HKIAS Distinguished Lectures
Random interlacements have been introduced to gain a better understanding of certain phenomena of disconnection and fragmentation created by simple random walks. In this perspective, the investigation of the percolative properties of random interlacements has been of special importance. In this lecture, Professor Alain-Sol Sznitman of the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland will describe some of the developments on these matters that have taken place over the last ten years. This talk, held under the auspices of the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS), is titled “Disconnection, Random Interlacements, and the Gaussian Free Field” and takes place on 9 April. For more information, please visit here.
The second HKIAS talk in April explores the unsolved problem in solid state theory concerning the nature of glass and glass transition with a specific focus into recent research on non-conventional metallic, carbohydrate and chalcogenide systems. The title of the talk, which takes place on 11 April, is “Extending the Applicability of the Glassy State of Matter” and the speaker is Professor A. Lindsay Greer, Head of the School of the Physical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. For more information, please visit here.
France–Hong Kong Distinguished Lecture
Astronomers have been observing the motion of planets for hundreds of years. Since Newton and his gravitation theory, the problem has become more mathematical. Given a certain number of objects in space attracting each other according to gravitation, can one describe their motion? In this 4 April talk, “The Motion of Planets, from a Mathematical Point of View”, Professor Étienne Ghys will give a brief historical account and will discuss the problems in relation to three bodies in space. Professor Ghys is Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences and the Director of Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). For more information, please visit here.
2019 International Cetacean Symposium
The first of its kind in Hong Kong, this symposium on aquatic animal medicine and biology, diagnostic imaging and forensic medicine will bring together international experts from 10 countries to present the latest updates in technology for marine mammals worldwide and to discuss threats in local waters. Three CityU parties, namely the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution; Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences; and Walking with Omura’s Whale Programme (WOW Programme) of the Jockey Club Enhancing Youth Empathy Project through Immersive Visualisation, are co-organising the event, which will take place from 13 to 14 April. The title of the symposium is “Threats and Technology Afforded to Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises in Hong Kong and Adjacent Waters”. For enquiry, please contact at [email protected].
Kudos
Dr Patrick Wong Pat-lam, Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received the second-class honour in the Natural Science Award 2018 from the Ministry of Education for his project “On the abnormal EHL film and its mechanism of viscosity wedge”.