News & Stories

Prof. ZHANG Jiheng, born in Nanjing in the late 1970s, immersed himself in the captivating world of mathematics before transitioning to engineering at age 23 as a PhD candidate at Georgia Tech. After working for 12 years at HKUST, he embraced the challenge of leading the Department of Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics (IEDA) as its Head, a role he had not foreseen but has grown to cherish. More recently, he has taken on the ambitious endeavor of contributing to Hong Kong’s vision as a smart hub through innovative Theme-Based Research.

As a pioneering electrochemist and Head of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Prof. SHAO Minhua is accelerating the clean energy transition and seeking to fast forward top faculty and young talents in making their own contribution to a resource-friendly world.

Compassionate and altruistic, one energetic Indonesian HKUST BEng graduate is using the knowledge and skills she obtained at university to help change the world for the better. Sustainability is more than a buzz phrase for Cindy Aiko Filbert TANAKA (BEng in Chemical and Environmental Engineering), who is rapidly building a career with one of the world’s leading business consultancies.

Pursuing undergraduate studies in Hong Kong 15 years ago marked the start of a highly rewarding journey for Malaysian native Dr. Nick CHIN Jing-Wei. He not only realized his dream of establishing a technology start-up, but also set up his own family here.

HKUST’s Engineering Commons, opened in 2013, has been the School of Engineering’s “family room” that enhances interaction of the engineering community and enables the display of top-notch research of its faculty members. Located at a key intersection of the campus, the Engineering Commons was renovated in 2024 after being used for more than a decade. As the Commons officially reopened in October 2024, it features an array of new research applications that are most relevant to campus life, including AIoT sensing research led by Prof. Gary CHAN Shueng-Han of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

When I tell prospective students about our Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) programs at HKUST, their eyes light up at a surprising feature – not just our wind tunnels or robotics labs, but how they can first experience these facilities through their smartphones or tablets. Welcome to engineering education reimagined, where augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) transform how our students learn and prepare for their engineering careers.

Academic-entrepreneur Professor KO Ping-Keung came to HKUST in 1993 as Visiting Professor in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering after working at the University of California, Berkeley, as Director of the Microfabrication Laboratory from 1984-1993, and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from 1991-1993. He served as Dean of the HKUST School of Engineering from 1995-2000 and in 2002 received the prestigious IEEE Solid-State Circuits Award. He has since become an innovator and angel investor in China’s chip industry and is a Professor Emeritus at HKUST. In 2024, Prof. Ko was awarded a HKUST Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his long-standing service and commitment to the University’s development.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has predicted that by 2050, over 68% of the global population will reside in cities. This massive projected urban population (6.5+ billion) will no doubt put a great deal of strain on infrastructure, resources and the world’s ecosystems, but, from an engineering standpoint, such large-scale urbanization also presents tremendous opportunities for technological, human as well as other societal and economic development.