HKUST in China's Top Hi-Tech Showcase

Abstract

[evdate 2002-10-12] Press Release 11 October 2002

HKUST IN CHINA'S TOP HI-TECH SHOWCASE

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will display its research and development achievements in biotechnology, microelectronics, information technology, and the environment at the fourth annual China Hi-Tech Fair to be opened in Shenzhen tomorrow (12 October).

This is the fourth consecutive year that HKUST has participated in the Fair, the largest annual international technology event of its kind on the Chinese Mainland. Each year the event attracts more than 300,000 visitors, and, since its inception, has closed in business deals worth US$25 billion. The Fair will run until 17 October.

HKUST will showcase a range of biotechnology programs, including the Biotechnology Research Institute's High Throughput Screening Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine. One focus of the Center is the discovery and identification of biologically active compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of neuro-diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The Center performs in-house screening projects and offers services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing TCM products.

Another biotechnology project on display is a new type of Foot-and-Mouth Disease vaccine developed at HKUST's Technology Transfer Center. This genetically engineered vaccine compares favorably with conventional products in terms of safety, efficacy and price. Tests of the new vaccine conducted on pigs in Hong Kong and China have yielded very successful results.

In the field of environmental protection, HKUST's Center for Coastal and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) will introduce its pollution research on the Pearl River Estuary and its coastal environment. CCAR will also showcase its state-of-the-art Windshear Turbulence Warning and Wind Monitoring System, and the Numerical Weather Prediction System?the only near real-time weather forecast system running in an Asian academic institution. The Institute for Environment & Sustainable Development will present the Mobile Real-time Air Monitoring Platform, designed for continuous measurement in motion of air pollutant concentrations.

HKUST RandD Corporation Ltd will exhibit its Speech Enabled Auto Attendant system, which employs advanced technologies to engage callers in a natural language dialogue, and is able to execute transfers to extensions upon verbal request. Two member companies of HKUST's Entrepreneurship Program will also present their hi-tech products. Integrated Microdisplays Ltd will showcase its Liquid Crystal On Silicon Microdisplay, developed for projectors and wearable display applications. SinoCDN Ltd will promote LinkEasy, a policy-based traffic-shaping device that allows service providers to provide seamless connectivity.

The China Hi-Tech Fair is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Development Planning Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government. Provincial and municipal governments of the Chinese Mainland, organizations from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, top mainland universities, foreign delegations, and multinational companies will all attend.

China Hi-Tech Fair Date:12-17 October 2002 Venue:China Hi-Tech Fair Exhibition Center, Shenzhen Shenzhen Citizen Center Museum

For media enquiries only: Adrian Cheung Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Tel: (852) 2358-6305 email: acheung@ust.hk Online press release can be downloaded at http www.ust.hk/en/cgi-bin/pa0001.pl