Hong Kong Institution of Science
Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Provost and Chair Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science, will deliver the keynote address at the 26th Annual Conference of Hong Kong Institution of Science (2018) with a paper titled “New Frontier of Organic/Hybrid Functional Materials and Devices: From Molecular Engineering to Technology Innovations” on 1 December. Professor Jen’s talk discusses work related to molecular engineering the shape, size, interactive forces, interfaces and energy levels of organic and inorganic hybrid functional materials to result in unprecedented device performance in low power, ultrafast information processing and efficient energy generation. For more information, please visit here.
World Cultural Council Awards
The ceremony for the World Cultural Council Awards will be held for the first time in Hong Kong and the Greater China Region at CityU on 8 November. At the event, the “Albert Einstein” World Award of Science and the “José Vasconcelos” World Award of Education will be conferred on eminent pioneers in their respective fields in honour of their tireless efforts to advance human culture and well-being. For more information, please visit here.
New appointments
Professor Julie Li Juan has been appointed Associate Provost (Institutional Initiatives) with the effective date from 1 December 2018. This is a concurrent appointment in addition to her substantive appointment as Head and Professor in the Department of Marketing.
Professor Richard M. Walker has been appointed Head of the Department of Public Policy from 1 November 2018 to 31 August 2021. Professor Walker received his PhD from the University of Reading, UK and CityU in 2011. He is currently Chair Professor of Public Management in the Department of Public Policy.
IAS talks
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) will host a full-day conference on 12 November at CityU to celebrate the role that CityU has played in developing scientific cooperation between France and Hong Kong and to mark the occasion of the 80th birthday of the renowned mathematician Professor Philippe G. Ciarlet, Senior Fellow of IAS and University Distinguished Professor at CityU. The speakers will include Nobel Laureates in Physics and Chemistry, a Fields medallist, members of the French Academy of Sciences and IAS Senior Fellows.
Professor Peng Shie-ming, Chair Professor of Chemistry at National Taiwan University, will deliver an IAS Distinguished Lecture titled “From Homonuclear Metal String Complexes to Heteronuclear Metal String Complexes” on 30 November.
For more information about these two events, please visit here.
Distinguished Lectures
Pancreatic cancer is known for not inducing symptoms until a late stage. In his talk as part of the City University Distinguished Lecture Series, Professor Lee Wen-hwa, Chancellor of China Medical University in Taiwan, talks about how aberrant sugar metabolism triggers pancreatic oncogenesis through the mutation of the HRAS gene. Professor Lee, born in Taiwan in 1950, is a molecular biologist and pioneer in the field of tumour suppressor in cancer research. His talk took place on 5 November.
The aerospace industry is facing challenges like those of the automotive industry in terms of improving emissions, fuel economy and cost. Professor Kaushik Rajashekara, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of Houston in the US, will examine current trends in technologies of electric/hybrid vehicles, more electric aircraft and hybrid electric aircraft in his talk titled “Transportation Electrification-Land and Air: Current Trends and Future Strategies” on 13 November.
For more information about both lectures, please visit here.
President’s Lecture Series: Excellence in Academia
Professor Wang Zuankai of the Department of Mechanical Engineering will give a talk titled “Nature-inspired Innovation: Art, Science and Technology” as part of the President’s Lecture Series: Excellence in Academia. Over the past four years, Professor Wang’s research group has published nine papers in nature/science series journals and received over 10 prestigious awards. His work has been included in the Guinness Book of World Records and highlighted in Nature, Nature Physics and many other media outlets. This talk focuses on how the next wave of innovation, centred on nature-inspired engineering, will address the planet’s grand challenges such as water, energy and health engineering. It takes place on 22 November. For more information, visit here.
CityU, CLP academic agreement
An academic collaboration that will provide opportunities to CityU’s undergraduate students will be signed between CityU and CLP. Students majoring in Energy Science and Engineering or Environmental Science and Engineering, or those selected by CityU, will acquire hands-on experience in a real work environment through visitations and participation in CLP’s Energy Audit and other projects. A signing ceremony will be held on 12 November.
The Dialogue Series with Consuls General
At the latest talk in the series, Consul General Kim Weon-jin of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong, spoke on 30 October on “Globalization and Your Future” and shared tips on exchange, future studies and career development in the Republic of Korea. The Dialogue Series with Consuls General provides excellent opportunities for students and staff to exchange ideas, learn about the latest development of other countries, share an understanding of different cultures, and gain insights and inspirations from the speakers and guests from overseas.
Kudos
Professor Jia Xiaohua of the Department of Computer Science (CS) has been selected as ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Distinguished Member for outstanding scientific contributions to computing. The advanced member grade level of Distinguished Member was initiated in 2006 to recognise ACM Professional Members who have achieved significant accomplishments in, or made a significant impact on, the computing field.
Professor Wang Xunli, Head of the Department of Physics, has been awarded the Lee Hsun Lectureship Award from the Institute of Metals at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The award honours scientists who have had a significant impact on the field of materials science and engineering both at home and abroad.
Two 2018 PhD graduates, Dr Kwabena Ebo Bennin and Dr Solomon Mensah, together with their supervisor Dr Jacky Keung Wai, Assistant Professor in CS, and two other authors, received the Excellence Research Award from the Special Interest Group on Software Engineering in the Information Processing Society of Japan for their co-authored paper titled “MAHAKIL: Diversity based oversampling approach to alleviate the class imbalance issue in software defect prediction,” published in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering in June 2018.
Two BSc Computer Science students, Wong Man-fai and Fan Cheuk-hang, together with a student from PolyU, won Second Prize in the 2018 China Collegiate Computing Contest–Mobile Application Innovation Contest, under the supervision of Dr Antoni Chan, Associate Professor in CS. Hosted by Apple Incorporated and Zhejiang University, the contest aims to raise awareness about innovation and encourage students to solve problems using technology.
Wong Man-fai and Fan Cheuk-hang along with Chan Wing-sze of CS, won the 2nd Runners-up position in the 2018 Microsoft Imagine Cup National Final–Hong Kong for their project titled “Ani-Think”, which provides a mobile solution in veterinary pathology for animal sentiment analysis and disease diagnosis. Organised by Microsoft Hong Kong, the competition provides a platform for students to present original and innovative applications under the themes of artificial intelligence, big data and mixed reality.
Chui Tsz-him, also a BSc Computer Science student, received the IET Prize 2018 and was granted a cash prize of HK$3,000 and complimentary student membership to the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for one year. The IET Prize is awarded to engineering students with outstanding academic results and who are active in extra-curricular activities and community service.
Alumnus Mr Tomson Chan Tak-fun of the School of Creative Media won the CreateSmart Young Design Talent Award in the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2018.
Four CityU teams received grants of $100,000 each from the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund as part of the Cyberport University Partnership Programme 2018. The teams received mentorship and nurturing from FinTech industry elites provided by Cyberport and attended a bootcamp at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in August before pitching their ideas at Demo Day on 23 October.
CityU’s Solar Car Team received the “Sustainability Class Award” at the Sasol Solar Challenge 2018 in South Africa in September. The team comprised students from the School of Energy and Environment, School of Creative Media, College of Business, Department of Electronic Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Sasol Solar Challenge is a biannual solar car event organised by the International Solar Car Federation and Sasol to promote sustainability.