our pillars of the future. We are honored by the presence of the world renowned Maxwell Medalist, Prof John Ellis. In particular, we are delighted that the forum has received such an enthusiastic response from the local community. We will continue to support and bring the great minds of the world to Hong Kong, so as to strengthen scientific and educational ties between Russia, Mainland China and Hong Kong.”     The UC RUSAL President’s Forum The UC RUSAL President’s Forum is organized under the auspices of the HKUST Institute for Advanced Study and is held biannually in Hong Kong. Prestigious scholars and scientists as well as successful business leaders and entrepreneurs are invited to share with the audience their views on varied topics including the latest trends in science and technology and its relationship with and impact on humankind, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Speakers also engage in a dialogue with the HKUST President. Previous Forum speakers include UC RUSAL CEO Mr Oleg Deripaska, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Prof Christopher Pissarides, then-Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management Dr Jim O’Neill, Chairman of Esquel Group Ms Marjorie Yang and Chairman of Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Mr Barry Cheung.     About UC RUSAL UC RUSAL (www.rusal.com) is a leading global aluminium producer, in 2012 accounting for approximately 9% of global production of aluminium and 8% of alumina. UC RUSAL employs about 72,000 people in 19 countries, across 5 continents. UC RUSAL markets and sells its products primarily in the European, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, South East Asian and North American markets. UC RUSAL’s ordinary shares are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock code: 486), global depositary shares representing UC RUSAL’s ordinary shares are listed on the professional compartment of Euronext Paris (RUSAL for Reg S GDSs and RUAL for Rule 144A GDSs), and Russian depositary receipts that are issued on common shares of the Company are listed on Moscow Exchange (RUALR/RUALRS).     About the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a top-ranked international research university excelling in science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. Internationally renowned for its academic rigor and accomplishments, the University promotes interdisciplinary studies and provides holistic education, nurturing well-rounded graduates with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking and relevant skills to thrive in a knowledge economy. As an international university with strong ties to global thought leaders, HKUST has wide-ranging connections with Mainland China while aspiring to be a global premier knowledge hub and a center of research breakthroughs. HKUST was ranked Asia’s number one for the second year in a row in 2012. It was placed third for the world’s under-50 universities in 2012. The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program, for the fourth straight year, topped the Financial Times EMBA global rankings. Read more

UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUALR/RUALRS), a leading global aluminium producer, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) invite Prof John Ellis, Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London and Physicist at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to speak at the UC RUSAL President’s Forum on 12 April 2013.   Hosted by Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, the UC RUSAL President’s Forum will feature the world-renowned British theoretical physicist and Maxwell Medalist Prof John Ellis. He will share insights on the prospects of finding the answers posed in Paul Gauguin’s famous paintings: “What are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” In particular, Prof Ellis will focus on the new particle discovered recently at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which may be the Higgs boson that provides the masses of elementary particles, making possible the existence of atoms.   Prof Ellis pointed out earlier that the Higgs boson has been the hottest pursuit in modern physics. He analogized it to a piece missing right in the middle of the giant jigsaw puzzle, the Standard Model which describes all fundamental particle physics. It was first proposed almost 50 years ago and physicists have been looking for this for 30 years now, and it is one of the most important tasks of the LHC at CERN.   Prof Ellis graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, in 1971 with a PhD in theoretical high-energy particle physics. After two post-doctoral positions at SLAC (now SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) and Caltech, he settled in CERN in Geneva and held a permanent contract there from 1978. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator and one of the largest scientific experiments ever, which tries to address the most fundamental questions of physics and the cosmos.   Prof Ellis’ research interests focus on the phenomenological aspects of elementary particle physics with important contributions to astrophysics, cosmology and quantum gravity. A substantial part of his extensive work relates directly to experiment: interpreting results of searches for new particles and exploring the physics that could be done with future accelerators. He is accredited with being one of the pioneers of particle astrophysics: the interface between particle physics and cosmology. He has authored nearly 1,000 scientific papers, some with over 50,000 citations. He is the second most-cited theoretical physicist in the world and is currently very active in efforts to understand the Higgs-like particle discovered recently at CERN.   In 1982 and 2005, Prof Ellis was awarded the Maxwell Medal and the Paul Dirac Prize respectively by the Institute of Physics. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1985 and of the Institute of Physics in 1991, and is an Honorary Fellow of King’s College Cambridge and of the Serbian Physical Society.   The UC RUSAL President’s Forum featuring Prof John Ellis will take place at 3.00pm on 12 April 2013 (Friday) at Lam Woo Lecture Theater (LT-B) of HKUST. For more details, please visit: http://ias.ust.hk/ucrusal/.     The UC RUSAL President’s Forum The UC RUSAL President’s Forum is organized under the auspices of the HKUST Institute for Advanced Study and is held biannually in Hong Kong. Prestigious scholars and scientists as well as successful business leaders and entrepreneurs are invited to share with the audience their views on varied topics including the latest trends in science and technology and its relationship with and impact on humankind, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Speakers also engage in a dialogue with the HKUST President. Previous Forum speakers include UC RUSAL CEO Mr Oleg Deripaska, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Prof Christopher Pissarides, then-Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management Dr Jim O’Neill, Chairman of Esquel Group Ms Marjorie Yang and Chairman of Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Mr Barry Cheung.     About UC RUSAL  UC RUSAL (www.rusal.com) is a leading, global aluminium producer, in 2012 accounting for approximately 9% of global production of aluminium and 8% of alumina. UC RUSAL employs about 72,000 people in 19 countries, across 5 continents. UC RUSAL markets and sells its products primarily in the European, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, South East Asian and North American markets. UC RUSAL’s ordinary shares are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock code: 486), global depositary shares representing UC RUSAL’s ordinary shares are listed on the professional compartment of Euronext Paris (RUSAL for Reg S GDSs and RUAL for Rule 144A GDSs), and Russian depositary receipts that are issued on common shares of the Company are listed on Moscow Exchange (RUALR/RUALRS).     About the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a top-ranked international research university excelling in science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. Internationally renowned for its academic rigor and accomplishments, the University promotes interdisciplinary studies and provides holistic education, nurturing well-rounded graduates with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking and relevant skills to thrive in a knowledge economy. As an international university with strong ties to global thought leaders, HKUST has wide-ranging connections with Mainland China while aspiring to be a global premier knowledge hub and a center of research breakthroughs. HKUST was ranked Asia’s number one for the second year in a row in 2012. It was placed third for the world’s under-50 universities in 2012. The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program, for the fourth straight year, topped the Financial Times EMBA global rankings. Read more

Prof Tianshou Zhao, Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Center for Sustainable Energy Technology, and Prof Qian Zhang, Professor of Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were recognized with the most prestigious awards in science and technology in China – State Natural Science Award (Second Class) bestowed by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Another research project “Discovery and investigation of novel magnetocaloric effect materials” by Prof Xixiang Zhang, a former professor and now an Adjunct Professor at HKUST’s Physics Department, and the research team from the Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences also won the State Natural Science Award (Second Class).   The State Science and Technology Awards (SSTAs) are China’s most prestigious honor in science and technology. They are conferred by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on outstanding individuals and institutions for their significant contributions to the development of science and technology. The State Natural Science Award is one of the categories under SSTAs.   As a world-class research university, HKUST is committed to scientific and technological advancement in various disciplines. With major breakthroughs in a wide range of scientific pursuits, the award demonstrates HKUST faculty’s breadth of research talents and their outstanding performances.       “Investigations of multi-scale and multi-physics field coupled fluid flow and heat/mass transfer in complex systems” by Prof Tianshou Zhao   Through the Overseas Outstanding Scholars Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China and other collaborative projects, Prof Tianshou Zhao and researchers from the School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, have conducted collaborative research over the past decade. By the unique research methodology and strategy with integration of experimental observations, theoretical investigations, and computational modeling, the team made significant contributions in the field of heat/mass transfer in complex systems. The main breakthrough in this project is the construction of a framework that describes multi-scale and multi-physics field coupled fluid flow and heat/mass transfer processes by creating and using microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic theoretical and numerical approaches. Multi-scale and multi-physics field coupled fluid flow and heat/mass transfer problems are frequently encountered in many complex practical systems including energy, power, chemical, environmental, and biomedical processes and systems. The outcome resulting from the project is particularly important in improving the energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions of energy conversion systems.       “Models for Joint Wireless Multimedia Communication and Performance Optimization” by Prof Qian Zhang   Prof Zhang and her partners from the Tsinghua University conducted collaborative research from 1998 to 2008. Starting from the fundamental nature of the wireless multimedia communication, the team revealed the interaction between the structured nature of multimedia information and the dynamic characteristics of the error distribution in wireless networks, established the modeling methodology and performance evaluation theory for multimedia processing and joint optimization in wireless network, made significant contributions to the development of the basic theory for wireless multimedia communication. The project made a major breakthrough in efficient video communications under the discontinuous transmission conditions, and effectively increasing bandwidth efficiency. The outcome resulting from the project is particularly useful for the design of future wireless video, mobile multimedia systems, as well as next-generation wireless networks. Read more

 A team comprising faculty and students in the School of Science made a splash of colors in its first ever Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC), where it landed in second place ahead of 32 contesting teams from the US, Germany, Russia, Mainland China and others. The solution is set to provide insights for the major space mission to the Jovian system by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) in 2020.   This year, the participating teams were tasked with the design of a space orbit that achieves maximum coverage of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, including Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The Galilean moons have long been a subject of sustained scientific interest due to the hypothesis of a liquid ocean existing under the Europa’s icey surface which may serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life. Meeting time, fuel, mass and check-point criteria, the teams were to map in proximity the 32 stipulated regions over the surfaces of the four moons in the most optimal fashion.   The HKUST team comprises Prof Kwing-lam Chan, Professor of the Department of Mathematics and Director of Center for Space Science Research, Prof Kwok-yee Wong, Professor of the Department of Physics, Dr Chit-hong Yam, consultant of the Center for Space Science Research, as well as four second year undergraduate students including Tsz-yan So of the Department of Mathematics, Kai-yin Leung, Kin-chiu Chu and Heimonen, Hermanni Juuso Elias of the Department of Physics. In collaboration with ESA, the team made use of handy and comprehensive orbit calculation methods and devised its own program based on heuristic algorithms, making sure the orbit satisfied all requirements of the Competition. With 141 close encounters at the moons of Jupiter, the joint team scored 308 and clinched the second place with the honor of having visited most of the spots, missing the winning team from Italy by mere 3 marks.   Prof Nancy Ip, Chair Professor and Dean of Science said, “All the student participants were in their first year of study at the time of the competition. Yet, despite being confronted with an unfamiliar topic, and competing with other high-caliber contestants, they used their combined knowledge in mathematics and physics effectively while showing remarkable resilience to reap their well-deserved reward. Furthermore, the team displayed an impeccable team spirit by encouraging each other on to rise above the odds. These are the essential qualities required to be successful in science and technology research. It is our goal at the School to foster the growth of our students to help them realize their full potential.” Despite this being their first time participating in the competition where world-class masters converge from all over the world, HKUST students which were then in their first year have come under excellent tutelage of faculty and advisors through Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and swiftly mastered the principles and techniques of space orbit designs in just one summer. Interdisciplinary thinking aside, their excellent analytical and problem-solving skills plus seamless teamwork are key to this impressive achievement.   The GTOC teams were invited to a workshop in the US and engage in a fruitful dialogue with other participants on their experience of the designing space orbit. They also toured the state-of-the-art research facilities of NASA at Caltech, gaining a deeper appreciation of what first-class aerospace technology entails.   Now in its 6th year, GTOC opens every one or two years with an aim to raising the standard of space orbit design and provide a platform for world’s best researchers and engineers to get together and exchange ideas on the latest trends and technologies in the field. For years, it has elicited enthusiastic participation from experts of all quarters, who are eager to hone their skills and enhance understanding through joining this intense competition. Hosted this year by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, GTOC gathered the world’s top aerospace engineers and challenged them to come up with solutions to a highly complex problem of interplanetary trajectory design within a month.     Reference Materials: Presenations: /press_release_archive/eng/news/photos/20121210-1004-GTOC_Poster-1.pdf /press_release_archive/eng/news/photos/20121210-1004-gtoc6_act_hkust_hippo_v3.pdf /press_release_archive/eng/news/photos/20121210-1004-gtoc6_act_hkust_MichaelWong_v2.pdf   Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=fs3hCDZ8Kno Read more

The School of Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Roche co-hosted the launch of the first Roche Young Scientist Award (RYSA) yesterday. The initiative aims to foster curiosity, creativity, and passion for science in the youth of Hong Kong by challenging them to apply their science knowledge towards improving human lives.   As co-organizer of the event, Prof Nancy Ip, Dean of Science of HKUST, is pleased to give the School’s full support to this meaningful event, “We believe that scientific breakthrough is the gear for further advancement of society. Therefore, nurturing science talent and promoting the innovative spirit in science is always at the heart of our curriculum. HKUST and Roche have the same vision in recognizing scientific excellence, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to play a leading role in developing and enhancing the scientific interests of today’s youth. By co-organizing this event, we aim to provide a platform for our young generation to discover their potential while exploring new possibilities, and showcase their talent to the public.”   Local students between the ages of 13 and 16 are invited to participate in the RYSA, as a team consisting of one to three students. Each team is required to submit a proposal (of not more than 800 words) detailing a research or an invention to address a health issue. Twenty-five teams will be short-listed in the first round and ten in the final round. Furthermore, more than 20 undergraduate science students from HKUST have been invited to mentor the short-listed teams. They will share key scientific approaches used to address problems, and provide guidance to the teams to improve the effectiveness and practicality of their proposals.   “As a leading global healthcare company that is innovation-driven, and uniquely positioned with pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof, we are extremely pleased to launch RYSA, a meaningful initiative and the first of its kind in Hong Kong which emphasizes innovation and creativity while addressing the shared concern of health issues,” said Mr Johnny Tse, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics (Hong Kong) Limited.   The School of Science at HKUST has established numerous collaborations with industrial partners through research and professional exchanges. Our undergraduate students also have opportunities to extend their horizons beyond the classroom. Students are involved in different collaborative projects offering exposure to research opportunities and practices in industry.   “We are glad to have the support of HKUST’s School of Science, which is well-known for its outstanding research and science education. We have a shared vision of developing initiatives of this kind into a long-term nurturing ground for our future scientists,” said Mrs. Rachel Frizberg, General Manager of Roche Hong Kong Limited.   All participants of RYSA will be invited to join a seminar and briefing session in November. A guest speaker, Prof Leung Pak Wo from the Physics Department of HKUST will share his insights through the topic of “Science, Research and Fun”, which will be followed by a campus and laboratory tour. Read more