IAS Newsletter, September 2015

Abstract

HKUST JOCKEY CLUB INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IAS NEWSLETTER SEP 2015 The Path of Prof Gunther Uhlmann EffecTS From to Causes Words from the Director Sep 2015 1 Henry Tye Director HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study In June 2015, I shared with HKUST deans and heads of academic departments / divisions the plan to offer termed professorships to attract young stars to IAS to complement our existing permanent memberships. This IAS Professorship Program for “young star” faculties is intended to add further strengths for HKUST to recruit (and retain) outstanding faculties at their mid-career who have clearly demonstrated the potential to become world’s leaders at the frontiers of knowledge. Receiving encouraging initial responses, I look forward to working closely with fellow colleagues to start this exciting front to bring more top talents to HKUST and IAS. Please let me know if you have any qualified candidates in mind. At the beginning of 2015, the Office of the Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies joined hands with IAS to set up a matching fund to recruit outstanding postdoctoral level young scholars as Research Assistant Professors / IAS Junior Fellows to broaden and complement HKUST’s research capabilities. Through this exercise, we succeeded in getting on board 13 Research Assistant Professors, seven of whom are concurrently appointed as IAS Junior Fellows. As you read on, you will be amazed by the great work done and breakthroughs made by our Junior Fellows. Led by VPRGO, this scheme has been fine-tuned and will invite new applications shortly. HKUST is going to celebrate its jubilee anniversary; IAS will turn 10 next year; I will conclude my directorship by end of 2015 (or until when the new director has been on board). Joining HKUST in January 2011 as IAS Director, I have spent close to five remarkable years in this wonderful place. It has been my profound privilege and pleasure to have connected with numerous distinguished scholars through the unique IAS platform. I will continue to serve HKUST as IAS Professor and Chair Professor of Physics beginning 2016. With much regret, I am yet delighted to inform you IAS Senior Manager Katherine Wong just assumed the role of Director of Postgraduate Studies Administration of the University, after serving IAS for almost six years. Success won’t happen overnight. Your support counts. Please read “Call for Proposals” inside this Newsletter to see how we can collaborate to attract more talents and cutting-edge research activities to HKUST. Thank you. IAS Chatroom Sep 2015 2 The Path of Prof Gunther Uhlmann From ERfEfSeUcLTT SS to Causes - IAS Chatroom Sep 2015 3 As the world’s leading mathematician on inverse problem, Prof Gunther Uhlmann’s research focuses on determining the identity of an object by measuring how the object scatters incoming light, sound waves or other types of waves. He has proven that by measuring the scattered waves at a boundary, a person may not be able to tell what that object is as he can construct two different objects that give exactly the same scattering. This actually implies Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility can become real. Prof Uhlmann is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Bôcher Memorial Prize by the American Mathematical Society and the Kleinman Prize by the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2013, he joined HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study as the first IAS Si Yuan Professor. As a world-leading mathematician, you are famous for your research on inverse problems and imaging. Why did you approach these areas in the first place? What major difficulties did you encounter when doing the research and how did you solve the problems? At the very beginning, my research was on a different topic. When I was visiting at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, I attended a public talk about inverse problems. It was a similar kind of talk to what IAS is doing now. I hadn’t thought nor worked on inverse problems before and they were still largely unknown in mathematics. I really liked the topic and wanted to understand it better so I switched my field of study to inverse problems. For the first inverse problem I tried to solve, I worked with a collaborator and for two years we found no solution. But the hard work paid off in the long run, and we eventually solved the problem. Being a mathematician is frustrating because most of the time you are stuck. Solving mathematical problems is not like doing other scientific research where you can find solutions by conducting experiments. In mathematics you may need to spend a long time coming up with new ideas on how to solve the problem. We would just keep thinking about it on and off. Discussing with a collaborator and colleague also helped a lot with this process. When you get confused, things often become clearer when you have to explain it to another person. I like collaborations very much. You learn much from others and also develop many friendships. IAS Gunther IAS Chatroom Sep 2015 4 The idea of invisible cloaking is an all-time hit in science fictions and movies. When do you think it will come to reality? It is already a reality - but just partly. Cloaking itself is not so important but the ideas to manipulate light or other waves can inspire more applications which are not limited to cloaking. For example, the mechanism of cloaking can be used to develop invisible optical cables and three-dimensional video by making the cables invisible. Another application in physics is constructing artificial black holes. Since light cannot escape from a black hole, it would be hard to experiment with them. However, with artificial black holes, the light is trapped and allows physicists to conduct their experiments. In addition, cloaking can also be used for protection from tsunamis by manipulating the ocean waves. Nonetheless, invisibility also creates ethical challenges. Just like the Ring of Gyges in Plato’s “Republic” and the One Ring from “Lord of the Rings,” the ring owner is granted along with the power of invisibility the opportunity to do bad things. Anything in science can be used for good or for bad. I think scientists have the responsibility to warn people about the potential negative impacts. Do you watch sci-fi movies or read fictions to try to get some inspirations? I watch movies and read fictions for entertainment only. I really like Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon,” which began as science fiction and became a reality. It is possible that many scenes from sci-fi movies will eventually become reality. People may not be able to solve the problem immediately but years later, they will find a way. Which moment of your life do you enjoy most? I really enjoy playing with my grandchildren. Children are always curious. They don’t have restrictions. Adults could learn a lot from children. To me, inspiring children’s creativity is more important than teaching them knowledge. Sometimes people place too much emphasis on learning information even when playing games. Games help to encourage children to use their creativity. Children will learn most effectively by developing their natural creativity. Mathematics is a broad-based subject with many sub-disciplines. To those new postgraduate students who want to pursue their research in a mathematical field, what would you recommend them to choose as an area of interest? Mathematics is very broad and it is impossible to learn everything. It is very important to choose an advisor who can give you guidance on solving the problems in his or her particular field. So an institution that provides many different lectures and classes is critical for students to find out what they like. But the most important point is that pursuit is more important than the objective. When you try to solve a problem, you will develop techniques and learn something new. You may not solve the problem in the end but you will still learn something and develop your abilities. IAS Gunther IAS Gunther IAS Gunther IAS Gunther '...pursuit is more important than the objective. When you try to solve a problem, you will develop techniques and learn something new.' IAS Chatroom Sep 2015 5 Discovering Invisibility Last year, Prof Uhlman taught a mini course on Multiwave Imaging. In Fall 2015, he will be co-hosting an IAS Workshop on Inverse Problems, Imaging and PDEs (Partial Differential Equations) with Prof Gang Bao from Zhejiang University. Details of the workshop are available at http://ias.ust.hk/workshop/201509ip/ How do you see HKUST IAS’s role in Hong Kong, China or even Asia’s scientific development, particularly in mathematics? Do you have any advice to HKUST students in the pursuit of research? IAS is already a leader among scientific institutions in Asia and will become one of the best mathematical institutions in the world for sure. This is already happening. We see so many scholars coming to give interesting talks and lectures in mathematics and many other subjects. My advice to students is not to believe in people who tell you that something is impossible. The major breakthroughs in science have always proven the naysayers wrong. IAS Gunther Prof Uhlmann shared his insights on cloaking in an IAS Commons talk on “Inverse Problems and Harry Potter's Cloak” held last year. 6 Knowledge Corner Sep 2015 By Shoucheng Dong (IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry, HKUST) ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (OLED): THE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY Imagine a large flat-screen TV that can be pasted onto a wall like a piece of wallpaper. This was once a futuristic concept but is fast becoming a practical reality. A flexible 55” OLED TV with a thickness that measures only 0.97 mm has recently been showcased in the market. This TV is so thin and light that it can be mounted on any surface with hardly any effort like sticking a strip of magnetic pad on a refrigerator. OLED, which stands for organic light emitting diode, was first invented by IAS Bank of East Asia Professor Ching W. Tang some 30 years ago when he was working at the Kodak Research Laboratories. Today, OLED displays can be found in a wide range of consumer products, including smartphones, tablets, TVs, and trendier wearable electronics. Widely acclaimed because of its many differentiating features, OLED is gaining ground in the display industry with the potential to be the next-generation display technology. OLED is a semiconductor device capable of producing light very efficiently. Unlike conventional LED, which is based on inorganic semiconductors, OLED utilizes a stack of thin organic films to transport charges (electrons and holes) and produce light via electron-hole recombination. The color of the light and the efficiency of its production are primarily determined by localizing the electron-hole recombination in the emitter layer, which is one of the layers in the stack. This localization can be largely effected by engineering suitable “heterojunction” interfaces between the various layers. By “doping” the emitting layer with highly luminescent molecules, the light emission from OLED can be tuned in wavelength and bandwidth throughout the visible spectrum. Thus, it is relatively simple to produce highly saturated RGB primary colors that are necessary for display applications. In addition, OLED can be driven OLED utilizes a stack of thin organic films to transport charges (electrons and holes) and produce light via electron-hole recombination. 7 Sep 2015 Knowledge Corner with a low threshold voltage that is barely above the emitted photon energy, i.e. ~2-3 volts. This is critical for lowering the power consumption. Despite its higher cost relative to the conventional liquid-crystal display (LCD) , OLED display has been widely adopted in consumer electronics. Samsung has led the OLED penetration into the display market with its several generations of Galaxy brand smartphones over the last few years. Their latest smartphone (Galaxy S6) sports an ultra-high resolution OLED rated the best in its class. In the TV market, LG this year has launched 55” and 65” ultra-high-definition (4K) OLED TVs that have set a new standard for picture quality. It is fair to say OLED is now exceeding LCD in most display criteria. In the continuing evolution of OLED technology, it is crucial to lower the cost of manufacturing OLED displays without compromising their performance, a step that is ongoing in the industry. It is also a continuing challenge to solve the device lifespan problem for blue OLEDs. To take on these challenges at HKUST, a joint research team of Prof Ching Tang’s research group and IAS Senior Fellow Prof Hoi-Sing Kwok’s team at the State Key Laboratory on Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies is formed to carry out innovative OLED research in a newly equipped laboratory at Cheng Yu Tung Building, which will be a center for industrial collaborations. Their goal is to make OLED displays more durable and cost-effective for a wider range of applications. It is believed OLED will lead the display industry within the next decade and will be ubiquitously adopted in our society. The latest “Wallpaper” TV from LG Display. © LG Display Co. Samsung smartphone with an ultra-high resolution OLED has been rated the best in its class of the market. © Samsung 8 Knowledge Corner Sep 2015 More than 60 years ago, when James Watson and Francis Crick1 solved the duplex helical structure of DNA, the genetic material found in all living organisms, they predicted that copying DNA requires the separation of the two complementary strands so each can serve as template for replication of the other. Ever since, the mechanism and enzymes involved in the initial melting (destabilization) of DNA, especially in eukaryotes (organisms including animals, plants and fungi), have been an outstanding problem for biologists. Scientists have already proven that a helicase enzyme called MCM2-7 is vital for DNA replication. It is believed that its ring structure is responsible for the initial destabilization and subsequent separation of duplex DNA. Solving its structure would provide insights into the mystery of how the very stable and inert structure of duplex DNA is disrupted at replication origins during the initial step of DNA replication. In the past, solving structures of protein complexes at atomic resolution by X-ray diffraction requires crystallization of these complexes. Successful crystallization depends more on the chances of nature (size, shape, folding, compactness etc. of individual protein complexes) than skill. As such, despite years of effort by multiple laboratories, crystallization of the MCM2-7 complex proved insurmountable. The research team led by Prof Bik Tye from the Division of Life Science at HKUST and Prof Ning Gao at Tsinghua University succeeded in solving the structure of MCM2-7. Using state-of-the-art Cryo-electron microscopy technology with more powerful electron microscopes, better detectors, faster cameras and more sophisticated algorithms for image reconstruction, the team solved the structure of the MCM2-7 complex at a near-atomic 1 Watson, J.D. and Crick, F.H.C. (1953) Molecular structure of nucleic acids. Nature:171, 738-739. By Yuanliang Zhai (IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Life Science, HKUST) Untying DNA Knots 9 Sep 2015 Knowledge Corner Overall structure of the MCM2-7 (in color) and model for initial origin melting (MCM2-7 complex in grey, DNA in black). The left figure shows how each subunit of MCM2-7 form constriction points to immobilize DNA for deformation. The right figure illustrates how the staggered rings provide tight fitting for helical DNA. The research team members, Dr Yuanliang Zhai (right), IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor and Prof Bik Tye, Visiting Professor are both from the Division of Life Science at HKUST. resolution of 3.8Å, which is five times higher than the best reported structure. The most striking feature found from the research is that the two rings of a MCM2-7 complex form a tilted and twisted dimer through their N-terminal domain. The central channel, formed by these two staggered rings, has four constriction points that would restrict the movement of duplex DNA with tight grips and a kink at the interface of the two rings that would deform the bound DNA. This fine structure instructs the function of the MCM2-7 complex in DNA melting. First, the deformed DNA at the kinked interface of the two rings would serve as a nucleation center for DNA destabilization. Second, the tight grip of duplex DNA at either end by each hexamer would further deform DNA at the nucleation point if rotated against each other. Third, possible rotations between ring structures formed by subdomains of each hexamer would lower the activation energy for DNA destabilization even further. This model proposed that allosteric conformational changes following the activation of the MCM2-7 complex by cell cycle regulated kinases bring about DNA destabilization. These findings are published in Nature in July 2015 and important lessons learned from this study are highlighted in the “News and Views” of the same issue. Another research project on DNA initiated by Dr Zhai, Prof Tye and Prof Guang Zhu (LIFS, HKUST) has been granted funding by the Research Grants Committee. For details, please read “Championing Research @ IAS” on P.12. IAS Community Sep 2015 10 Sir Christopher (2nd from right) at the award ceremony of the 2015 Global Economy Prize. © IfW, Tobias Rücker, 2015 IAS PROFESSORS AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS PRIZES Global Economy Prize ©IfW, Tobias Rücker, 2015 Isaac Newton Medal © Institute of Physics Prof Eli Yablonovitch IAS congratulates its Faculty, Prof Sir Christopher Pissarides, and its Visiting Professor, Eli Yablonovitch, on being awarded prestigious prizes in economics and physics, respectively. Sir Christopher was selected to be one of the recipients of the Global Economy Prize 2015 by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and its partners, the City of Kiel and the Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Commerce for his concept of search unemployment which changed the course of economic mainstream thinking. Sir Chris’ research on the macroeconomics of labor markets has been widely recognized by many awards including the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Prof Yablonovitch won the 2015 Isaac Newton Medal granted by the Institute of Physics in London for “his visionary and foundational contributions to photonic nanostructures” which have spawned the research field of photonic crystals. Photonic crystals are now being used in research areas as diverse as quantum computation, nanoscale imaging and sensing, photovoltaics, optical interconnects, and high performance light-emitting diodes. IAS Community Sep 2015 11 As the spearhead of scientific research in the region, IAS has been linking up young researchers with senior scholars to conduct cutting-edge research. In 2015 / 2016, IAS Junior Fellows and Research Assistant Professor successfully obtained the General Research Fund (GRF) administered by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the HKSAR Government, working with HKUST faculty members and IAS Visiting Professors on research projects in Biological Sciences, Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Physical Sciences. All GRF proposals have to go through a rigorous peer review process via the RGC’s five subject panels supported by an international network of expert reviewers. Championing Research @ IAS Raymond Louie IAS Junior Fellow Arup Chakraborty Massachusetts Institute of Technology; IAS Visiting Professor Matthew McKay The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology A Novel Statistical Inference Framework for Big Data Applications: Identifying Hidden Multivariate Non-Linear Associations Rong Ni IAS Junior Fellow Structural Regulation of Nano-Cocoons from Peptide/DNA Co-Assembly Towards Functional Viral Mimicry Ying Chau The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Paul Schimmel The Scripps Research Institute; IAS Visiting Professor Zhiwen Xu Research Assistant Professor of IAS HKUST - Scripps R&D Lab Biology of Catalytic-Nulls of Human Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetases Bik-Kwoon Yeung Tye The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Guang Zhu The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Yuanliang Zhai IAS Junior Fellow Determinant for DNA Binding Specificity of the Origin Recognition Complex Kei May Lau The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; IAS Senior Fellow Xinbo Zou IAS Junior Fellow Horizontal III-Nitride Nanowires Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices Name Position In Collaboration with GRF Project IAS Community Sep 2015 12 IAS embraces the importance of nurturing the young generation through providing a platform for active interactions with top scholars and experts. On 25 June 2015, a buffet lunch gathering was held at IAS 5/F lounge where IAS Visiting Professor Patrick Lee from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prof Charles Kane from the University of Pennsylvania (both are Dirac medalists) and IAS Executive Director Prof Che Ting Chan met and mingled with 15 physics students. Coordinated by Prof Vic Law and Prof Rolf Lortz of the Department of Physics at HKUST, 11 undergraduate students from the HKUST elite “International Research Enrichment (IRE) Program” and 4 postgraduate students attended the gathering. Under a welcoming ambiance and joyful mood, the students were very much enlightened by the sharing of the three professors. Fostering Young Talents (1st from left) Prof Che Ting Chan, (4th, 5th and 6th from left on the back row) Prof Rolf Lortz, Prof Charles Kane, Prof Patrick Lee and (1st from right) Prof Vic Law had a wonderful time with the group of HKUST elite students. IAS Community Sep 2015 13 Welcome Our New Members! IAS is pleased to welcome the following new members who have joined us in 2015: Name Position Research Areas A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Chemistry, Princeton University Theoretical Chemistry, Condensed Matter Physics, Quantum Information Theory and Quantum Many-Particle Systems Garnet Chan IAS Visiting Professor Paul Pigott Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University Computational Geometry, Geometric Modeling, Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, Sensor Networks, Robotics, and Discrete Algorithms Leonidas J. Guibas Professor of Physics, University of California at Berkeley Particle Physics, Neutrino Oscillation, and Charge Parity (CP) Violation Kam-Biu Luk IAS Senior Visiting Fellows IAS Visiting Fellows Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware Condensed Matter Theory, Low Dimensional and Amorphous Materials Siu-Tat Chui Professor of Electrical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology Networked Control Systems, Hybrid and Embedded Control, and Control Applications in Automation, Energy, and Transportation Karl Henrik Johansson Professor of School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University Robot Mechanics, Planning and Control, Vision and Image Processing, and Related Areas of Applied Mathematics Frank Chongwoo Park As of September 2015, IAS engages 38 Visiting Professors, 8 Senior Visiting Fellows, 8 Visiting Fellows and over 20 Junior Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows from different fields to promote multi-disciplinary research. IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Probabilistic Combinatorics, Random Structures, Random Matrix Theory and Its Applications Ke Wang IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Geometric Scattering Theory, Microlocal Analysis and Partial Differential Equations Yiran Wang IAS Junior Fellow; Research Assistant Professor of Life Science Regulation of Eukaryotic DNA Replication, Genome Organization, Chromosome Dynamics Yuanliang Zhai IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Low Temperature Condensed Matter Physics, with Focuses on the Mesoscopic Transport Properties of Graphene Haijing Zhang IAS Junior Fellow; Research Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Qingbin Zheng Graphene and Its Multi-Functional Applications IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Fuel Cells, Flow Batteries, Electrocatalysis, and Ion Exchange Membranes Lin Zeng IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Top Management Team Composition and Corporate Governance/ Firm Strategy / Performance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Firm-specific Resources and Human Capital Guoguang Wan IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Scattering Theory and Mathematical Inverse Problems, i.e. Finding the Physical Parameter Functions of a Model from Observations and A-priori Information Eemeli Henrik Blåsten IAS Junior Fellow; Research Assistant Professor of Life Science The Role of Wnt/_-catenin Signaling in Neurodegeneration, Regulation of Wnt/_-catenin Signaling Pathway, DNA Damage, Repair, and Neurodegeneration Hei-Man Chow IAS Junior Fellow; Research Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Landslides, Flume and Centrifuge Modelling, Discrete Element Method (DEM) Clarence Edward Choi IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Nonparametric Methods, Empirical Bayes, High Dimensional Data Analysis, Financial Statistics Zhouping Li IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Early Universe Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics, Quantum Field Theory, Astronomy and Gravity Razieh Emami Meibody Toshifumi Noumi IAS Postdoctoral Fellow String Theory, Particle Physics, and Cosmology IAS Junior Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows 14 Event Highlights Sep 2015 Gordon Research Conferences 2015 @ IAS Initiated in 1931, the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) headquartered in the US have organized thousands of scientific conferences for scientists in biological, chemical and physical sciences disciplines to exchange their latest findings in research and to stimulate free flows of ideas. Since 2013, IAS has been partnering with GRC to host these world’s premier conferences at the Institute’s Lo Ka Chung Building atop HKUST campus every summer. The GRC provides a platform for scientists with common research interests across the world to come together for a full week of intense informal discussions and interactions on a particular subject. Postgraduate students and postdocs can also build collaborative network with their peers in the associated two-day Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). IAS hosted a total of eight GRCs and two GRSs between May and August 2015. Over a thousand renowned scientists and young scholars gathered at IAS to discuss in depth the most recent advances in their research fields and to share their discoveries at the frontiers of sciences. The majority of the conferees were non-locals. This year’s meetings cover topics on String Theory and Cosmology, Particle Physics, Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior, Topological and Correlated Matter, Posttranslational Modification Networks, Nano-Mechanical Interfaces, Spin Dynamics in Nanostructures as well as Marine Molecular Ecology. The engaging conference format not only led to fruitful and dynamic discussions that fostered the exchange of new beliefs, ideas and values but also String Theory and Cosmology Particle Physics Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior Topological and Correlated Matter 15 Event Highlights Sep 2015 broadened the academic networks and scientific associations among conferees. Following the soft launch of Conference Lodge in late July 2015, conferees of the last two GRCs this summer were privileged to be the inaugural groups to stay in this new and modern residence. Situated next to IAS, the Conference Lodge offers spectacular views and great proximity to all IAS activities. The silent yet vibrant residence will be an ideal on-campus residence for academic visitors. IAS (left) and Conference Lodge (right) Posttranslational Modification Networks Nano-Mechanical Interfaces Spin Dynamics in Nanostructures Marine Molecular Ecology 16 Event Highlights Sep 2015 Being one of the global incubators of scientific breakthroughs and intellectual leaders, IAS is keen to develop collaborations with top-notch institutes all over the world. On 4-5 June 2015, IAS co-organized the TUM-HKUST IAS Workshop on Blue Water Green Environment for Smart Cities with the Institute for Advanced Study of Technische Universität München (TUM-IAS) from Germany which was the second workshop of a collaborative workshop series on Water Research for Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Climate Change, in the framework of the Strategic Partnership between HKUST and TUM. With the arising awareness of water problem and climate change, this workshop aimed to integrate different fields of research in water and climate related topics for better understanding of the problem and seeking for solutions. Experts specialized in biology, engineering, chemistry and hydraulics from TUM and HKUST gathered to deliver 15 talks on fluid mechanics and hydraulics, new water supply and treatment systems, materials and instruments, environmental chemistry and biological and ecological responses to the water problems. Tours to HKUST laboratories were also arranged to showcase the facilities for different water researches on campus. Over 50 participants, including engineers and waterworks chemists from the HKSAR Government, attended the workshop to explore more sustainable ways in water resources management. 17 Event Highlights Sep 2015 As a unique academic platform to support new research initiatives, IAS organized a symposium on Aero/Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics, a multidisciplinary topic on which our faculty members have recently focused. About 50 scientists and engineers interested in the recent development and innovation in aerodynamics, complex fluid dynamics and acoustic research gathered on 5 June 2015 to discuss about the latest trends in the field. Invited speakers including Prof Alexander Smits from Princeton University, Prof Sanjiva Lele from Stanford University and six local experts from HKUST and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University shared their research findings at the symposium. Topics on turbulence flows at high Reynolds number, shock-turbulence interactions, aero-elastic coupling, direct numerical modeling, aero-acoustics and flow controls were covered. 18 Event Highlights Sep 2015 Co-chaired by Prof Ching W. Tang, IAS Bank of East Asia Professor and Prof Kam Sing Wong, Professor of Physics at HKUST, the 11th International Conference on Optical Probes of Conjugated Polymers and Organic Nanostructures was held in IAS from 14 to19 June 2015, attracting more than 100 participants. The Optical Probes Conference has been a leading series of meetings in the field of photophysics of organic semiconductors. Previous conferences took place biannually at different locations, from the inaugural one in Snowbird (1992) to the one immediately before Hong Kong in Durham (2013). The scope of the Conference in 2015 was a variety of excited state phenomena in technologically important materials and biosystems, including size- and time-dependent electronic interactions, excited state dynamics, quantum confinement, carrier transport and optical measurement. Attended by close to 70 speakers and 40 poster presenters across the continents, this year the Conference brought together an interdisciplinary group of physicists, chemists, material scientists, and device engineers to exchange ideas, identify obstacles and possible solutions, as well as future issues related to photophysics and applications of organic materials and devices. The 11th International Conference on Optical Probes of Conjugated Polymers and Organic Nanostructures 19 Event Highlights Sep 2015 In addition to IAS events, the modern and well-equipped facilities at Lo Ka Chung Building shape an ideal venue for activities and functions of other departments and units of the University. With a 200-seat lecture theater, an open auditorium, three seminar rooms and a conference room, IAS has hosted various functions including international forums, concerts and ceremonies, such as: To know more about IAS facilities, please visit http://ias.ust.hk/facilities The 8th Asian Conference on Applied Micro-Economics/Econometrics (Theme: Labor Economics) Organizer: HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies Date: 28 - 29 Nov 2014 The 7th Chief Information Officers and 5th Education and Research Technology Forum Organizers: HKUST in collaboration with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Date: 27 - 31 Jan 2015 Research in Industrial Projects for Students Organizers: Department of Mathematics in collaboration with the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, University of California at Los Angeles Date: 11 Jun 2014 The 5th Unilever-RSC International Symposium on Functional Materials Science Organizers: Department of Chemistry in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry Date: 15 Sep 2014 Hong Kong Inter-University Postgraduate Symposium on Life Science 2015 Organizer: Division of Life Science Date: 21 - 26 May 2015 The Intimacy of Creativity 2015 Organizer: School of Humanities and Social Science Date: 19 Apr - 4 May 2015 The Croucher Foundation Advanced Study Institute: Toward A New Generation of Dynamic Network Models Organizer: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Date: 17 - 20 Nov 2014 Event Highlights Sep 2015 20 The following events will take place between September 2015 and January 2016: Above is a partial list of our upcoming events. For further information, please visit http://ias.ust.hk/events Date Event Organizer(s) / Speaker(s) 8 Sep 2015 IAS Seminar Series on Big Data on Social Networks and Jukka-Pekka Onnela, Harvard University Digital Phenotyping 10 Sep 2015 IAS Distinguished Lecture on From Molecules to Muscle: Tom Daniel, University of Washington; Multiscale Dynamics of Movement in Biology IAS Senior Visiting Fellow 11 Sep 2015 IAS / School of Science Joint Lecture on Force from Lipids Principle: Boris Martinac, University of New South Wales Monitoring Mechanosensitive Channels Using Liposomes and Fluorescence Methods 14 Sep 2015 IAS / School of Science Joint School Lecture on Skyrmions as Nicholas Manton, University of Cambridge Models of Nuclei 17 Sep 2015 IAS Nobel Lecture on the Greek Crisis and the Future of the Eurozone Sir Christopher Pissarides, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 28 Sep – 2 Oct 2015 IAS Workshop on Inverse Problems, Imaging and PDEs Gang Bao, Zhejiang University Gunther Uhlmann, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 1 Oct - 30 Nov 2015 IAS Program on Chinese Creative Writing Jianmei Liu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 26 Oct 2015 IAS / School of Science Joint Lecture on A Taste of Ocean Sam Dupont, University of Gothenburg Acidification 16 – 18 Nov 2015 IAS Focused Program on Inventing Biology from the Bottom Down Robert Austin, Princeton University; IAS Visiting Professor 7 – 9 Dec 2015 IAS Conference and AoE Symposium on David Banfield, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Organelle Biogenesis and Membrane Trafficking Liwen Jiang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ho Yi Mak, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Jun Xia, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Yiji Xia, Hong Kong Baptist University 7 – 11 Dec 2015 Asian Winter School on Quantum Chemistry Garnet Chan, Princeton University; IAS Visiting Professor Guanhua Chen, The University of Hong Kong Xuhui Huang, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Yijing Yan, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 11 Dec 2015 IAS / School of Science Joint Lecture on Comparing Echinoderms Andy Cameron, California Institute of Technology Genomes 11 – 19 Dec 2015 IAS Focused Program on Topological Phases in Condensed Matter and Kam Tuen Law, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Cold Atomic Systems Shi-Zhong Zhang, The University of Hong Kong 15 Dec 2015 IAS Seminar Series on Big Data Leonidas J. Guibas, Stanford University; IAS Senior Visiting Fellow 16 – 19 Dec 2015 IAS Focused Program on Genome Damage and Stability Bik-Kwoon Yeung Tye, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Jessica Downs, University of Sussex 17 Dec 2015 IAS / School of Science Joint Lecture on 3D Chromatin Organization Bing Ren, University of California at San Diego and Long-Range Control of Gene Expression 4 – 8 Jan 2016 IAS Focused Program on Mechanisms of Transcription and Its Regulation Xuhui Huang, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Robert Landick, University of Wisconsin–Madison Dong Wang, University of California at San Diego 4 – 29 Jan 2016 IAS Program on High Energy Physics Henry Tye, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 11 – 15 Jan 2016 IAS Focused Program on Topological and PT Symmetric Che Ting Chan, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Classical Wave Systems 13 – 15 Jan 2016 IAS Focused Program on Stem Cell Research Tom Cheung, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Nancy Ip, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Zhenguo Wu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology As a unique academic platform where great minds converge, IAS offers unparalleled opportunities for HKUST faculty members to bring in renowned scholars from around the world for various forms of academic activities: IAS Distinguished Lectures for distinguished scholars to give a lecture of general interests. IAS Joint School Lectures / Seminars for outstanding scholars to give a talk of a specific topic. IAS Programs comprising short courses, workshops, and in some cases postdoc-led / postgraduate student-led discussion sessions. Fully-fledged programs mostly take place during term break, while smaller-scale focused programs on particular topics are also organized during the term. IAS Visitors Programs (IAS Visiting Professors, IAS Senior Visiting Fellows and IAS Visiting Fellows) for prestigious scholars to make regular visits to IAS on collaborative projects with HKUST faculty members. Sponsorship of Plenary / Invited Speakers of Activities for faculty members to help IAS build clusters of research activities and new initiatives at HKUST in the form of standalone conferences, workshops, seminars, symposiums, etc. Please browse our webpage at http://ias.ust.hk/proposal for further details, or contact our Director Prof Henry Tye and Executive Director Prof Che Ting Chan to discuss further (email: ias@ust.hk / tel: 2358 5968). Call for Proposals 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: ias.ust.hk Online version is available at http://ias.ust.hk/newsletter