Six HKUST Academics Named RGC Senior Research and Research Fellows | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Six faculty members from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were awarded a total of over HK$37 million fellowship grants for their distinguished research capabilities by the Research Grants Council (RGC) today under the Council’s Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) and Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) for the year 2024/25.  This remarkable achievement not only sets a new record for the University but also surpasses all local universities in both the number of awardees and grant amounts. 

The six HKUST faculty members recognized by the RGC span a diverse range of disciplines. Among them, the two Senior Research Fellows, Prof. CHEN Jing Kevin from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, and Prof. ZHANG Qian from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, were acknowledged for their research on wide-bandgap semiconductors and contactless sensing frameworks for healthcare, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Research Fellowships were bestowed upon Prof. Tom CHEUNG (Division of Life Science) for his work on muscle stem cells, Prof. LIU Kai (Division of Life Science) for his research on spinal cord injury, Prof. WANG Yi (Department of Physics) for his studies in cosmological collider physics, and Prof. ZHU Pengyu (Division of Public Policy) for his studies on four critical systems for urban and regional development. Notably, Prof. Zhu was awarded under the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies Panel (H-Panel), while the other HKUST awardees were recognized under the Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology Panel (S-Panel).

Commending our faculty members for their exceptional achievements, HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP said, “This marks another significant accomplishment of the University, shortly after we yielded impressive results in RGC’s Areas of Excellence and Theme-based Research Schemes. At HKUST, we are committed to attracting and nurturing top-tier research talents who are dedicated to making a pivotal impact on addressing global challenges. I am particularly pleased to highlight that in addition to our strong performance in science and engineering fields, our faculty members in humanities and social science have also received recognition in this evaluation. This milestone underscores the University's robust research capabilities across diverse disciplines. We will continue to foster an environment that empowers our researchers to pursue their passions and drive innovation that benefits humanity."

HKUST Vice-President for Research and Development Prof. Tim CHENG also expressed delight at the faculty’s achievements.  He said, “Thanks to these additional research funding and support from RGC, our faculty members can dedicate more time to their foundational research and nurturing the next generation of research talent.  This is essential for the University to further our goal of making HKUST a powerhouse of innovation and achievement." 

The annual RFS and SRFS aim to provide continuous research support integrated with relief from teaching and administrative duties for a 5-year period to 10 outstanding mid-career researchers at the Associate Professor rank and 10 senior researchers at the full Professor rank at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong. This initiative is designed to enable academics to focus on research and development, as well as the time and resources necessary to nurture the next generation of local research talents for Hong Kong. 

About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class university that excels in driving innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. With a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy approach, HKUST was ranked 3rd in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2024, while 12 of its subjects were ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, with "Data Science and Artificial Intelligence" being ranked first in Hong Kong and 10th in the world. Our graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. In terms of research and entrepreneurship, over 80% of our work was rated “Internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. As of June 2024, HKUST members have founded 1,747 active start-ups, including 10 Unicorns and 14 exits (IPO or M&A).