IAS Newsletter, May 2014

Abstract

IAS NEWSLETTER A New Home for IAS HKUST JCIAS May 2014 Words from the Director Words from the Director It gives me great pleasure to introduce this to you: IAS Newsletter, the showcase of IAS’ newest interesting stories. Since its establishment in 2006, the IAS team is committed to providing a knowledge hub to nurture talents in the fundamental and applied research relevant to the region’s socio-economic development. Over the years, IAS has organized over 300 Distinguished Lectures and Joint School Lectures or Seminars, 30 Programs and Workshops and 25 Nobel Lectures. Over 30 top-notch Visiting Professors have been visiting IAS on a regular interval to foster research development. We would love to share with you every piece of fascinating story behind: Why are we doing all these? What have we been doing to make IAS a truly academic community for the advanced studies? How our resources could be of assistance to academia’s growth? You are most welcome to become part of the citizens in our community, and share the joy of knowledge creation from within. We hope to make this IAS newsletter a fun piece. In Knowledge Corner, we invite our affiliates or fellows to share with general readers their most exciting frontiers of research. The IAS Chatroom, as its name implies, features chats with our faculty, visitors, or anyone who is affiliated with us. The other feature, the IAS Community, showcases any news about us, be it the new website, our newly appointed Senior Fellows, or the newly renovated discussion room. We are honored to have five new Senior Fellows on board in January 2014 to help and liaise with HKUST faculties from their respective research areas, in particular with the junior fellows. Besides, a good overview of all academic events recently held could be found under Event Highlights. We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and stay connected with us. Henry Tye Director of HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study Chair Professor of Physics Situated on the lofty hilltop, the new Lo Ka Chung Building in Lee Shau Kee Campus has started its operation since June 2013. The building serves to further solidify HKUST’s role as a research university and to facilitate the development of HKUST, and Hong Kong as a whole, as a world renowned research center and regional education hub. Charismatic Building Concept The exterior design of Lo Ka Chung Building is considered to be the most iconic one in campus, having the symbolic “I” and “A” as façade, penetrating into the building. When staying inside, you see yourself surrounded by tilted walls. That means you are in zone “A”. It is not only the exterior that makes the building standing out from others, but the interior design also has its charisma. The open atrium in the center connecting five storeys symbolizes the cohesion of different users in the building. The use of glasses all over the building encourages interactions among the researchers. It also allows users to take advantage of their physical location where panoramic sea and campus views are inescapably captured in everyone’s eyes. It also maximizes the influx of daylight – even on rainy days – as an effective green measure to minimize electricity consumption. The building is thus certified as Provisional Gold Rating (BEAM 4/04, an assessment method by HK-BEAM Society), meaning that indoor environmental quality and amenities are up to “Very Good” level. A Multi-functional Building The five-storey emblematic building houses a 200-seat lecture theater, an open auditorium, three seminar rooms, a conference room and approximately 100 offices. Serving people from a wide spectrum of disciplines, IAS needs to accommodate carefully their diverse needs when designing the use of the facilities. “We try every effort to make this a dynamic place to suit different needs,” said Katherine Wong, IAS Senior Manager.“Glassboards are installed on every floor to enable research groups and scholars to discuss anytime, anywhere. Sofas and chairs can be found here and there in the open space for we embrace the importance in creating a cozy ambience to foster face-to-face interactions. Lecture theater and seminar rooms are equipped with modern facilities for effective and professional presentations. As for the lobby, it is spacious and versatile for a variety of functions. So far we have had academic poster sessions, reception luncheons, music concerts, inaugural cocktail events – you name it.” she continued. “IAS is eagerly expecting the arrival of a new neighbor – the Conference Tower – by 2015. This lodging facility shall further facilitate visits of academic visitors in the long run.” 1 An Ideal Platform to Inspire, Aspire and Soar IAS Community IAS Lo Ka Chung Building: Positive Feedbacks Since its operation in June 2013, there were numerous scholars, students, program participants, lecture attendees as well as other faculty members and colleagues who had personally visited and used the building first-hand. Some participants of the world’s well-known Gordon Research Conferences that took place in IAS last summer spoke highly of the venue: • “The lecture hall, break area, and poster area were all the best compared to all other meetings.” • “Beautiful location. New and state-of-the-art facility with nice office space for afternoon work.” • “The facilities were modern and up to date.” The proximity to the nature has also been a hot topic among the staff and students on campus. “I couldn’t imagine how to make it to climb up the hill every day before moving into this new home. But it finally works out well – what’s so bad if you can do some exercises and they’re not really that heavy?” said Maggie Law, IAS staff, who witnessed the transition from the previous office to the present one. “I enjoy very much the spectacular view of the 5/F balcony. I went there whenever I encounter any difficult problems in my research,” said Hong Fu, an MPhil student of Physics from the Particle Theory and Cosmology Research Group at HKUST, “I feel like photosynthesized under the sunshine,” he laughed. IAS Visiting Professors Marvin Cohen and Yuen-Ron Shen, both from the University of California at Berkeley, also enjoyed their recent visits to IAS in April. “We like working in this building very much. We like seeing the big birds flying freely outside our office – it is just fabulous.” said Prof Cohen. “This is a beautiful place with excellent staff. I am sure that the institute will have a promising future to attract more talents and distinguished scholars from all over the world,” continued Prof Shen. IAS is striving for excellence on its way to the success of running the Hong Kong’s first-of-its-kind Institute for Advanced Study. With its strategic mission to be a premier intellectual center in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond, IAS is deemed to be a legend as one of the HKUST milestones. 2 IAS Community Quick Facts The IAS building capital project was kicked off in 2009. It was funded by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The project was designed and carried out by Woods Bagot and Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers (HK) Ltd respectively. It was built on a slope in Lee Shau Kee Campus, together with the Lee Shau Kee Business Building. IAS moved to this new home in mid-June 2013. IAS is proud to announce that _ve new Senior Fellows have come on board in January 2014. Including these five professors, there are in total 19 IAS Senior Fellows from different disciplines. Senior Fellows are under the IAS fellowship program for HKUST faculty members. It aims to build clusters of research activities in IAS and new initiatives at HKUST, and create an environment conducive to promoting interdisciplinary research. IAS Senior Fellows are expected to help maintain a vibrant scholarly atmosphere at HKUST and IAS, to lead frontier research projects that echo the mission of IAS, and to promote research interaction between IAS and academic departments. They contribute to and participate in the IAS activities as well as program running. They may also act as mentors to IAS Postdoctoral Fellows. Here are the five new IAS Senior Fellows and their sharing: Guochen Jia Chair Professor of Chemistry “It is a great honor for me to be associated with IAS. It provides a good opportunity for me to learn from and to work with brilliant scientists.” Kei May Lau Chair Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering “Since the establishment of IAS in 2008, I have introduced and engaged a few eminent scholars, namely Profs Evelyn Hu, Shuji Nakamura, Thomas Kuech, and Steven DenBaars, to IAS, as well as suggested many prominent top researchers to give IAS talks. Prof Hu has initiated and is working with us on a summer project collaborative program for Harvard and HKUST students to work together. The other three professors are working on an on-going Theme-based Research Project with my group. Furthermore, Prof Yablonovitch has participated in our proposal application. My plan is to continue such effort with IAS Visiting Professors in my research area.” Jaideep Sengupta Chinese Estates Professor of Business and Chair Professor of Marketing “It is an honor to have been appointed a Senior Fellow at the IAS. I look forward to working with colleagues in activities and programs consistent with the goals of the Institute – for instance, helping to conduct research workshops that attract leading scholars to HKUST to engage in sustained scholarly interaction with colleagues and doctoral students. Such endeavors will, I hope, further enrich the vibrant intellectual atmosphere of the University, and enhance our reputation both locally and globally.” Xiaoping Wang Chair Professor of Mathematics “I am honored to be an IAS Senior Fellow. Through the IAS platform, I hope to make contributions in organizing IAS programs and conferences, in promoting interdisciplinary, collaborative research between local and international researchers.” Tianshou Zhao Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering “IAS engages the best and the brightest of HKUST, bringing forth a much-needed platform for collaborative research that transcends disciplines. As an energy researcher, much of my work requires the collaboration between scientists, intellectuals and policy makers for this multidisciplinary subject. IAS provides the perfect opportunities to establish these important networks. It has been a great honor to be an IAS Senior Fellow and I look forward to what the future holds for this institute.” 3 IAS Community New IAS Senior Fellows 4 IAS Community IAS has just revamped and launched its new website in early February 2014, making a new digital home for IAS news and information. This is the second revamp since the last one conducted back in 2010. Considering from the users’ perspectives, the website’s structure, layout and functions are further reviewed and improved. Here are the major enhancements. Easy navigation Web pages are now much clearly organized with easy navigation everywhere on the website. Upcoming events such as programs, conferences, lectures and seminars are placed on the front page. Latest news that features IAS people and development is also listed with more photos. IAS Channel, being one of the greatest assets for the benefit of the HKUST community and beyond, is put up on the top for handy access. Eye-catching photos and website style The use of more eye-catching photos and graphics has added much color to the overall style of the website. Users can also feel the dynamics and vitality of IAS and understand the operation better with more lively event photos. Functional improvement Search feature for information such as events is now fully functional with a freshly established database. The website also facilitates easier accessibility with tablet or smart phone viewing by removing unnecessary obsolete features, such as _ash elements. Information sharing To make this a comprehensive pool, more relevant information is included. New sessions such as History & Development, Photo Gallery, and Facilities are added. Check out more on http://ias.ust.hk Website Revamp: A New Digital Home There are currently a lot of research activities worldwide aimed at creating a new generation of materials and structures that can manipulate light and sound and use these materials to realize superior wave manipulation functionalities that go beyond the limit of normal materials. These “wave functional materials” include photonic crystals, phononic crystals, metamaterials and plasmonic structures. They can make what seems to be impossible possible and has the potential to bring future technology closer to reality. The simplest example of a wave functional material would be ordinary lenses made of glass, which by bending light in a simple way have become the key component of optical instruments such as microscopes and telescopes. Ordinary lenses are very simple: they are made of a single material (glass) with a very simple structure (crafted surfaces). Advances in theory and fabrication technology have allowed us to make multi-component composites with many more degrees of freedom to control waves. We can now design and fabricate new materials composing of an array of engineered resonating units arranged in a periodic structure with a shape that is optimized for a specific functionality. If the resonant units and the lattice period are much smaller than the wavelength, the material is called a “metamaterial”. If the lattice period is close to the wavelength, the material is called a “photonic crystal”. If the resonant units are made of nano-scale metallic structures that are resonant at optical frequencies, the material is called a “plasmonic structure”. These materials can manipulate waves in a way that traditional optical elements such as a glass lens cannot. They can control the density of radiation modes (giving more efficient light emitting devices, thermal radiation control), bend light in unusual ways (giving negative refraction, super-resolution, efficient antennae), modify scattering and absorption properties (giving science-fiction type effects such as invisibility, stealth, noise reduction, superior light harvesting), confine and guide waves (giving optical chips, superior wave guides, highly directional sources) and increase local field strength (giving ultra-sensitive sensors, light manipulation of matter, strong non-linear effects). HKUST has a team that has been actively participating in this exciting development by introducing new concepts in this field such as photonic quasi-crystals, negative dynamic mass, acoustic metamaterials, remote cloaking, illusion optics and optical pulling force. The research in this area is supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council through the Areas of Excellence Project “Novel Wave Functional Materials for Manipulating Light and Sound”. The research team consists of 8 faculties from HKUST and partners from Hong Kong Baptist University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The figure shows a prism shaped photonic crystal comprising a square array of Sirods 25 _m high. The sample is made by Prof W.Y. Tam’s group using electron-beam lithography and samples like this will behave as if it has a zero-refractive index. Zero-index material is a special kind of wave functional material. In a specific frequency range, zero-index materials are “more empty than vacuum” for light travelling inside it. Selected as the cover story of Nature Photonics, HKUST research group showed that “optical tractor beam” (i.e. using light to pull an object) is possible. 5 Functional Materials Wave by Che Ting Chan, Executive Director of IAS and Chair Professor of Physics Knowledge Corner Prof Paul Schimmel is the Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor of Molecular Biology and Chemistry in The Scripps Research Institute. His major research activities have concentrated on the decoding of genetic information, with emphasis on the rules of the universal genetic code which are established through aminoacylation reactions catalyzed by a group of enzymes known as Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases. Prof Schimmel joined IAS since 2008 as an IAS Visiting Professor. IAS : Prof Schimmel, the IAS HKUST – Scripps R&D Laboratory was established at HKUST almost six years ago with the Hong Kong government’s support through the Innovation and Technology Fund. Could you share with us the recent progress of your team here? Paul : The research team here in HKUST is mostly focused on studying new molecules that could treat inflammatory muscle conditions. These conditions are usually progressive and eventually fatal. By the research works, the team has been able to finalize more than 150 therapeutical patent applications of new compositions/proteins whose existence was not known before and resistibly proved that the new compositions can be used in many human therapeutical settings. Recently, the team has tested one of these compositions in a healthy human volunteer in Europe. Given the small research group consisting of 5 graduates from HKUST, this is definitely a remarkable achievement. - on Research, Entrepreneurship and 6 Prof Paul Schimmel IAS Chatroom IAS : You are one of the founding members of IAS and you have witnessed the development of IAS throughout the years. How would you describe the development of IAS? What are the changes over the years from your perspective? Paul : The IAS started as an ‘idea’ under the leadership of Prof Paul Chu and his deputy Prof Angelina Yee. To introduce IAS to the University community and the global community, large number of lectures by outstanding and well-known scientists were organized. The vision was, first, to build a large structure devoted to the IAS in a prominent location; and second, to recruit an excellent and well-known scientist as leader. With the new building and the recruitment of Prof Henry Tye, these objectives have been met, and even exceeded. Henry has gone on to recruit top people into the IAS, and continues to grow the Institute with quality people. IAS : Why would you choose HKUST/Hong Kong as one of your research bases in Asia? Could you enlighten us on the differences in doing research/business in Hong Kong and elsewhere? Paul : I have long loved Asia and its people. Starting in my days as a young faculty member at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), I had many students from Asia. Two of my earliest were young women from Hong Kong. Later, at The Scripps, my laboratory became heavily ‘Asianized’, especially with Mainland Chinese. As the world expanded and Asia grew, I decided that I wanted to put a ‘foot in Asia’ to do research, and thereby contribute and participate in the shift of the world’s center from the West to Asia. Hong Kong is always a place where most westerners feel easy to adapt to. The major reason that I chose HKUST was that HKUST is a young university with a large pool of western-educated faculty and young scientists and it is very much like MIT. I have never regretted this choice. IAS : You are a professor while at the same time an entrepreneur. The two communities are quite different in terms of values and the way of thinking. You have mentioned in one of your dialogues with Prof Mingjie Zhang back in 2009 that this was one of the challenges you faced in commercializing the technology discovered in your research. Is this still a challenge for you at the moment? How do you overcome it? Paul : Yes, this is still a challenge but the model used at MIT and the Scripps works well so far. At MIT and at the Scripps, we are able to forward integrate our discoveries for applications to human health. This effort requires us to be able to keep the academic atmosphere open and free, while at the same time to generate intellectual property that is out-licensed. So, we strongly support the open access and urge our people at MIT, the Scripps, and the IAS to freely share their ideas and to give talks within the university. Commercial organizations make their own agreements with the university on the intellectual property. This model has worked for decades at MIT and the Scripps, and is more or less in place here at HKUST. This forward integration is critical for society to see the benefits of their taxpayer resources, through the eventual creation of jobs and better medicines. Work-Life Balance 7 8 IAS Chatroom IAS : Do you find it difficult to communicate science to investors and the general public? How do you explain the technical knowledge to laymen? Paul : This is a very hard thing to learn. From my experience, there are two ways of doing that. First, present the message by showing a visual image to the general public. For instance, you can show a medical photo to someone who is disabled and tell him/her that you can change that. Second, you can tell a true story that non-science people can understand. One story to share is about a 22-year-old woman who had liver transplant. She got infected in the hospital because her immune system was compromised (i.e. she was on medication to suppress the immune system to prevent transplant rejection). Her situation was very critical and no medicine could help at that time. Our research team sought permission from the Food and Drug Administration in the US to prescribe the newly developed medicine which had not been approved yet. The medicine finally saved her life. Aside from this story, I got an interesting experience while attending dinner after a meeting in New York. A woman grabbed and squeezed me tightly. That woman said my research saved her life. Although huge financial investment is required in doing the research, the humanity impact of such investment is immeasurable too. Life is priceless! IAS : As you are so devoted to your research, could you tell us how you manage your time and maintain a healthy balance between work and life? Paul : My wife’s tremendous support and my early marriage gave me the stability to devote myself to research. I was married at the age of 21 while I was an undergraduate. Shortly thereafter we had 2 daughters while I was in graduate school. I promised my wife that I would always devote Sunday to the family and that I would always be at the dinner table for the family when I am in town. This works out well for us. IAS : You are very successful in both your research and your business. Is there anything that you would like to achieve further in the future? Paul : I want to have more discoveries related to the projects at HKUST/IAS. I believe that this work can make a big and transformative change to medicine and help society enormously. I think another important thing for all of us is to develop a sense of wisdom and self-development that you never stop working on. I always want to feel that I am learning and absorbing knowledge. I am very much interested in helping other people to become successful and find themselves, not in the format of lectures but in the format of being involved in their lives. IAS : Do you have any comments or suggestions for IAS so that we can improve further? Paul : I would like to see more opportunities to have all the IAS people brought together, from time to time, to brainstorm and share experiences. I think a great advantage of the IAS is the cross-disciplinary nature and composition of its members. I would love to hear talks in physics, economics, engineering, literature and stay for a week or two to enjoy and participate. It would also give them a better sense of community within the IAS. Led by Prof Penger Tong, Chair Professor of Physics, Prof Ping Sheng and Prof Xiaoping Wang, IAS Senior Fellows, and their organizing committee involving CUHK, HKU and HKBU, this program brings together researchers from all over the world who are currently working in the area of soft condensed matter physics and engineering, including world leading scientists, young scientists, postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students, to present their most exciting work in the frontiers of soft matter research and to have stimulating discussions about the recent development and future directions in the _eld. The 3-week-long program includes a series of tutorials, lectures, an international conference, and a student-led workshop, of which each of them lasts for a week, attracting over 140 participants. IAS has been organizing topical research programs to promote the creation and development of clusters of research activities and new initiatives at HKUST. Three programs and one workshop were held at the IAS building in January 2014, attracting a total of over 220 participants across continents. Organized by IAS Visiting Professor Shou-Wu Zhang (Princeton), IAS Senior Fellow Prof Jianshu Li, IAS Fellow Prof Xuhua He, and Prof Christopher Skinner (Princeton), this program aims to gather world-class experts and future leaders in special cycles and p-adic L-functions working on several precise topics: • Special cycles on Shimura varieties • p-adic L-functions • p-adic analogous of Gan-Gross-Prasad conjectures • Iwasawa theory The program includes a 3-day mini-conference, seminars and introductory lectures over three weeks. With a speci_c focus, the program was joined by over 30 participants from Canada, China, Switzerland and US. 9 IAS Topical Research Programs in January Event Highlights Special Cycles and p-adic L-functions 2 – 31 January 2014 Frontiers of Soft Matter Physics: from Non-equilibrium Dynamics to Active Matter 2-29 January 2014 Topological matters are gapped in the bulk and support topologically protected gapless boundary states. The program aims to bring together experts in the _eld of topological matters to discuss the recent progress made in this _eld, with emphasis on topological superconductors and Majorana Fermions. The program was co-chaired by IAS Visiting Professor Patrick Lee (MIT), Prof Tai Kai Ng and Prof Kam Tuen Law from Department of Physics. Joined by over 50 participants, the 3-week program provided ample opportunities for work and discussions. The one-day workshop consists of _ve talks on emerging applications of modern control theory and applications. The emerging control applications discussed include smart grid, smart transportation systems, networked control systems, _nancial engineering, complex dynamical systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Each of the aforementioned applications involves integration of control theory with other theories such as information theory, networking theory, communication theory, etc., to various degrees. Led by Prof Li Qiu and Prof Ling Shi from Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, _ve experts including IAS Visiting Professor Pravin Varaiya (UC Berkeley) and IAS Af_liate Member Prof Xiren Cao shared their recent research and development in these frontiers of control theory and their views on the future research directions. Close to 40 people attended the workshop. 10 Event Highlights A group photo was taken to signify the opening of the International Conference on the IAS Program on Frontiers of Soft Matter Physics. The IAS programs received enthusiastic feedback from program participants: • “The IAS program was of extremely high level and very well organized - it ranks among the top programs I have attended.” • “It is comparable to the KITP programs in Santa Barbara and Beijing, and the Isaac Newton programs at Cambridge, UK.” • “Overall, I had an incredible experience at HKUST. I thought the organization was great and the scienti_c content was enlightening. For me, it really showcased Hong Kong and Asian science and the HKUST campus.” • “The program at HKUST IAS had a much greater time for informal discussions, which I think is great and very useful.” Currently, IAS is running two other programs on Wave Functional Materials (Jan – Jun 2014) and Particle Theory (Feb 2013 – Dec 2014). Details can be found on the IAS website. 11 Event Highlights IAS Programs attract participants from various regions and disciplines. Participants bene_t from active discussions with each other in the lectures. Prof Patrick Lee, IAS Visiting Professor and one of the organizers of the IAS Program on Topological Matter, Superconductivity and Majorana, shares his widsom in its seminar. What is IAS Program? IAS Program is a topical research program frequently held in winter and summer times at the IAS building. It usually consists of short courses, workshops, and in some cases postdoc-led or postgraduate student-led discussion sessions. One to two talks are scheduled every day to promote in-depth discussions between the speaker and participants. Discussions of important topics may be carried on for days or even longer. In many cases, an associated international conference is held during the program time to benefit a much larger group of people who are unable to commit a longer time to participate in a program. Apart from the regular fully-fledged research programs, smaller-scale focused programs on particular topics are also organized during the term. Bringing this form of mind-opening learning experience to Hong Kong helps nurture our young scholars and postgraduate students to become world-class scholars and innovative entrepreneurs for the future Hong Kong society. IAS welcomes faculties, who are interested in running the IAS Program or IAS Focused Program, to submit proposal. For more details, please visit http://ias.ust.hk/proposal. 12 Event Highlights IAS Programs are held at the Lo Ka Chung Building, offering ample space and opportunities for productive interactions and discussions. Prof Xuhua He, IAS Fellow, speaks on “Representation of Finite Groups of Lie Type” for the IAS Program on Special Cycles and p-adic L-functions. 13 Event Highlights UC RUSAL President’s Forum Walking through the hustle and bustle of main campus atrium in the afternoon of 27 March 2014, there you reached the UC RUSAL President’s Forum venue. Registrants including friends and supporters of HKUST, government officials, business representatives, faculties and students as well as a good number of walk-ins filled the 300-seat lecture theater quickly, not to mention those who were in the instant-broadcast room next door. At the forum, President Prof Tony F. Chan had a profound dialogue with the guest speaker, Mr Chuanzhi Liu, Chairman of Legend Holdings Corporation and Founder and Honorary Chairman of Lenovo. Mr Liu shared his insights on “The Growth of China’s Manufacturers – Talking about Legend”, and highlighted his three secrets in effective management after running Lenovo successfully for years: to build a team; to set out strategic plans; and to lead the team forward. Distinguished Lectures & Joint School Lectures If you are within the HKUST family, you should have heard of the lectures organized by IAS. Between January and April 2014, IAS organized 17 Distinguished Lectures and 11 Joint School / Public Lectures. These lectures, covering a broad range of topics from various disciplines, attracted a good number of attendance from the local academic community. These activities provide a vibrant and exciting environment to nurture homegrown talents. Take a look at the list on the next page, and see if you have attended any of them. Missed one or more you have wanted to attend? Look up for the video recordings on the IAS Channel http://ias.ust.hk/webcast. What is UC RUSAL President’s Forum? The UC RUSAL President’s Forum is organized under the auspices of IAS and is held biannually at HKUST. Prestigious scholars and scientists as well as successful business leaders and entrepreneurs are invited to share with the audience their views on varied topics including the latest trends in science and technology and its relationship with and impact on humankind, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Speakers also engage in a dialogue with the HKUST President. A list of past forums can be found from the IAS website http://ias.ust.hk/ucrusal. List of Distinguished Lectures (Jan – Apr 2014) 2 Jan 2014 “Engineering Nanocrystalline Photocatalysts” by Prof Max Lu, The University of Queensland 6 Jan 2014 “Plastics: A Solution to Our Energy Challenges or Just Wishful Thinking?” by Prof Stephen Forrest, University of Michigan 9 Jan 2014 “Chemical and Biological Microsystems – Advantages of Going Small” by Prof Klavs Jensen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 14 Jan 2014 “Complexity and Time-Reversed Waves: From Metamaterial to Medicine” by Prof Mathias Fink, École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris 20 Jan 2014 “Quantum Reality” by Prof Sankar Das Sarma, University of Maryland 22 Jan 2014 “Nanostructured Functional Hybrid Materials by Taming Radicals” by Prof Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon University 24 Jan 2014 “Defects with Character: Zero-Energy Majorana Modes in Condensed-Matter Systems” by Prof Bertrand Halperin, Harvard University 27 Jan 2014 “GFP: Lighting Up Life” by Prof Martin Chal_e, Columbia University; Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 14 Feb 2014 “Toughening Polymers and Their Fibre Composites: Whither “Nano” or “Micro”?” by Prof Yiu-Wing Mai, The University of Sydney and HKUST IAS 18 Feb 2014 “Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Soft Electronics” by Prof Young Hee Lee, Sungkyunkwan University 20 Feb 2014 “Photoelectric Effect – A Century of Scienti_c Discovery” by Prof Zhi-Xun Shen, Stanford University 24 Feb 2014 “The Body Shop” by Prof Kristi Anseth, University of Colorado at Boulder 26 Feb 2014 “Aerial Robot Swarms” by Prof Vijay Kumar, University of Pennsylvania 31 Mar 2014 “California and the Personal Economy” by Sir Michael Moritz, Chairman of Sequoia Capital 1 Apr 2014 “Controlling Light and Micro_ows to Create Functional Particles” by Prof Patrick Doyle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 14 Apr 2014 “The Recurring Challenge of Particulate Air Pollution” by Prof Richard C. Flagan, California Institute of Technology and HKUST IAS 22 Apr 2014 “Omlet: A Platform for a Programmable Open Mobile Internet (POMI)” by Prof Monica S. Lam, Stanford University List of Joint School / Public Lectures (Jan – Apr 2014) 21 Jan 2014 “Atomic – Continuum Coupled Model and Its Algorithm for the Dynamic Behaviors of Metallic Micro-Nano Device” by Prof Junzhi Cui, Chinese Academy of Sciences 23 Jan 2014 “Organ Development and Regeneration in Zebra_sh” by Prof Didier Stainier, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research 27 Jan 2014 “Synthesis of Chiral Allylboron and Enolborane Reagents via Allene and Acrylamide Hydroboration Reactions, and Applications to the Synthesis of Natural Products” by Prof William Roush, The Scripps Research Institute – Scripps Florida 10 Feb 2014 “Atomtronics: An Ultracold Matter Analog of Electronics” by Prof Dana Anderson, University of Colorado at Boulder 18 Mar 2014 “Raman Spectroscopy of Graphene and Nanotubes” by Prof Riichiro Saito, Tohoku University 20 Mar 2014 “Recent Development of High Strength and High Ductility Nanostructured Materials for Light Weight Structures through Advanced Design” by Prof Jian Lu, City University of Hong Kong 20 Mar 2014 “Strati_cation and Mobility in Multiple Generations” by Prof Robert Mare, University of California at Los Angeles 24 Mar 2014 “Challenging (and maybe Transforming) Capitalism through Real Utopias” by Prof Erik Olin Wright, University of Wisconsin-Madison 24 Mar 2014 “考據與《紅樓夢》研究的新局＂ 黃一農教授, 國立清華大學 17 Apr 2014 “In Situ Studies of Surface Reactions” by Prof Hans-Peter Steinrück, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg 30 Apr 2014 “Our Whole Universe from Nothing” by Prof Henry Tye, HKUST IAS 14 Event Highlights 15 Event Highlights Nurturing Young Researchers IAS is committed to nurturing young researchers and is currently providing support to the Clear Water Bay Young Scholar Club (CWBYSC). CWBYSC has been launched to provide a platform for young scholars in HKUST to learn how to advance at their early stage of academic careers. With the established IAS networks, IAS supports CWBYSC in inviting local and overseas speakers from different backgrounds to share their research experience in the monthly seminars. Prof Bertrand Halperin, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and Professor of Physics, Harvard University, gives a Distinguished Lecture on Defects with Character: Zero-Energy Majorana Modesin Condensed- Matter Systems on 24 Jan 2014. What are IAS Distinguished Lectures & Joint School Lectures? Working hand in hand with the schools and faculties, IAS supports and organizes visits of distinguished scholars to deliver lectures at HKUST to stimulate new thinking and research directions and inspire students. The talk usually lasts from one to two hours on a weekday afternoon during term time to encourage participation from the local academic community. IAS NEWS IAS Senior Fellow won the First Class 2013 National Science and Technology Awards (26 Mar 2014) Prof Charles Ng, IAS Senior Fellow and Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST, won the First Class in Scientific and Technological Progress, the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards set up by the Ministry of Education. The award recognizes outstanding research projects at all tertiary institutions in China. This year, two HKUST projects received the award. IAS Senior Fellow Receives Khwarizmi International Award (24 Mar 2014) Prof Ben Zhong Tang, IAS Senior Fellow and Stephen Kam Chuen Cheong Professor of Science and Chair Professor of Chemistry at HKUST, has been selected as a laureate of the 27th Khwarizmi International Award (KIA) by the Iranian Organization for Science and Technology. Prof Tang received the Khwarizmi International Award, Second Class, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and its high-tech applications in the areas of optoelectronic devices, chemical sensors, and biological probes. IAS Senior Fellow Elected to Chinese Academy of Sciences (17 Feb 2014) Prof Jian-shu Li, IAS Senior Fellow and Chair Professor of Mathematics at HKUST, has been elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for his outstanding achievements in Mathematics, and becomes the first Hong Kong-based scholar elected to the Academy’s Division of Mathematics and Physics. The honor brings the total number of CAS members at HKUST to six, of which four are IAS Senior Fellows. IAS Senior Fellow and his research team won State Natural Science Award for High- Performance Alcohol Fuel Cell (13 Jan 2014) Prof Tianshou Zhao, IAS Senior Fellow, Director of the HKUST Energy Institute and Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST, and his research team received 2013 State Natural Science Award (Second Class) from the State Council of the People’s Republic of China for their pioneering work on Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells (DAFC). 16 IAS News 17 Forthcoming Events & Visitors Forthcoming Events Forthcoming Visitors Date Title Speaker IAS Focused Programs 12–15 May 2014 Computational and Experimental Immunology 23–28 Jun 2014 Cold Atoms IAS Workshops 19–23 May 2014 New Perspectives on Cosmology 22–25 May 2014 Advances in Microeconometrics IAS Symposium 26–28 Aug 2014 Activated Sludge: Past and Next 100 Years Distinguished Lectures 8 May 2014 20 May 2014 10 Jun 2014 Joint School Lecture 9 May 2014 Prof Nathan Lewis George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology Prof Earl Dowell William Holland Hall Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University Prof Andrew Walder Denise O'Leary and Kent Thiry Professor, Stanford University Prof Hang Lu Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Name Prof Jean-Marie Tarascon, IAS Senior Visiting Fellow University of Picardie Jules Verne Prof Paul Schimmel, IAS Visiting Professor Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor of Molecular Biology and Chemistry The Scripps Research Institute Prof Arup Chakraborty, IAS Visiting Professor Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof Chih-Ming Ho, IAS Visiting Professor Ben Rich-Lockheed Martin Chair Professor University of California at Los Angeles Prof Eli Yablonovitch, IAS Visiting Professor James & Katherine Lau Chair in Engineering University of California at Berkeley Prof Jamal Deen, IAS Senior Visiting Fellow Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering McMaster University Prof Roger Howe, IAS Visiting Professor William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Mathematics Yale University Prof Steven Louie, IAS Visiting Professor Professor of Physics University of California at Berkeley A Technical and Operational Perspective on the DOE Energy Innovation Hub in Fuels from Sunlight, the Joint Center for Arti_cial Photosynthesis Nonlinear Dynamics of Fluid and Structural Systems Rebellion and Repression in China, 1966-1971 Microtechnologies for High-throughput High-content Development Biology and Neurogenetics Visit Period 10 Apr–9 May 2014; 1 Aug–30 Sep 2014 3–9 May 2014 11–18 May 2014 22–26 May 2014 24–31 May 2014 3 Jun 2014–2 Jan 2015 7–22 Jun 2014 9–16 Jun 2014 HKUST JOCKEY CLUB INSTITUTE for ADVANCED STUDY Lo Ka Chung Building, Lee Shau Kee Campus, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2358-5912 Fax: (852) 2719-6615 Email: ias@ust.hk Web: http://ias.ust.hk Online version can be found at http://ias.ust.hk/newsletter PTC-G15744