HKUST Newsletter, Spring 1996

Abstract

[evdate 1996-04-15] Newsletter The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology The search for new materials Spring 1996

The Search for New Materials

With laboratories running at full speed, scientists and engineers at HKUST are making important strides in their quest to understand and develop new materials for the industries of the 21st century.

Lighter, stronger, more efficient plastics, ceramics, and composites, Biomaterials for medical devices able to interact with biological systems. "Smart fluids" that can be reversibly transformed from a liquid to a solid phase, instantaneously taking on programmed shapes in a manner that could render some mechanical gears and valves obsolete.

Advanced materials like these are the product of knowledge and inventions. At present, the pursuit of knowledge is leading researches ever deeper into the microstructure of materials, where they seek to understand events at the molecular and atomic levels so as to control the properties determined there.

In this microsocopic world, where dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter, HKUST researchers are especially intent on investigating the electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of novel materials that may form the basis of the information technologies of the future.

Some very striking images of these materials have been obtained using the powerful instruments in the University's materials science laboratories. A few of them are presented here - as much for their strange beauty as for the glimpses they provide into the all-important search for new materials.

Dr. Michael Altman (Physics) Dr. Benzhong Tang (Chemistry) Buckminster Fuller Graduate student Nian Lin and Prof Nelson Cue (Physics) Dr. Philip Sou (Physics)

PRESIDENT'S PROGRESS REPORT

HKUST's International Endeavors In my remarks at the University's Third Congregation, I said that we had come a long way towards achieving the goal of building a world-class technological institution, and that we should now set our sights on human- izing the institution by making it more genteel, more cultural, more Chinese, and more international. In this report, let me describe two of our recent initiatives on the intcmutioilal front. Hong Kong sits at the crossroads of East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. As a result, HKUST finds it natural to develop and maintain robust working relationships with like institutions in these regions. Faculty members at HKUST have always collaborated with overseas colleagues individually. Many of our Schools and Departments maintain cooperative agreements with overseas counterparts. However, at the University level we have signed very few agreements, since documents of that type frequently contain little actual substance. Our preference is to support endeavors initiated at the working level, and to find ways to provide infrastructures that can lighten the faculty's administra- tivc burdens and bring them additional resources. Members of our faculty hail from over 30 countries, but an overwhelming majority carncd their doctorates in North America, especially the United States. It is therefore to no 01~'s surprise that our academic links to North America have been strong. The infrastructure required here is one that supports HKUST's eco- nomic development mission. We vigorously promote applied R&D and technology-oriented partnerships with North Ameri- ca's business and industrial sectors.

Association of East Asian Research Universities

Strange as it may seem, interactions among the academic sectors of East Asia have not been all that significant. If, how- ever, a small number of universities of like vision and compara- ble quality were to come together to form a regional association, such a body could serve to facilitate the work of faculty and students who wish to engage in cooperative ventures. Recently, the presidents of nine East Asian universities decided to meet on the HKUST campus to explore the possibility of forming such an association. They represented: Chinese Mainland -Fudan, Tsinghua (Beijing), University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) Japan - Tokyo, Tsukuba Korea - Pohang University of Science and Technology [Postech], Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [KAIST] Taiwan - Tsing Hua (Hsinchu) Hong Kong - HKUST These institutions (plus several others which have since indicated their interest in joining as founding members) all have significant strengths in science and technology. They also share many other common traits, including academic profiles, educa- tional goals, faculty composition. research capabilities, and traditional East Asian values. During the meeting, the original idea of simply forming an association of technological universities expanded. The out- come was the establishment of the Association of East Asian Research Universities with an initial focus on science and tech- nology. A Board was also established to serve as its governing body. I was elected Chairperson, and President Hiroyuki Yoshikawa of the University of Tokyo was elected Vice Chairperson, to serve along with Presidents Shan SHEN (Tsing Hua), and YANG Fujia (Fudan) as Board Members for a term of two years. The next general meeting will

be held in Tokyo and Tsukuba. It is expected that-joint academic activities will commence at that time. Areas of early action will revolve around the exchange o!' faculty and students; development of common curricula and transferable credits; sharing of facilities, information,

Europe Institute at HKUST Although European interest and presence, other than British, have not been strong in East Asia, this situation is expcctcd

to change rapidly as China and other East Asian countries continue to surge ahead economically. Hong Kong is pcrfcctly located to contribute to, and benefit from, the change. Over the past year, we have worked towards the establish- ment of a technology and management-based Europe Institute on the campus of HKUST. The Institute is to serve as an umbrella covering a number of national Centers. For HKUST's faculty and students, each national Center will facilitate person- nel exchange and rcscarch collaboration with institutions in that nation. At the same time, it will provide footholds and obscrva- tion platforms for that nation's universities, R&D organizations, foundations, and multinational corporations which now show keen interest in East Asia but are not yet ready to risk major investments. This concept was discussed with, and among, the Consuls- General in Hong Kong rcprcsenting nations of the European Union, some of whom have visited our campus frequently. The

Vice-President for Administration & Business Paul Bolton British Trade Commission British Council and UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Europe Institute World Economic Forum's Europe- East Asia Economic summit

A New World Order Bangkok, East Asia and Western Europe

HKUST IN ACTION Consuls-General from nations making up the European Union visited the University on 12 February to work with us on establishing a Europe Institute at HKUST. The technology and management-based Institute would or officials from the Hong Kong Government Cantonese at HKUST in an innovative course devised by the University's Language Centre for the Civil Service Training Centre. The expatriate officials concentrated on gaining fluency in the kind of Cantonese needed to conduct government business, including oral presentations and fielding questions from the floor. A milestone in the University's campus devclopmcnt was celebrated on 28 March with the Topping Out Ceremony for the new Graduate Residences, University Center, and Senior Staff Quarters. Mr Martin HADAWAY, Group Managing Director of Gammon Construction Limited. and President Chia-Wei Woo presided over the ceremony. establishment of a Europe Institute received enthusiastic support

Summit, to be held in Hong Kong in the autumn of I996 and from all. In February they came as a group to meet with OUI 1997. academic administrators and some of our senior faculty, and to discuss the agenda in detail. Committee consisting A New World Order of EU and HKUST representatives is being formed. president of the German Research Foundation have visited HKUST and arc helping to lay the ground work.

Preparations for setting up a German Center have progressed rapidly. University presidents, leaders of Fraunhofer Institutes, and the Preparations for setting up a British Center commenced following my March trip to London, Manchester, and Warwick with Vice-President for Administration & Business Paul BOLTON, under the sponsorship of the British Trade Commission British Council,

and UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The Asia-Europe summit meeting held in Bangkok in March heralds the development of what 1

have called a New World Order, in which a third key link-between East Asia and Western Europe-will join the time honored North American-Western European alliance, and the North American-East Asian economic partnership,

to complete a triangular balance of international power. Compared with the current situation which finds the United States alone at the pivot directing East- West traffic, this New World Order will be a much more stable structure for peaceful coexistence and co-operation. It is my hope that the Europe Institute We at HKUST foresaw that develop will contribute to the operation of the World ment, and will contribute within our capability

Economic Forum's Europe-East Asia Economic the structuring of this New World Order.

SPRING 1996

BUILDING A UNIVERSITY Department of Economics A s part of the School of Business and Management at HKUST, the Department of Economics encourages a comprehen- sive understanding of the scope of eco- nomics as a discipline. Rather than nar- rowing its focus to the strictly quantitative or theoretical aspects of economics, the Department has created a strong teaching and research environment in which cco- nomic theory is developed and applied to broad areas of practical concern. "We have a strong interest in busi- ness economics," says Department Head Leonard Kwok-Hon CHENG, "and that is good because it ties us to the real world. Economics should be about business as well as public policy or social science. I like the fact that we are in the business school." Other important application areas are economic growth a.nd development and international economics. "These choices obviously reflect our location in the mid- dle of the Asia-Pacific dynamic growth area, as well as Hong Kong's status as an international trading and financial center," says Prof Cheng. "Our aim as a Depart- ment is to be global in the standards we maintain tind the audience we reach, but with an emphasis on local and regional issues." At the core of the Department is a concentration of expertise in economic theory and methodology. "It's important that we provide solid training in economic analysis," Prof Cheng explains. "Not only is it the foundation of our own discipline, but it also provides a methodological ba- sis for some other disciplines in the busi- ness school. Economic analysis is an es- sential ingredient of business research." Economic Theory arld Econometrics Economic analysis can be qualitative, quantitative, and statistical in nature. The name given by economists to the proce- dures they've developed by combining economic theory and statistical analysis is econometrics. As Prof Lung-Fci LEE., a distinguished econometrician and Fellow is a calculation tool to explain or forecast economic ac- tivitics." A rc- cent project il- believe that university graduates earn more than those who start to work right after finishing their secondary school edu- cation. But if a survey finds that university graduates earn 10% more, Prof Lee ar- gues, "we still do not know how much of this 10% is due solely to university study." A person's earning capacity could also be affected by factors such as talent, family background, and interest in the subject studied. Using simultaneous equations, Prof Let has constructed a model that can estimate these relations and be used to explain income differences. What distinguishes economics from fortune telling, then, is the ability to create economic models that can account for the data and be empirically tested. In recent decades, as economic forecasting has be- come more sophisticated owing to ad- vances in econometrics, the study of eco- nomics has increasingly become an opera- tional discipline geared to providing prac- tical advice. "Models such as these are important for decision makers as they pro- vide a frame of reference for the allocation of limited resources," says Prof Lee. Econometrics is what economists cfo, not what they study. Within economics as a discipline, the terms IGcroeconomics and are used as broad categories designating the level or scale of analysis. Microeconomics deals with the economic activities of individual consum- ers, business firms, markets, and so on. Macroeconomics is concerned with the economy as a whole, focusing on the ag- gregate outcome of individual actions. Monetary systems, investment flows, busi- ness cycles, and levels of employment, taxation, and inflation are typical subjects of macroeconomic theory. Business Economics At HKUST, the principal area of microeconomic study is business econom- ics. "Basically, what we do is use eco- nomic principles to analyze the bchaviol of firms and solve problems 01' organiza- tion and strategy. In this way, WC can help corporate managers compete successfully in various market environment," says Dr Changqi Wu. Undergraduate economics majors arc asked to choose one of two specialisations offered in the program: Business Economics, leading to a BBA degree, or Eco- nomic Science, leading to a BSc degree. In the former, students focus on problems related to a company's internal operation and economic environment, and on eco- nomic reasoning as an essential element in sound business decision making. In the latter, the focus is on the scientific basis of economics and on economic problems and solutions viewed from the perspective of policy makers and social scientists. In business economics, renewed at- tention has been placed in recent years on developing adequate thcorics of business organization. One topic of particular rcl- evance for this region is the structure of shared ownership agreements, including joint ventures. Dr Zhigang TAO and DI Wu are currently collaborating on a study of joint ventures in China that examines the balance of incentives and control fol the Chinese and foreign purtncrs. "By analyzing different joint venture options." says Dr Tao, "we can dctcrmine the prin- ciples for optimal structuring of such or- ganizations. This should be of benefit to the business community, as well as a con- tribution to the theory of the firm." One type of agreement is a "contrac- tual joint venture" giving the foreign in- vestor a progressively declining share of ownership. In non-high-tech industries, Dr Tao sees this as a workable solution for foreign companies that depend on tcch- nology transfer to do business in commcr- cial environments lacking strong protec- tion of intellectual property rights. Another area of interest for business economists is industrial organization- the distribution of firms within an indus- try, their competitive behavior, and gov- ermnent regulation. "Some companies in

Hong Kong claim that they are not mo- nopolizing their industry," says Dr Siu Fai LEUNG. "Otherwise they would have to face the government's stringent control. Microeconomic theories give us a context in which to test their claims." Ecortomic Growth and Development The Asia-Pacific region is arguably the world's most compelling laboratory for the study of transitional economies. Within this region are strikingly varied examples of how government policies are used to guide economic reform and attract foreign trade, investment, and technology transfer. And yet, as in other developing regions, the difficulty of mounting a sci- entific study of these processes cannot be underestimated. For economists, as for other social scientists, the difficulty has to do with the availability, or lack of it, of reliable data in much of Asia and South- east Asia. "In China, whcrc much of our atten- tion is concentrated, the situation has im- proved," says Prof Cheng. Currently, data acquisition by foreign scholars is a largely commercial proposition, unlike 10 or 15 years ago when data sets were unavailable except to those enjoying a close personal relationship with the proprietors of the data. It is expected, too, that the situation will continue to improve with the further development of academic and professional infrastructure in China. At HKUST, the half dozen economists studying China's economic devel- opment are led by Prof Justin Yifu LIN, an internationally recognized economist who divides his time between Hong Kong and Beijing, where he is Director of the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University. With his leadership, HKUST scholars look forward to accessing important data sets that have not been available for study so far.

With such data. HKUST economists plan to collaborate on comprehensive research studies that may take several years

to complete. To facilitate such projects, and to coordinate the interdisciplinary work of scholars from other departments, the University's Centre for Economic Development was established in August 1995.

According to its Director, Dr Francis T. Lul, the Centre for Economic Develop- ment promotes research on China's economic reforms, the economic integration of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta, and the emergence of regional economies in China, particularly the region comprising the southern coastal provinces. It also

recognizes the importance of international comparisons and research on economic development theories. For its inaugural event, the Centre organized a substantial Conference on South China's Economic Development, held at HKUST on 15- 17 August 1995. The conference attracted a large group of economists from China, as well as their counterparts in Hong Kong. In June of this year, the Centre will host an international conference on Capi- tal Flows in Asian Countries, co-spon- sored by the US National Bureau of Eco- nomic Research. One of the principal top- ics at the conference will be capital flows and ex- change rates in Hong Kong and Asian countries. "Cookirzg Fish" In a commercial and financial center like Hong Kong, an important meas- ure of credibility is earned by academic economists who find ways to use their expertise in the service of the community. In keep- ing with the mission bf the University, members of the Economics Department have been assiduous in creating opportunities to interact with colleagues in business and government.

"We see this as vital," says Prof Cheng. "WC arc making an effort to build bridges to the business community and to position ourselves so that we can have an impact on policy making and public discussion ol important economic issues." In addition to offering exccutivc development courses, Department members have provided consulting services to business organizations, government ageneics. and commercial and protcssional associa-

tions. For the past three years, a half dozen Department members have also contrib- uted a regular column called "Cooking Fish" to the Taking its name from a passage in Lao-tzu which counsels a ruler to govern a nation in the same way that you cook a small fish, the column offers commentary on economic issues of the day, including social security, unemployment, public housing, MFN, and Hong Kong's drive to develop high-tech industries. In 1994, col- umns on the Government's proposed old- age pension scheme attracted much attcn- tion and the ensuing public discussion lctl to reconsideration of the plan. The result of all these efforts is mani- fcst in growing recognition of University economists as an important intcllcctual resource in the community. The Hong Kong Government rcccntly asked the De- partment to undertake rcscarch on issues related to APEC, and the Financial Sccrc- tary has appointed PI-of Chcng to the Gov- ernment's Economic Advisory Commit- tee. With a new master's dcgrcc program in economics launched this year, the Dc- partment anticipates increasing its faculty roster from 25 to 28 as the University reaches its planned capacity in the next two years. "We have a lot of work to do in developing our teaching materials and skills and our expcrtisc on local issues," says Prof Cheng. Nevcrthclcss, the Dc- partment of Economics is looking forward with confidence to expanding its research programs on the local and regional econo- mies and to continuing its multifaceted service to the community. cl SPRING 1996

BUMPER HARVEST FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER Th d e aca emit year 1995-96 is proving a particularly good one for the Technology Transfer Centre and its private-sector coun- terpart, the HKUST RandD Corporation. Between 1 July and 3 1 December, 21 third-party contracts were signed by the RandD Corporation, worth a total of $5.1 million. This reprcscnts an increase of more than 60% over the $3 million in contracts earned during the whole of 1994-95, and a total increase of two to three times is expected by the end of June. This increase is a result of several factors: the maturing of a young institution findin g its strengths and making a place fol itself in the community, the University's success in appointing faculty members who already have an international reputation for excellence, and the strengthening of TTC. The contracts, ranging from cooperative research agree- ments to projects worth around $1 million, tap University exper- tise in diverse fields such as biotechnology, manufacturing, and Cantonese teaching. We will highlight just three of these projects here. Dr Zaheed KARIM'S work with chip-on-glass technology (set next page for details) represents the University's fourth contract with Motorola, all with different divisions and involv- ing different faculty members. This evolving relationship with Motorola is an important confirmation of the growing recogni- tion of the University as a valuable R&D partner in the eyes of Hong Kong's industrial sector. Two new contracts signed with Apotech International Ltd are the third and fourth licensing agreements obtained for Prof J. Tze-Fei WONG'S controlled-release drug delivery technology. "The biopharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong is really just starting up, so very few companies are large enough to devote enough resources to the development of new drugs," Prof Wong explains. "The advantage of concentrating on drug delivery for local industry is that it's high technology but not as expensive as the development of new compounds." The licenses to Apotech cover the manufacture of sus- tained-release oral preparations of four non-proprietary drugs. The main advantage of sustained-release preparations is that blood concentrations of the drug are kept fairly constant and within the therapeutic window, eliminating the side- effects often caused by rapid-release drugs. Also, the patient may only need to take tablets once instead of three or four times per day. Although controlled-release technology is not new, most currently available preparations are either under patent or closely guarded secrets. Because of this, Prof Wong and his coworkers have been adept at exploiting the opportunity to provide technology to local and regional manufacturers. Their system of drug delivery, developed in conjunction with the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Industrial Rcscarch lnsti- tute, uses sugar-starch spheres impregnated with the drug and coated with a specially developed polymer rate-release mcm- brane. When the drug-bearing spheres arrive in the stomach, digestive enzymes and juices work to break down the rate- release mcmbranc. Gradually, the drug is rcIcascd and absorbed into the blood stream as the spheres move down the digestive tract and through the intestine. Once these new preparations are commercially available, this therapeutic technology will be acccssiblc to the many pa- tients in Asia who cannot afford the current preparations. Hong Kong has ton, (7 had a reputation for plastics-and recently, for precision plastic components for high-tech indus- tries. As the Hong Kong economy matures, local industry is becoming a provider as well as consumer of manufacturing technology. Hong Kong is now one of the world's largest sup- pliers of injection molding machines, due to low unit price. Hong Kong industrialists, however, want to compete on quality and technology as well as on price. To make this possi- ble, HKUST's Chemical Engineering Department is collaborat- ing with a world leader in control technology, Moog Interna- tional, to modify an adaptive control technology developed by Dr Furong GAO for use in controlling injection velocity and packing pressure in injection molding machines. Although injection molding seems a simple process, many parameters, such as the material propel-tics of' the plastic, the temperature, and the geometry of the mold, interact during the process dynamics. Current controllers-devices used to control the input and output of a machine-use fixed control parameters to calculate the controller output based on injection velocity or packing pressure. As a result, there is a down-time for trial-and- error retuning whenever there are changes in the materials, mold, or other process conditions. The aim of the project undertaken with Moog is to develop a prototype controller able to adapt to altered conditions within pre- set molding param- eters, resulting in more efficient quality con- trol. 0

Research and development CENTRE FOR DISPLAY RESEARCH OPENS FOR BUSINESS

The Centre for Display Research (CDR), one of HKUST's premier R&D facilities, officially opened on 17 January 1996. But work on the Centre has been in progress since August 1994, when Prof Hoi Sinrr KWK of the Deoartment of Electronic and departments at HKUST received an unprecedented $14.4 million grant from Hong Kong's Industry and Technology Development Council.

The Centre for Display Research is devoted to research and development work on liquid crystal displays (LCDs). First patented in the late 196Os, thcsc devices arc normally composed of a very thin layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two high-quality, thin glass plates. An applied electrical field causes the liquid crystals at a given spot to change their essential quality from being clear to being opaque. The controlled response of liquid crystals to electricity is the fundamental principle driving LCD technology. Creating complex images a separation of 0.3 mm. a transparent rnatrlx or grid .,

of horizontal and vertical tracks to be etched on the glass plates. The matrix on a typical pager display consists of 16 horizontal and 120 vertical indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode tracks. By rapidly applying voltage to selected tracks in succession, a programmed image or message can be formed. The beauty of LCDs is that they are flat and thin. Unlike bulky cathode ray tubes, LCDs have opened up a burgeoning market for personal electronics, making it possible to create a wide range of new applications, including pagers, laptop com- puters, and hand-held color televisions. One of the Centre's primary goals is to advance thin-film transistor (TFT) technology for use in active matrix LCDs. By placing a tiny transistor and capacitor at each junction in a display matrix, the charge needed to turn a pixel on or off can be stored, thereby eliminating the need for the constant reapplication of voltage required to maintain a static image; this in turn makes possible larger-sized displays. Progress in this area has already been made at CDR with the development of new improved TFT structures and chcmico-mechanical polishing processes. While much of the work at the Centre concentrates on active matrix LCDs, researchers have also discovered ways to improve the quality of passive matrix LCDs, thereby extending their potential use in products. In a contract signed with Motorola Semiconductors H.K. Ltd, Dr Zaheed KARIM of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering has successfully demon- strated the feasibility of mounting chips directly on glass LC panels using gold bumps and specially designed polymers to provide connections with the IT0 tracks in a passive LCD matrix.

At present, Hong Kong pro- duces approximately 20% of the world's LCDs, but most if not all of the LCDs produced in the territory are low-end displays. These include basic, non-matrix LCDs used for digital watches as well as passive matrix LCDs used for pagers and electronic dictionaries. According to Prof Kwok, if Hong Kong is to survive in this very competitive market, it is going to have to upgrade its technology and manufacturing base. Production of low-end LCDs will, to a greater and greater extent, be dominated by developing countries where labor costs are low. The present-day cost of producing non-matrix LCDs is roughly $2 per square inch, whereas that of producing large active matrix LCDs is approximately $80 per square inch-40 times as much. This cost differential provides Hong Kong with an incentive to establish a foothold in the lucrative active matrix LCD market. Despite the fact that Japan and Korea have created an oversupply of 1 O-inch-diagonal color LCD screens for notebook computers, Prof Kwok feels confident that Hong Kong can compete successfully in the niche market for 4-inch-diagonal LCDs, such as those found on camcorders and projectors. Entering this market would normally rcquirc an investment of over $200 million for capital equipment and a similar amount for human resources-much more than most companies can afford. By making its research expertise and state-of-the-art equipment available to local industry, the Ccntre for Display Research promises to provide Hong Kong with a fast path to developing the technology and skills needed to access the grow- ing worldwide market for matrix LCDs and to secure its future in LCD production. 0L SPRING 1996

STUDENT COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS ARE "BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST" Improving on their excellent performance of last year, the HKUST computer program- ming team placed 11th at the ACM international finals held in the United States in February, putting them in the top 1% of the world's student compu- tcr programmers. The four-member team, made up of computer science students Ken WONG Wing Kin, Chesney Wong, Vincent ip Ting Pong and alternate NGAN Sai Fong, solved five out of a possible seven problems in the four-hour time limit at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Finals held in Philadel- phia on 17 February. This year's contest was the largest ever, with 1.00 1 teams around the world competing in local contests and 43 making it through the regional semifinals to the finals. At the ACM finals last year, the HKUST team (both Ken and Sai Fong were members) placed 13th out of 38 finalists from a starting field of 789 teams. "Their performance shows a high level of consistency," says their coach, Dr Michael STIBER, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department. "They have proven that their excellent showing last year was no fluke. They are the best of the best of the best, and they have the potential to do even better." In fact, Dr Stiber says the team came "heartbreakingly close" to solving six of the seven problems, a feat which would have placed them among the top five teams in the world. "They were seconds away from finding a typo in the pro- gram which would have solved the problem," he says. This year they beat formidable competitors such as Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, and Toronto and placed well ahead best showing by a Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, which placed 34th, followed by Tsing Hua

mental computer sci ty to look at a real it to work and the talent to write a workable pro- gram quickly," Dr Stiber says. "Our showing at these contests demonstrates that our curricu- lum is on par is world-class." The team members themselves give high marks to theil coach, who spent the months before the finals prepping the students in weekly four-hour practice sessions or "simulated Colltests". Dr Stiber is now in the process of rebuilding the team for this year's round of contests. At a recent meeting open to all students interested in computer programming, 35 new recruits tried their hand at solving a few practice problems from the Internet ar- chive of past ACM contests. However, "with a three-year degree program, we are at a disadvanta<Te " says Dr Stibcr. "Students are generally best prepared tcycbmpcte in their third year. Teams from a four-yea1 university have two years to compete at that lcvcl." The Association for Computing Machinery, sponsor of the annual competition, is the leading international professional society in computer science. cl SHARP IDEA EARNS STUDENT $10,000 If you want great ideas for elec- tronic gadgets that will appeal to young people, whom would you ask? Why young people of course, and ones with expertise in elec- tronics preferably. This is exactly what Japanese electronics giant Sharp decided to do, and one young student from HKUST walked away with a $10,000 scholarship and a five- day trip to Japan for his bright idea. Second-year student LEE Wai for an "Organizing Keyman" with a Wood Pen built-in barcode reader, common dis- play link, and remote control center for controlling equipment around the home. Although Wai Ki does not know if Sharp will cvcntually nianuflicturc his design, he thinks he can come up with other innovative ideas and make a career for himself in electronics. "1 want to be an overall engineer-to take a new product through all the production stages from beginning to Ki's prize-winning idea'was end. But the idea is the most difficult part." ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS Associate vice-president for academic affairs (postgraduate studies and academic research) Prof Vincent Y. Shen, the founding Head of HKUST's Computer Science Department, has accepted a new appointment as Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs responsible for guiding postgraduate study programs and academic research at HKUST.

"I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve my col- Icagues in building high-quality postgraduate research programs," said Prof Shen. "I shall do my best to provide support so that our excellent faculty and students can realize their potential." Prof Shen received his BS from National Taiwan University and his MA and PhD from Princeton University. He came to HKUST in 1990 with extensive experience in academe and private industry. He has published more than 50 papers in various areas of computer science, co-authored a book on software engineering metrics and models, and served on the editorial boards of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Computer, and IEEE Software, for which he was associate editor-in-chief. As interim director of HKUST's Sino Software Research Centre, he founded Hong Kong SuperNet, the first licensed commercial Internet service provider in Hong Kong.

Department of civil engineering Wilson h. tang Prof Wilson H. Tang has joined the Department of Civil Engineering, where he spent six months as a visiting professor in 1995.

A widely consulted expert in risk, reliability, and decision analysis. for engineering problems, he has directed rescarch projects sponsored by the US National Science Foundation, the American

Petroleum Institute, the Office of Solid Waste Rescarch, and other agencies developing reliability methodologies in geotechnical, structural, offshore, and hydraulic engineering. Prof Tang was born in Hong Kong, where he completed his secondary education. After earning his BS and MS degrees at MIT, he went on to obtain his PhD from Stanford University in 1969. He began teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-C17ampaign that smc year and was appointed professor of civil cnginecring in 1980. He is credited with over 1 10 publications, including two widely used texts on probability concepts in engineering planning and design. He has also won several awards, including the ASCE State- of-the-Art Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the UIUC Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction. 1988 PhD 1990-95 Research Interests 1990 PhD 1995- Research Interests ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS Carnegie Mellon University (Mathematics) Asst and Assoc. Professor. Michigan State University Scientific computation; numerical solution of nonlinear PDEs; parallel algorithms; applied mathematics. VISITING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FINANCE Kalok CHAN Ohio State University (Finance) Assoc. Professor, Arizona State University Asset prices behavior; futures and options; market microstructure. 1982 PhD 1991-95 Research Interests 1993 PhD 1993-9s Research Interests ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING Chin-Tau LEA University of Washington (Electrical Engincering) Assoc. Professor, Georgia Institute of Tcchnology Broadband and wireless network architectures; high-speed electronic and photonic switching; network protocols. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOCHEMISTRY Hannah Hong Xuk University of Toronto (Biochemistry) Postdoctoral Fellow, Robertson Institute of Biotechnology, University of Glasgow Structures and functions of ligand-gatcd channel receptors. Associate professor of mathematics Qiang du 1991 PhD 1993-96 Research Interests 1993 PhD 1993-9s Research Interests 1995 PhD Research Interests 1994 PhD 1994-96 Research Interests LECTURER IN CHEMISTRY California Institute of Technology (Chemistry) Asst Research Scientist, Institute for Nonlineal Science. University of California. San Diego Ultrafast chemical dynamics; nonlinear laser spcctroscopies: elcctro-optical devices. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Bo li University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Computer Engineering) Advisory Engineer, IBM Corp. (Networking Systems) ATM networks; wireless communications; all- optical networks; internetworking; system modeling, analysis, and simulation. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING & ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT Benjamin Ping-Chang YEN Columbia University (Industrial Engineering and Operations Research) Manufacturing information systems: design of description language for production scheduling; interactive optimization of scheduling systems. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Jingshen Wu University of Sydney (Materials Science and Engineering) Research Associate, Australian Research Council and University of Sydney Polymer blend technology; plastics recycling; thermoplastics/LCP in situ composites. 1996 PhD 1994-95 Research Interests 1995 PhD Research Interests I989 PhD I994- Research Interests 1995 PhD 1994 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Douglas B. RIGHY University of Arizona (Civil Engineering) Adjunct Professor, University of Arizona Soil-structure interaction; experimental testing and constitutive modeling of soils and interfaces; groundwater flow: finite element techniques.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL Sr ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING Mansun J. chan University of California. Berkeley (Semiconductor Devices) Nanometric device physics; SO1 technology fat high-speed circuits; de\rice modeling (BSIM3); automated dcvicc charactcri~atioll systems. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Tsinghua University. Beijing (Solid Mechanics) Professor of Mechanics. Tsinghua University, Beijing Sun qing-ping Mechanics of phase tran~t)rmations in solids; micromechanics constitutive modeling and microstructure design of advanced materials. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING Derek Kwok-Wing CHAN University of British Columbia (Accounting) Instructor, University of British Columbia Economic analysis of audit markets; equilib- rium models of regulation of auditors; informa- tion economics.

I995 PhD 1992-95 Research Interests 1994 PhD 1995 Research Interests 1988 PhD 1987-94 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING Andrew T. YIM Yale University (Economics of Organization) Lecturer, University of Hong Kong Management control systems; use of accounting information; incentive contracting; s*trategic behavior of auditors. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF information & SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Christopher K. CAKTEK University of New South Wales (Mathematics) Lecturer, University of New South Wales Bayesian statistics; Markov chain Monte Carlo; time series; nonparametric regression. VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INFORMATION & SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Pai-chun MA New York University (Information Systems) Asst Professor, University of Delaware Concept visualization; information retrieval; worktlow management; negotiation and deci- sion support systems; enterprise modeling. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MARKETING A. V. MUTHIJKKISHNAN 1995 PhD Research Interests I993 PhD 1994-95 Research Interests 1995 PhD Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF FINANCE Cheol PARK University of Chicago (Economics) Corporate finance; contract theory. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INFORMATION & SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Karl Reiner LANG University of 'Texas. Austin (Management Sci- ence) Asst Professor, Free University of Berlin Decision support systems; qualitative rcason- ing; automated model building; workflow man- agement systems. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT OF ORGANISATIONS University of British Columbia (Organizational Behavior) Bargaining and negotiation; trust and rcpula- tion-building by individuals and Organizations; issues of fairness and juslicc. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES Madan pilluta Siu-woo cheung 1993 PhD 1993-95 Research Interests University of Florida (Marketing) Asst Professor, Fairleigh Dickinson University Consumer decision making. 1996 PhD Research Interests University of Washington (Anthropology) Ethnicities and ethnohistories in southern and southwestern China; subject-identity constitu- tion and representation; tourism and cultural politics.

1995 DPhil 1989-94 Research Interests 1995 PhD 1990-95 Research Interests 1996 PhD Research Interests 1995 PhD Research Interests

LECTURER IN HUMANITIES University of Oxford (History) Research Fellow, University of Gothenburg, Sociocultural history of modern South China; sociocultural changes in contemporary Guangdong countryside. Virgil k. y. ho ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES Zongli lu University of Wisconsin, Madison (Chinese) Lecturer, University of Wisconsin, Madison Chinese cultural history; political institutions: popular beliefs; textual studies. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES Man-Ho Simon WONG University of Toronto (Chinese Philosophy) Chinese Buddhism; Ming Confucianism; Tao- ism. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Carsten A. HOLZ Cornell University (Economics) China's economy; development economics; ap- plied macroeconomics and monetary econom- ics. 1995 PhD Research Interests 1988 PhD 1991-95 Research Interests 1996 PhD 1995-96 Research Interests LECTURER IN HUMANITIES Liu tik-sang University of Pittsburgh (Anthropology) Family and kinship; Chincsc popular religion and shamanism; erhnicity: ecological and visual anthropology. ASSISTANT professor of HUMANITIES Yale University (History) Xinyang wang Asst Professor, Washington Slalc University Chinese diaspora history: comparative immi- gration studies: US-China relations. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Jesus FELIPE University of Pennsylvania (Regional Science) Applied time series econometrics; productivity analysis and technological progress; East and Southeast Asian development. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HONG Yu Hung Massachusetls Institute of Technology (Urban Studies) Researcher, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Mass. Hong Kong land and environmental policies; property-rights issues in land and environmen- tal management; theories of urban and regional developnient.

沈運申教授 鄧漢忠 杜强 陳家樂 李景濤 薛紅 叢佩軍 李波 顏秉常 吳景深 李道加 陳文 新 孫慶平 陳國榮 嚴子龍博士 達基仕 馬培均 朴喆 凌家偉 費樂林 張兆和 何傑堯 呂宗 力 黃敏浩 穆嘉 廖迪生 王心揚 康宇雄