News & Stories

It started off as a mission to seek wider application for aluminum in the construction industry, then it turned into something much bigger. When Prof Yui-bun Chan from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering began his research, funded by the world’s leading aluminum producer UC RUSAL, in 2011, he was mainly looking for ways that would give aluminum more roles in buildings other than being used largely on window frames. However, weeks before the three-year research is due to end, Prof Chan discovered a technique that gave rise to a new aluminum composite – Fiber Reinforced Aluminum (FRA), which completely changed the picture.

The world is now using the 4-G wireless systems but the research community is already hard at work creating the next generation 5-G wireless systems, expected to arrive by 2020.  What sets the future 5-G apart from the current 4-G?  It will have a data capacity 1000 times greater, connecting up 1000 times more devices with energy efficiency 1000 times better, translating into faster bit rate and significantly lower latency. In addition, it will support new application scenarios such as machine-to-machine communications.  Such goals are not easily achievable.  Earlier speaking in the HKUST’s Science-for-Lunch Talk, Prof Vincent Lau has shared the new vision and applications as well as technical challenges and opportunities. The sharing can now be viewed here.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is pleased to announce that Prof Michael Altman, Head of the Department of Physics, was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Upon recommendation of the APS Division of Condensed Matter Physics, Prof Altman was cited “for development and use of spin polarized low energy electron microscopy to understand surface processes of solids.” Prof Altman joined HKUST as a founding member of the Department of Physics in 1991. He received the HKUST School of Science Teaching Award in 1997 and has been serving as Department Head since 2011. His research in condensed matter physics is targeted at understanding the structure, dynamics, electronic and magnetic properties of solid surfaces, interfaces and thin film nanostructures, including diffusion and growth, kinetic instabilities and quantum size effects.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) received two awards at the Wharton-QS Stars Awards 2014: Reimagine Education, also known as the “Oscars” of innovation in higher education, in recognition of its innovative e-learning programs. The Awards, the first global awards for recognizing innovative higher education pedagogies that enhance learning and employability, were organized by The Wharton SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management, University of Pennsylvania, and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), publisher of the QS World University Rankings.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) held an opening ceremony for the Fok Ying Tung Research Institute Building at the Nansha IT Park in Guangzhou today. Agreements on setting up the National Supercomputer Center in Nansha and on education, research and industry collaboration projects were signed at the ceremony with a view to fostering science and research collaboration as well as knowledge transfer between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

Four students of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) won the top honors as Champions of Hong Kong’s first ever Healthcare Designathon Competition. The winning product, Fit-Kick, seeks to provide performance gains and injury prevention for athletes. The AIA Group who sponsored the contest has found the product very interesting and is advising the students on its future development. The team will hold talks with AIA EDGE, The AIA Group’s innovation unit, and venture capitalists in the coming weeks to provide resources to further develop the product for commercialization.

The University has risen two places to rank #16 in the high-profile annual Global Employability University Survey and Ranking this year. In Greater China, HKUST remains #1. Delighted that employers find HKUST graduates competitive, HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan said that the survey result affirms the success of the University’s holistic education model, which is committed to nurturing all-round students with a broad worldview and the ability to overcome challenges in different situations. In view of globalization becoming a leading trend in higher education, HKUST is making efforts to enhance students’ global experiences. In addition to fostering a diverse campus, the University works with a network of institutions across the world to create exchange, work experience and community service opportunities for students.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has risen two places to rank #16 in the high-profile annual Global Employability University Survey and Ranking this year, as reported by the New York Times.  HKUST remains No. 1 in Greater China. The survey polled 4,500 recruiters and executives from 20 countries including the United States, China, Japan, Britian, Mexico, Morocco, Spain and others from Europe, over half came from the leading 1,000 companies.  The majority thinks that a global university model will arise, and that universities of tomorrow should prepare students for the realities of work with a balanced mix of theoretical and practical training as they evolved towards a fundamenmtal reshuffle.  The survey has also noted that universities with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) spectrum of subjects do much better in this ranking.