News & Stories

Prof. SHI Ling Named a World Economic Forum Young Scientist 2020

An international team led by scientists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently developed the world’s first 3D artificial eye with capabilities better than existing bionic eyes and in some cases, even exceed those of the human eyes, bringing vision to humanoid robots and new hope to patients with visual impairment. 

Autonomous Vehicles Developed by HKUST Engineering Professor Serve the Community during COVID-19 Outbreak in Mainland China

A team of scientists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently identified a set of potential vaccine targets which could be helpful for the development of a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus – the cause of a novel pneumonia (COVID-19) outbreak which has spread to over 30 countries to date, infecting over 80,000 people and claimed over 2,600 lives*.

Prof. Kwok Hoi-Sing, who has spent over a quarter of a century researching on display technology, said he felt tremendously honored to receive the prestigious Jan Rajchman Prize.

By Mow Wai-ho, Associate Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST Compared with the mainland, Hong Kong seems to be lagging behind in adopting QR codes for financial transactions. However, innovators in Hong Kong are not standing still in developing the next generation of barcodes that can revolutionize the way we do business. For example, my research team is continuing to work on PiCode, a barcode variant that utilizes images instead of the black-and-white lines and blocks that comprise conventional barcodes and QR codes. We have spent almost five years researching picture- and video-embedded codes, and are now in the demonstration phase. Picture-embedded barcodes offer considerable potential in consumer marketing. Many people may find regular barcodes intrusive, and businesses have searched for ways to transmit data and information to consumers in a more pleasing format.

By Prof. Mansun Chan, Chair Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST As the modern-day workplace evolves, it is clear that science, technology, engineering and mathematics will play increasingly larger roles, prompting the government to provide incentives to increase STEM education at schools. A one-off grant of HK$100,000 was provided to each primary school to support STEM education and activities in 2016, and HK$200,000 to each secondary school in 2017. In his latest budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po allocated HK$500 million to implement an IT Innovation Lab program in the next three school years; each subsidized secondary school will be granted HK$1 million to help students build an IT foundation.

Prof. Philip K. T. MOK, the newly-inaugurated Associate Dean of Engineering (Undergraduate Studies), is a student-centered educator who likens teaching to raising children.