HKUST, Since Its Inception in 1991, Has Strived to Excel and to Departments Language Center Attain World-Class Standing in Its Chosen Fields of Pursuit
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Home Search by - name - expertise Search by name: Message from VPRD Last name Research Report First name 2003-04 Schools Science Engineering Business & Management Humanities & Social Science Departments Language Center Update Your Profile Home Search by - name - expertise Search by expertise: Message from VPRD Research Report 2003-04 Schools Science Engineering Business & Management Humanities & Social Science Departments Language Center Update Your Profile Home Search by - name - expertise The twenty-first century will bring forth a phenomenal transformation of the socio-economic structure of the mankind. We will witness the full Message from VPRD bloom of the knowledge-based society in which science and technology will be recognized as the engine of economic growth. Research and Research Report development will gain increased prominence among all human 2003-04 endeavors. Through research and development, knowledge will be Schools generated, disseminated and utilized to benefit society at a very fast pace Science Engineering previously unimagined. Business & Management Humanities & A research university is distinguished by the quality and accomplishment Social Science by its faculty, staff and students. It is also characterized by the leadership it demonstrates in bringing forth the fruits of research to impact the society. HKUST, since its inception in 1991, has strived to excel and to Departments Language Center attain world-class standing in its chosen fields of pursuit. Update Your Profile While the University has encouraged its members to pursue any field of intellectual curiosity and challenge, it has also focused on several specific fields to establish areas of core impact and excellence. These include: advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology, e-commerce, environment, executive education, infrastructure, IC electronic packaging design, internet and information technology, logistics, microelectronics and microsystems, molecular neuroscience, nano technology, social survey studies, South China research, traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, and wireless communication. This publication highlights the research activities of HKUST faculty members. It is the University's objective to engage in the forefront of global research as well as in areas of significant relevance to Hong Kong. We hope this publication will serve as a useful reference to benchmark our progress toward this goal. Professor Roland T Chin Vice-President for Research and Development The twenty-first century will bring forth a phenomenal transformation of the socio-economic structure of the mankind. We will witness the full bloom of the knowledge-based society in which science and technology will be recognized as the engine of economic growth. Research and development will gain increased prominence among all human endeavors. Through research and development, knowledge will be generated, disseminated and utilized to benefit society at a very fast pace previously unimagined. A research university is distinguished by the quality and accomplishment by its faculty, staff and students. It is also characterized by the leadership it demonstrates in bringing forth the fruits of research to impact the society. HKUST, since its inception in 1991, has strived to excel and to attain world-class standing in its chosen fields of pursuit. While the University has encouraged its members to pursue any field of intellectual curiosity and challenge, it has also focused on several specific fields to establish areas of core impact and excellence. These include: advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology, e-commerce, environment, executive education, infrastructure, IC electronic packaging design, internet and information technology, logistics, microelectronics and microsystems, molecular neuroscience, nano technology, social survey studies, South China research, traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, and wireless communication. This publication highlights the research activities of HKUST faculty members. It is the University's objective to engage in the forefront of global research as well as in areas of significant relevance to Hong Kong. We hope this publication will serve as a useful reference to benchmark our progress toward this goal. Professor Roland T Chin Vice-President for Research and Development Home Frame contained PDF file, click here to view Search by - name - expertise Message from VPRD Research Report 2003-04 Schools Science Engineering Business & Management Humanities & Social Science Departments Language Center Update Your Profile THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORT ON RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 2003-04 to RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL RGC REPORT ONE - OVERVIEW 1. YEAR IN REVIEW On 17 June 2004, HKUST was very pleased to welcome visitors from the Research Grants Council. RGC had previously visited HKUST in 1997. At that time, we had completed our building phase and were in a consolidation mode. Since that time, we have matured as a research university and are now making a solid impact across our chosen fields of research and scholarship. We took this RGC visit as an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and on what we as an institution are trying to achieve, consistent with our mission, and our strategy for this purpose. Our research mission, drawn from the 1987 Ordinance by which HKUST was established, is to focus on human resource development with an emphasis on postgraduate education, to maintain excellence across our chosen fields of endeavor, and to make a contribution to the economic and social development of Hong Kong. Our strategy is to attract the best faculty and students, to expect and reward their best performance in disciplinary (and multidisciplinary when appropriate) research, and to assist economic and social development through service, technology diffusion/transfer to regional industry and the stimulation of entrepreneurship. The selection of highlights presented below extend from the most basic research to commercialisation and business development. They demonstrate the degree to which we are achieving our objectives as a world-class research university with national impact and substantial local relevance. Basic/ Fundamental Research & Scholarship HKUST researchers continue to make influential contributions at the forefront of their disciplines : • A team of researchers led by Prof. Hong Xue (BICH) has achieved a breakthrough by identifying the fifth gene linked to schizophrenia, facilitating the discovery of effective RGC Annual Report 03-04 1 treatments for the disease. Their new findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, are of huge international importance and will give hope to those afflicted by schizophrenia. • Prof. Jing Song Huang (MATH) proved an outstanding result in representation theory in solving the Vogan Conjecture concerning Dirac cohomology. • Surface phase transitions are found to affect many physical properties, including surface diffusion and nanotribology. Prof. Ping Sheng and colleagues (PHYS) found that the free rotation of C60 molecules have a lower friction through reducing adhesion between two surfaces. These results appeared in Physical Review Letters. • Prof. Chris Westland (ISMT) has published a new book on Financial Dynamics: A System for Valuing Technology Companies. The book lays out the structure, components and application of the Financial Dynamics system of valuation. • Prof. Yanjie Bian (SOSC) published “Origins and Effects of Social Capital for Chinese Urbanites: Network Viewpoints and Survey Findings” in Chinese Social Sciences, and reported a key finding that Chinese urban residents gain higher level of social capital when they are connected to people of diverse occupations. Applied Research Examples of applied research are evident across most disciplines at HKUST : • Prof. Robert Ko (BICH) has made significant progress in defining the pharmacological properties of Chinese tonifying herbs (Yin, Yang, Qi, Blood). These new findings, published Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, are instrumental to establish the scientific footing of Chinese medicine in terms of modern medicine. • A new traffic signal control software DISCO (Dynamic Intersection Signal Control Optimization) has been successfully developed by Prof. H K Lo (CIVL) and is ready to be distributed to the Transport Department and practitioners for real applications. • The Wireless Group (ELEC) has developed an important new multi-user multi-antenna system algorithm for enhancing high-speed wireless communications. This algorithm allows multiple wireless users to communicate simultaneously in time and frequency so that system capacity can be doubled or even tripled. Developmental Activities Towards the development end of the R&D spectrum, there have been many achievements : • A computer package for the optimal design of tall building structures has been developed by Prof. C M Chan (CIVL), and has been employed in the design of many buildings in Hong Kong including the 102-storey Kowloon Mega Tower. RGC Annual Report 03-04 2 • Prof. H S Kwok and Prof. Man Wong (ELEC) participated in the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology 863 project and successfully made the first full color organic light emitting diode display on an active-matrix back plane in all China. Commercialization and Business Development As its mission requires, HKUST is striving to make a substantial contribution to the economic development of Hong Kong and the region by human resource development, technology diffusion