News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is excited to kick off a prestigious three-day “Molecular Frontiers Symposium” at Shaw Auditorium on campus today. The high-level event showcases a lineup of internationally renowned scientists including four Nobel laureates, serving as a dynamic thought-leadership platform for exchanging ideas among brilliant and young minds. Around 40 leading molecular scientists, including Nobel laureates Prof. Stefan HELL, Sir Tim HUNT, Prof. K. Barry SHARPLESS, and Sir Gregory WINTER, will share their knowledge and insights spanning the latest development in genome editing, fluorescence microscopy and protein engineering in this inaugural symposium in Greater China entitled "Frontiers of New Knowledge in Science".  

It was during the first wave of COVID in early 2020 when Prof. Tim WOO Kam-Tim and his HKUST Robotics Team students made the bold decision to continue with their explorations. Observing COVID restrictions and regulations, they broke into smaller sub-groups and took turns to work in the lab around the clock. When the Robocon 2020 Hong Kong Contest was finally postponed from June to September 2020, the Robotics Team members had already enjoyed a five-month head start since other teams had been dormant during the peak of the pandemic. Becoming the champion in Hong Kong and the first-runner up in Asia-Pacific at ABU Robocon Festival 2020, the HKUST Robotics Team showed their can-do team spirit once again.

Tsz Hin CHAN from Pui Ching Middle School received the Gold Award for his research report titled “On Non-Torsion Solutions of Homogeneous Linear Systems over Rings” at the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards. The Scientific Committee noted that Tsz Hin’s research report was at postgraduate level and demonstrated outstanding logical thinking and analytical ability. On Ki LUO from Pui Ching Middle School and Wai Lok LAI from St. Paul’s Co-educational College won the Silver Award and the Bronze Award, respectively. Together with the five Honorable Mentions of equal ranking, HK$1 million in prize money will be shared among winning students, and their teachers and schools, in recognition of their mathematics research projects that meet the highest academic standards in terms of methodology, research, and scholarship. 

Prof. Rhea LIEM's career is one that has been forged in adversity. A convergence of crises, both familial and societal, led to her making decisive career choices at a young age. “My life was turned upside down, but actually in a good way," says Prof. Liem, Assistant Professor of Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who recently won the University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Award 2021 under the category of Early Career Faculty Members.

Ever since computer science pioneer, Alan Turing, first asked “can machines think?” back in the 1940s, humanity’s concerns about machines capable of acquiring the knowledge it needed to evolve have never faded. With potential applications for Artificial Intelligence (AI) now growing at a near exponential rate, how are we humans coping with the technology’s uncertainties?  A renowned expert in the field of ethical use of AI, Prof. Pascale FUNG here sheds some light on the technology’s many benefits and risks. Her biggest concern is people’s ignorance about AI means we may be doing a disservice to both ourselves and AI. AI creates rather than eliminates jobs

If You’re Getting Vaccinated, Read This!

The Hang Lung Mathematics Awards will empower Hong Kong's secondary school students to realize their creative potential in mathematics and sciences.

Prof. Jason Chan, Assistant Professor of Science Education in the Department of Chemistry, brings us lesson to the science behind COVID-19 Testing.