News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is helping The Climate Group – an international non-government organization – launch a ground-breaking LED outdoor lighting pilot program on its campus. The pilot will see Hong Kong team up with ten other international cities including New York, London and Kolkata as part of The Climate Group’s global “LightSavers” initiative. The program will assess the potential of LEDs and smart controls to curb greenhouse gas emission and cut energy costs, while making cities brighter and safer at night. The pilot projects are taking place at three sites located at HKUST, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The Climate Group, HKUST, HKU and HKIA will work together as partners over 6 to 12 months to test the performance of five different LED lighting products at these sites. Pilot results will be announced next Spring.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is pleased that its invention of the Personal Response System (PRS) or the device generically-referred to as “clickers”, the first universal classroom learning tool invented, is now widely used by global universities and institutions. The Personal Response System (PRS) was invented by a team led by Prof Nelson Cue, then Head of the Physics Department at HKUST. Using the tool aimed to promote active learning, students in a classroom or lecture theater can respond to questions posed by the instructors with a click of a button, all at the same time. It helps instructors to instantly assess students’ understanding of the subject matter and to collect instant feedback from every student. A histogram of class response can be plotted and shown to the class. Most importantly, it helps students participate actively in class.

Professor Kwing-lam CHAN recently achieved breakthrough in analyzing the data obtained from China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e-1. He was invited by China National Space Administration (CNSA) to join the first Chinese lunar satellite research in 2007. The analysis result will be published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters and Prof Chan is the first Hong Kong scholar to publish Chang’e-1 data analysis results in an international journal.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is organizing an Environment Week to raise public awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. As a highlight of the event, Mr Dick Lee Ming-kwai, former Commissioner of Police, and HKUST President Tony F Chan demonstrated low-carbon cooking on campus today. The HKUST Environment Week (18 to 22 April) is organized by the Institute for the Environment and the Health, Safety and Environment Office of HKUST, as well as students. The demonstration on low-carbon cooking aims to raise awareness of the importance of reducing carbon footprint through the consideration of related factors like food production, processing, packaging and transportation. This usually means using local and seasonal food and simple cooking methods to prepare nutritious and environmentally friendly food.

The Council of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced today the unanimous approval of the appointment of Prof Wei Shyy as Provost starting from the Fall Semester of 2010. Prof Shyy is currently Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson Collegiate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. HKUST Council Chairman Dr Marvin KT Cheung said, "With Prof Wei Shyy's appointment as Provost, HKUST's world-class senior management team has become even stronger. We are most fortunate in acquiring an outstanding, well-rounded academic leader of this caliber. With Prof Shyy on board, HKUST can gear itself up for world leadership in innovative excellence in teaching and research."

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will spearhead a Hong Kong team to take part in the largest ever International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) to carry forward the war on cancer. The Consortium will decode genomes from 25,000 cancer samples related to 50 types and subtypes of cancer. Comprising 200 members from 12 countries and territories, the Consortium has published an article in Nature today about the international network of cancer genome projects. The data released can be used immediately by researchers who are working on better ways of preventing, detecting, diagnosing and treating cancer. The two members from Hong Kong who take part in the Consortium are both from HKUST. They are Prof Hannah Hong Xue, Director of Applied Genomics Center at HKUST, and Prof Matthew Yuen, Acting Vice-President for Research and Development at HKUST who serves on the Consortium’s Executive Committee.

Over 30 students at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have so far been admitted to PhD programs at some of the world’s top universities with full scholarship support, thanks in part to their participation in the University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). The UROP is a special program within HKUST that aims to develop a research culture at the undergraduate level by giving undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and to take part in research, scholarly and creative activities. Under UROP, an undergraduate student partners with a faculty member to work on a specific subject area, and is required to submit a report at the end of the project period, which is usually several months. In 2009, over 250 undergraduates completed the UROP, supervised by about 90 professors. When the program was introduced in 2005, 70 students took part.

A Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has become one of only five fellows of the Institute of Industrial Engineers in the Greater China Region. Prof Fugee Tsung, Head of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management (IELM) at HKUST, has received the IIE Fellow 2010 Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) – the highest honor bestowed by the organization in recognition of his significant contributions in the field of industrial engineering. Prof. Tsung said, “Before 2000, only five universities in China have established Industrial Engineering (IE) programs. But now, in 2010, over 180 universities in China have IE departments. I am delighted to see that IE is gaining increasing recognition in this region in recent years.”