News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today celebrated the opening of the HKUST Energy Institute, and the Institute's first forum on sustainable energy. The forum featured 16 leading scientists and energy experts from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan and the United States, who spoke on some of the world's most pressing energy issues. The establishment of the Institute manifests HKUST's commitment to securing an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy future. The Institute is dedicated to providing a multi-disciplinary platform for fostering energy-related research and curricular programs that gather talent, coalitions and partnerships from across HKUST and beyond.

Sport is a great way to connect people. Situated right on the waterfront, HKUST takes full advantage of its enviable natural environment, showing full support for the development of water sports on campus. The HKUST Water Sports Center was soft launched on 19 October 2013 at the Dragon Boat Fun Race. In the future, the Center will offer diverse types of recreational and water sports activities for enrichment of campus life. Activities will include dragon boat, sea rowing, windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, and many others. HKUST aspires to create an environment where its students can get together to try challenging outdoor pursuits, find common interest through sportsmanship, develop their competitive spirit, and foster the virtues of discipline, resilience and excellence.

A team of HKUST MBA students outperformed their peers from the business schools of eight top-ranked institutes including Yale University and University of Chicago, and won the Grand Prize at the Marshall Global Consulting Challenge. The annual business case competition organized by the University of Southern California (USC) is designed to challenge the minds and problem-solving abilities of the best MBA students around the world. The HKUST team was the only contender from Asia. Their thorough preparation, quality analysis, and innovative ideas impressed the judges, and took home the championship in the competition.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today held its 5th Long Service Award Presentation Ceremony, honoring faculty and staff members who have served the University for 20 years. HKUST established the Long Service Award to express appreciation and to recognize long-serving faculty and staff members whose hard work and dedication have contributed to the University's rapid rise over the past 23 years. This year, HKUST presented awards to 240 members who joined the University in 1994. HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan, together with the vice-presidents, deans, units heads and directors attended the presentation ceremony. Awardees' families and friends were also invited to join the occasion by the University.

As communities around the world are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of green and sustainable energy sources, fuel cells that convert chemical energy of hydrogen, natural gas, and alcohols directly to electricity have become a hot research topic. Current energy technologies that use fossil fuels, such as diesel, coal and oil, face many challenges including low efficiency, limited supply, air pollution, and climate change. Yet, to date, renewable energy still accounts for less than 3% of all electricity produced worldwide. Power density record Prof Zhao, Director of the HKUST Energy Institute, and his researchers have become global pioneers in raising the performance of Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells (DAFC). Among other achievements, his team holds the internationally acknowledged world record for the power density of direct ethanol fuel cells.

Prof Jian-shu Li, Chair Professor in the Department of Mathematicsat HKUST, has been elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for his outstanding achievements in Mathematics, becoming the first Hong Kong-based scholar elected to the Academy's Division of Mathematics and Physics. The honor brings the total number of CAS members at HKUST to six. CAS membership is the highest academic recognition conferred by the Chinese government for science and technology research achievements. The election of CAS members takes place biennially, with the total number of new members kept under 60 each time. There are stringent nomination, appraisal and election processes. Members are elected under one of six categories: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Medical Sciences, Information Technological Sciences and Technology Sciences.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Mathematical Olympiad Hong Kong Committee Company Limited (IMOHKCL) to be the Host Institution of the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) - one of the most prominent international competitions for school students in the mathematics community. The competition will be held in Hong Kong in 2016. Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, said the University was honored to host this prestigious event.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) President Prof Tony F Chan has been elected as a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. NAE's membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice or education - including significant contributions to the engineering literature", and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing / implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."