IAS Newsletter, February 2018

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- Cover Story: The Wonder of Waves Research Excellence - IAS Newsletter (Feb 2018 Issue): Targeting Senescence: Secrets to Postponing Alzheimer’s Disease IAS Community - IAS Newsletter (Feb 2018 Issue): http://iasnews.ust.hk/feb-2018-ias-community-3 Intellectual Hub - IAS Newsletter (Feb 2018 Issue): IAS Nobel Prize Popular Science Lectures

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Cover Story The Wonders of Waves Future Technologies Built on Basic Research

In the future, a regular physical examination may not be necessary to identify any potential health crises. Instead, a smart device in a mirror will report to us any anomalies in our body and provide health recommendations when we wake up every morning. This sort of assessment will be made possible by airborne ultrafast ultrasonic imaging technology, in which a time-reversal device records a video of skin vibrations at 1,000 frames per second. Details unnoticed by human eyes are compared to population data and can serve as first screening tools of medical conditions. Such technology is not science fiction, but an actual study in progress by IAS Visiting Professor Mathias Fink. \\ During my PhD in Solid-State Physics, I was quite interested in archaeology, and I decided to develop useful tools for this area. \\

Fink is a physicist trained in condensed matter physics. His best-known innovation is the ultrafast ultrasound imaging scanner—the Aixplorer—sold by the company Supersonic Imagine and widely used around the world for cancer diagnosis. Fink enjoys the luxury of serving in various capacities in scientific research and development, from conducting basic research and developing theoretical frameworks to designing product applications for implementation in commercial operations. He is the originator, researcher, inventor of and entrepreneur behind the concepts of time reversal signal processing and its related technology. Time Reversal Technique: The Idea

After he received his PhD in Solid-State Physics, Fink decided to move to acoustic holography in the hope of developing an apparatus that would allow archaeologists to reveal images of objects deep under soil or water. Because the development of this kind of tool was largely military-driven, funding opportunities were limited for academia. Therefore, he changed his research direction to the application of holography in medicine.

“What is the core in making an image of an object?” This was the question Fink asked in the late 1970s. From there, he developed the general concept of a time-reversal mirror and time reversal processing. “When we see an object, our eyes receive the light waves reflected from it. A mathematical property common in all waves is time reversal symmetry. If all the details of a wave radiated by any object could be recorded quickly enough on a two-dimensional array of antennae (surrounding the object) and then reversed to go backwards in time, we would be able to construct the object exactly. The same applies for acoustic waves, ultrasound waves, microwaves and light, and has a lot of applications in different areas.” The Rise of Computers

Building a time-reversal mirror was very challenging, and Fink decided to build the first one for ultrasonic waves. The idea was to use an array of piezoelectric transducers (reversible antennae with both microphones and loudspeakers) to record in electronic memories the ultrasonic signals radiated by an object, reverse them in time, and play them back using the same transducers as transmitters. In 1978, however, it was not technically feasible to put this idea into practice because no electronic memory was fast enough to store such a large amount of information. The theory remained a theory and was forgotten for 10 years. The computer technology matured in 1988, when the technological advancements in computer performance offered the possibility for an apparatus to record, store, time-reverse, and send back the ultrasonic wave signals.

The first time-reversal mirror was built for ultrasonic waves, but Fink and his group later developed another one for acoustic waves and for water waves. In one spectacular experiment conducted in a swimming pool, they set up a number of controllable paddles around a pool of water to record and reverse waves on the water surface. A stone was thrown into the water, and the splash became waves flowing across the pool and bouncing back. These waves were recorded. “When the recorders played the time-reversed sound waves backwards in time,” Fink said, “the waves traveled from one end of the pool to the other, bounced back and they ultimately brought back the splash to its original spot.” \\ We forgot this idea for 10 years, until the emergence of computers and fast memory enabled us to make it happen.\\ Attempts to Commercialize

The first application of the time-reversal mirror technology was shockwave therapy. “Using time reversal process, we built the first apparatus to locate and record the echoes of a kidney stone in a human body, and then time-reversed them to send back exactly strong shock waves to the stone. The energy fitted its size and shape, such that the kidney stone could be perfectly destroyed.”

Another technical service was offered to aircraft companies when an apparatus was developed to scan complex engines. Ultrasonic waves were sent into aircraft engines. Using the time reversal technique, the apparatus could exactly locate very small defects and factory errors. \\ When the business model did not work, we always came back to basic research and found a way. \\

Both of these technologies achieved successful technical results with time-reversal mirrors made of hundreds of transducers, but they were hardly marketable in the early 1990s because of the prohibitively high costs of the fast electronic memories associated with each of these transducers. Revising the Theory

Fink recalled that “we were very disappointed in 1992, when we returned to basic research and tried to understand how a time-reversal mirror works in complex media in which reverberation and multiple scattering become prominent. We found a very surprising result, that the time reversal technique does not require many antennae surrounding the object if the propagation medium is sufficiently complex. Contrary to our earlier thoughts, only one antenna should suffice in the time reversal process. Another finding was that, quite unlike our initial thoughts, it was actually easier to reconstruct an object if waves have gone through complex media, which supposedly had distracted the spread of waves.” Application and Entrepreneurship

With this new concept in mind, Fink decided to apply time reversal techniques in many other areas in which the medium complexity allows the use of a small number of antennae. Wave-related technologies can be used in four main areas: telecommunications, imaging, therapy, and tactile objects. Telecommunications

“Through basic research, we used the time reversal technique to manipulate electromagnetic waves and focus them on a certain point. This has great implications for communications. Focusing waves to a certain point means that we can encrypt our message to the desired target without spreading the waves elsewhere. It can bring more secure communication and better signal quality.”

“4G and WiFi use electromagnetic waves to communicate, and the time reversal technique serves as a way to bring the technology to a new level. We have developed various electromagnetic smart mirrors that reflect the waves to concentrate WiFi signals to certain spots in an indoor space. This technique can save up to 90% of the electromagnetic waves required for telecommunication and massively increase the amount of information that can be transmitted over the air. We have created the company Greenerwave to develop and commercialize this technology.” Imaging

“Acoustic waves can be translated into images using the time reversal technique in computer software. Traditional ultrasound images typically produce 50 frames per second when we scan a growing baby in the womb. In our body, ultrasonic waves are compressional waves that propagate 1,500 meters per second and deliver information on tissue density. However, another kind of mechanical waves, known as shear waves, travels at 1-10 meters per second. Shear waves reflect the stiffness of body tissue.” With the use of a time reversal processor, Fink built the first ultrafast imaging scanner (10,000 frames per second), an apparatus known as the Aixplorer, that can follow the tissue motions induced by low-speed shear waves and measure the stiffness of tissues and detect potential tumors at an early stage in areas such as the breast, thyroid, and prostate. The company Supersonic Imagine developed the Aixplorer and has already sold thousands of such devices to medical and research institutions worldwide.” Therapy

“Following the shockwave therapy, we are using ultrasound to tackle calcified heart valves. Operative treatment is very difficult in this part of the body. The new ultrasound application tracks movement and delivers a shockwave treatment to remove the blockade. A startup company Cardiawave in France is testing the new technology in animals, and a clinical study will be carried out in 2018.” Tactile Objects

“The time reversal technique can turn every surface into an interactive platform, like a touch screen. Using the elastic waves radiated by your fingers moving over a solid surface, a smart device can reflect the exact finger location and present with computer programs the appropriate image at the desired location. These can be helpful for communication and learning.” A company named Sensitive Object developed this technique and it was then sold to Tyco Electonics. Metamaterials are man-made materials designed to have wave functional properties not found in nature. They are typically composite materials comprising an array of subwavelength resonators (whereby the lattice constant ' α ' is much smaller than the wavelength ' λ '), as illustrated in the schematic diagram. Greater Precision, More Information

One problem that faced Fink and his fellow scientists was diffraction limits. Waves cannot naturally be focused on a spot smaller than half of the wavelength. Many scientists have attempted to overcome this limitation.

Fink and his colleagues first developed a new approach that combined time reversal techniques and metamaterials, but instead of using negative-index metamaterials such as that developed by another IAS Visiting Professor, John Pendry, they showed that some metamaterials with positive indices allow diffraction limits to be overcome when using time reversal focusing. “We developed the concept of resonant metalens and designed these materials for microwave communications. For example, the wavelength of wireless communication is 12 cm, but the waves can be focused on an area of 4 mm with this technique. Likewise, acoustic waves with a wavelength of 80 cm can be controlled to knock down an empty soft-drink can,” Fink explained.

Fink is now collaborating with physicists Ping Sheng at HKUST and Guancong Ma, former IAS Postdoctoral Fellow (now at Hong Kong Baptist University) at HKUST to design an “acoustic sink” made of metamaterial to focus sound waves on a subwavelength perfect absorber. Further Research with Time Reversal Approach

“Time reversal is a very general principle in physics. At first, we did not think that it would have so many applications,” Fink said. Research derived from this theoretical ground still has a long way to go, and Hong Kong has some favorable conditions to offer to researchers. “Hong Kong is very open to innovation,” he continued, “and “excellence in research and development is well supported with resources. Extending our current collaboration at HKUST, we are now exploring whether time reversal may bring some insight to quantum physics and cosmology. We are developing a new approach to time reversal that we call the ‘instantaneous time mirror.’ Rather than using an antenna array, ultrafast changes of the refractive index are made in a large volume. We believe that this new approach can be applied in graphene to time-reversed electrons and may help to explain some fundamental problems in the effect of exponential expansion of the universe just after the Big Bang—the inflation period when the refractive index changed very quickly.” © Copyright 2017 HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study All Rights Reserved W: ias.ust.hk T: (852) 2358 5912 E: ias@ust.hk Designed by PTC

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Words from the Director

In a recent lecture at the IAS, Sheldon Lee Glashow, a Nobel Laureate, emphasized the role serendipity plays in scientific discovery. While many important discoveries and developments have resulted from well-planned and highly directed research, at least as many have come about in fully unexpected fashion: Becquerel's discovery of spontaneous radiation; Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus; and the more recent discovery of graphene, just to name a few. A marvelously strong, flexible material made of an atomic layer of carbon atoms, graphene was first produced by essentially removing an atomically thin layer from a chunk of graphite (the stuff used in pencils) using sticky tape.

Progress in science requires creativity and open-mindedness, particularly the ability to recognize an important result even when it disagrees with pre-conceived notions of what an experiment is supposed to show, or when it is not even remotely related to the original purpose of the experiment. How do we generate and maintain this creative and open spirit among the young men and women of Hong Kong? We often bemoan the lack of interest in science and STEM-related pursuits among Hong Kong's young people, as evidenced by university admissions and employment figures. But I believe that we, the adults, are largely to blame for the problem.

As the father of a curious six-year-old, I spend a fair amount of time associating with children under the age of 10. One hundred percent of these children exhibit the greatest curiosity, and I am constantly bombarded by questions about the natural world: Why is the sky blue? How does the Sun work? How come the slime we play with is so sticky? When I interact with youngesters in high school, this percentage is notably less, perhaps half as much. And undergraduates at university? Outside a science and technology focused institution like my own, I would be surprised to find the fraction greater than one-quarter. And in the post-university graduate population, we are certainly talking about single digits.

People are born with the most inquisitive minds. Asking how we can get youngsters interested in creative pursuits is clearly the wrong question; rather, we should ask how to prevent them from losing this interest. Our society has the luxury of being able to provide a safe and well-resourced environment to pursue creative activities, especially in STEM, but instead our educational system emphasizes rote learning, standardization, memorization, and massive amounts of homework. All of these have a place in the learning process, but we must not lose sight of the true function of education: to encourage and train young members of society to realize their creative potential, to become not just productive adults, but to thrive in their pursuits and truly contribute to our world.

At the IAS, we think about how to show young people the benefits, both to themselves and their societies, of maintaining the creative and imaginative spirits throughout their lives. Many of the most important technological developments that have transformed our world over the past decades have been byproducts of this creative impulse: the Internet, micro-electronics, and antibiotics are just a few examples.

Societies thrive where research and creative activities are well supported. As we explore the future of this city we call home, we should be midful of both the usefulness and the profound joy that follows from those serendipitous moments when we try to answer questions that begin 'I wonder what happens if...'

Andrew G Cohen Director and Lam Woo Foundation Professor HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study © Copyright 2017 HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study All Rights Reserved W: ias.ust.hk T: (852) 2358 5912 E: ias@ust.hk Designed by PTC

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Research Excellence Targeting Senescence: Secrets to Postponing Alzheimer’s Disease How Aging Neurons Prevent Us from Remembering

The world now has the largest population of elderly humans in its history. Age-related cognitive dysfunction, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is becoming increasingly prevalent but no cure is currently available. AD is a major cause of patient disability that leads to significant psychological and economic burdens for patients’ families and has a significant public health impact. In China, for example, more than 7.4 million elderly adults live with age-related dementia. This population is expected to rise to 18 million by 2030 if no action is taken1. Figures from the United States show similar trends. Dr Kim Chow, IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Life Science at HKUST, is eager to better understand this alarming situation and tackle the disease from non-traditional angles. \\ Despite 30 years of research into the disease mechanisms, there are no effective drugs to cure or stop the progression AD. \\ 1 Ding D, Zhao Q, Guo Q, Meng H, Wang B, Yu P, et al. (2014). The Shanghai Aging Study: study design, baseline characteristics, and prevalence of dementia. Neuroepidemiology. 43(2), 114-122. A Disease without a Cure Imposes a Public Health Crisis

AD is the most common form of age-related dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases. It is a brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. At the same time, it poses real challenges to patients’ family members, who must assume caregiving responsibilities. Feelings of incapacity, despair, weariness, and loneliness are common emotional burdens of caregivers2 that often affect their quality of life and their health. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alzheimer’s Association, AD is the most under-recognized public health crisis of the 21st century.

Chow emphasized that drug for AD is needed but 200 candidates had already been rejected. And even though the current drug pipeline might give us hope, a further 10-15 years will be needed for clinical trials and approval before any drug could go into the market. “How long can we wait for the miracle pill to come before the situation turns into a crisis? We need a parallel strategy so that everyone, not only the scientists and physicians, can contribute.” Chow explained that her research is focused on understanding how potential modifiable risk factors contribute to the development of AD. “By pinpointing the underlying molecular mechanism behind these risk factors, we may be able to target and prevent further harm to our brain.” Her goal is to find a way to delay the onset of AD, something everybody can play a part of, thus halving the apparent prevalence of the disease from a public health perspective. “No pharmacological interventions are able to show comparable effects,3” she said. \\ A delay of onset by 5 years would halve the apparent prevalence of the disease. \\ Kim Chow's study seeks to find a way to delay the onest of Alzheimer's Disease Insulin Resistance Promotes Cell Senescence

Researchers have long known that individuals who are insulin resistant (IR or pre-diabetic) have twice the risk of developing AD than healthy individuals, yet the molecular mechanism behind the link between IR and neuronal dysfunction in AD remains largely unknown. Chow had an answer to offer. “Chronic exposure of cells to abnormally high levels of insulin is the major cause of IR. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that instructs insulin-sensitive cells like muscle and fat cells to absorb excess sugar in our blood. After meals, the cells in the pancreas sense a higher blood level of glucose, which triggers the pancreas to produce and release more insulin. Insulin reaches the muscle and fat cells through the circulatory system and signals them to absorb glucose, either to be used as fuel or to be transformed and stored as fat. IR refers to the condition in which these cells become less sensitive to insulin and thus require more insulin to remove excess blood sugar. Over time, exposure to high levels of insulin further desensitizes these cells to insulin. Consistent with the previous findings, we also found that neurons—the cells in the brain that fires electric currents in networks to form the basis of memories and cognitive function—are also insulin-sensitive. Although short-term exposure to insulin results in enhanced activity in these cells, chronic exposure results in unexpected cellular aging — stress-induced senescence.”

Cellular aging, or senescence, is a kind of stress-induced response4. There are two types of senescence response. One is called “replicative senescence”. This sets a limit to a cell for the number of times they can divide in a life time to avoid any inadvertent errors or mutations occurred during any cell division processes from passing on indefinitely5 . The second type is called “stress-induced senescence”. This usually happens when certain forms of stress, like a sudden turn-on of cancer-promoting genes or exposure to cancer-promoting chemicals (mitogens), attempt to trigger any uncontrolled cell division in a normal cell6,7. In this scenario, stressed-induced senescence kicks in to stop the cells from any further division. Indeed, stress-induced senescence is already indicated as part of the pathogenic loop in IR. This could be in part due to the fact that insulin is also a mitogenic hormone on top of its metabolic properties8. 2 Koca E, Taşkapilioğlu Ö & Bakar M. (2017). Caregiver Burden in Different Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Noro Psikiyatr Ars, 54(1): 82–86. 3 Valenzuela MJ & Sachdev P. (2006). Brain reserve and dementia: a systematic review. Psychological Medicine, 36(4), 441-454. 4 McCormick A & Campisi J. (1991). Cellular aging and senescence. Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 3(2), 230–234. 5 Hayflick L & Moorhead PS. (1961). The serial cultivation of human diploid cell strains. Experimental Cell Research, 25(3), 585–621. 6 Serrano M, Lin AW, McCurrach ME, Beach D & Lowe SW. (1997). Oncogenic ras provokes premature cell senescence associated with accumulation of p53 and p16INK4a. Cell. 88, 593–602. 7 Zhu J, Woods D, McMahon M & Bishop JM. (1998). Senescence of human fibroblasts induced by oncogenic Raf. Genes & Development, 12(19), 2997-3007. 8 Sasaoka T, Rose DW, Jhun BH, Saltiel AR, Draznin B & Olefsky JM. (1994). Evidence for a functional role of Shc proteins in mitogenic signaling induced by insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, and epidermal growth factor. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 269(18), 13689-13694. Post-mitotic Neurons Can Also Age

Mature neurons are typically described as permanently post-mitotic in the cell cycle. Once they have grown functional units like networks of neurites and an axon, and have formed synapses, they do not return to a “pre-mature ground” state and divide. “In adult mice with naturally developed IR,” Chow said, “we found that substantial number of neurons (the area of the brain affected mostly in AD), showed positive markers of senescence, but other cell types did not. These cells showed an impaired firing response to stimuli and signs of IR.”

By definition, the pre-requisite of cellular senescence is a cell-dividing scenario. One vexing paradox then arises: how do mature neurons become senescent even though they are post-mitotic? Chow related that “many studies have reported substantial numbers of neurons in the brains of patients with AD that have undergone partial cell cycle re-entry. For some reason, these cells attempt to divide again but fail to complete the entire cell division process.” Previous studies did not explain how these afflicted cells could stay in the brain for years and decades and not die right away, or the pathological significance behind such a phenomenon. Chow is the first to explain that dividing neurons getting stuck in the middle of the cell cycle is, in fact, the process of cell senescence. “Using live cell imaging techniques, we demonstrated that chronic exposure to insulin triggered neuronal cell cycle re-entry before the senescence process. A substantial number of senescent neurons – a positive signs of cell cycle re-entry and IR – are observed in mouse models of AD. This is very encouraging because it suggested that chronic insulin-induced IR or any mechanism that fails the normal insulin signaling in neurons may introduce risks or even play a causative role of the disease. More importantly, IR is a modifiable condition that is manageable. This may imply a method to prevent AD in the future.” The Zombie Apocalypse—Senescent Neurons Kill Their Neighbors

Chow explained, “we observed that these cells had a significant loss of neurites and other mature neurons markers. They also look flattened, a hallmark of senescent cells. Although one may think that these ‘degenerated’ cells do not contribute to the disease, an accumulating body of evidence shows that senescent cells have deleterious effects on the tissue microenvironment by acquiring a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) which turns a senescent neuron into a pro-inflammatory cell that has the ability to promote inflammation in the brain.”

“When we looked for potential signs of death in the senescent neurons in the brain tissues, we saw, to our astonishment, that only the neurons around the senescent cells were positive for cell death markers. With live cell imaging, we saw that senescent neurons were acting like zombies in a Hollywood movie, triggering the deaths of neighbors. We believe that this is an outcome of the SASP acquired by senescent neurons, as they revealed elevated expression of pro-inflammatory genes and proteins.” Chow is currently working on an unbiased spectrum-wide study to identify crucial factors released from senescent neurons. “We see that inflammation triggered by senescent neurons could be a potential starter of chronic neuro-inflammatory responses frequently observed in AD, which the latter contributes to the progression of the disease. If we could comprehensively characterize the molecular characteristics of senescent neurons using systems analyses, we could better understand these cells, and even identify potential targets, halt the SASP response, or even remove these cells specifically from the brain. A Way to Reduce Risk Factors

Individuals with IR, type 2 diabetes and associated diseases such as obesity may have an increased risk of AD and similar conditions, such as vascular dementia9. Scientists have been mindful of these correlations, and Chow’s work has revealed the detailed molecular mechanisms behind this increased risk.

“Like many other age-related disorders, AD is a complex multifactorial disease. We understand that hyperinsulinemia and other features of the IR syndrome are associated with AD10. Although potential new therapies are not likely to come in a short time, modifiable risk factors like IR can be reduced by changes in lifestyle and diet, which can be done by anyone of us, and thus the risk of AD can be reduced. Educating the public can be easily done to increase the awareness of AD. I believe that everyone is responsible for their physical well-being and should play a part in this long-lasting battle.” 9 Neth BJ & Craft S. (2017). Insulin Resistance and Alzheimer's Disease: Bioenergetic Linkages. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 9, 345. 10 Kuusisto J, Koivisto K, Mykkänen L, et al. (1997). 1Association between features of the insulin resistance syndrome and Alzheimer's disease independently of apolipoprotein E4 phenotype: cross sectional population based study. BMJ, 315(7115), 1045-1049. Seeking Resources and Policy Support

For her latest findings, Chow was recently awarded the 2017 L’Oreal-UNESCO-China Association for Science and Technology of the Rising Star of For Women in Science National Fellowship in China. In addition to the RGC grant she received in 2017, she has also received an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship. These funds will support her research in AD. “We remain hopeful that we can achieve a better understanding of the disease and win this long battle. It is not going to be easy but we, as scientists, have an obligation to learn from our failures, listen to the data and stay open-minded at all times.” \\ Scientists have the obligation to learn from our failures, listen to the data and stay open-minded at all times. \\

Chow is currently a Global Research Council Fellow of the World Economic Forum. Along with thought leaders from academia, government, business sector, and civil society at the Council of the Future Neurotechnologies and Brain Science, she took part in the intense exercise at the annual Dubai meeting in November 2017, to identify global brain health areas with the greatest unmet needs, in the hope that these issues can be brought to the policy level in the Davos meeting. Research: A Lifelong Learning Process

To many people, finishing a doctoral degree means a full stop in the active learning process, but to Chow, every day means a new day of learning. “I always feel that I have not learned enough. We all want success and breakthroughs, but wanting is not enough. One must hunger for it.” With new technologies, Chow sees the necessity for rapid adoption to leverage benefits. Big data, systems approaches, and mathematical and computational modeling, for instance, are tools available outside the traditional research approaches that could give quick, precise answers to complex questions. “While learning is important, I believe there are no more one-man bands in today’s research. Fostering collaboration among specialties is a key to success.”

A recent project on another neurodegenerative disease called Ataxia-telangiectasia has given Chow an opportunity to analyze systematically the overall molecular features of mutated cells and a quest to model the disease from both computational and mathematical perspectives. Given the greater capability with the latest technologies, scientists can move from focusing on areas that interest them, to a more holistic analysis. “With new data and techniques emerging with an unimaginable speed every day, there is no reason for me to stop learning to participate in this exciting era.” © Copyright 2017 HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study All Rights Reserved W: ias.ust.hk T: (852) 2358 5912 E: ias@ust.hk Designed by PTC

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Home banner Research Excellence Targeting Senescence: Secrets to Postponing Alzheimer’s Disease How Aging Neurons Prevent Us from Remembering

Alzheimer’s disease is becoming much more common and better aware in 2017 than 30 years before. One of the reasons is the longer life expectancies in the developed world. As most of us grow older, it’s more likely for us to face specific health problems coming along with aged bodies...

IAS Scholars IAS Junior Fellow Shu Ning Chan

Trained a civil engineer, Chan's research focuses on the use of fluid mechanics to solve problems with the water environment. He hopes to contribute to the development of “smart cities” worldwide through his research on environmental hydraulics.

IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Wei-Fen Chen

Chen's life could have been very different if she had followed one of her earlier career paths. She was trained a teacher, and then worked for a designer house and in the Taiwanese civil service, but she found her calling in research along the way.

IAS Community Eminent Visitors Honored

We convey our heartiest congratulations to IAS Visiting Professors Arup Chakraborty and Eli Yablonovitch. Chakraborty has become one of 21 individuals to hold membership of all three branches of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Yablonovitch was named a Fellow to US National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional accolade bestowed on academic inventors.

Call for Nominations

The IAS strives to provide the best possible environment to support creative activity by all its affiliates. The Junior Fellow program is intended to allow young researchers to develop their scholarly potential free from the distractions and administrative burdens that often accompany academic positions...

Laboratory Upgraded for the Next Generation of OLED Technology

With the HK$4 million dollar investment, IAS Bank of East Asia Professor Ching W Tang and his team are now equipped with an efficient machinery necessary to develop OLED (organic light-emitting diode) devices with any complexity, any number of layers.

IAS Professors Shed Light on STEM

Ching W Tang introduced next-generation display technology and Henry Tye offered insights on the origin of the universe at the InnoCarnival, organized by the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Hong Kong Institution of Science.

Tin Ka Ping Fellows Prosper

With the generous donation from the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, the Tin Ka Ping Education Fund has supported young talents from mainland China to HKUST to explore new horizons of knowledge.

Intellectual Hub IAS Nobel Prize Popular Science Lectures

To convey the latest scientific findings to the community, the IAS has traditionally organized a series of lectures following the announcements of the Nobel Prizes each year. The lectures introduced audiences to the winners and the work recognized by this highest honor. This year’s series of events attracted more than 400 participants.

The Mystery of Machine Learning

Machines have outperformed humans in numerous complex tasks. Deep learning has the potential to unveil the secret of the learning capability of machines. IAS Workshop on the Mathematics of Deep Learning attracted interest across the academic community, gaining close to 100 participants.

In Search of New Physics

The IAS Program on High Energy Physics in Hong Kong was launched in 2015 to bring theorists, experimentalists and accelerator physicists together and facilitate stimulating discussion among participants. More than 100 participants addressed issues relating to physics, detectors and colliders, emphasizing the future of high energy physics.

Superconductors and Quantum Computers

Tech corporations such as Google and Microsoft are investing in the study of topological superconductors, which have special types of excitation called Majorana modes with important implications for the production of quantum computers.

Bridging Mathematics and Other Branches of Science

Musical sound propagation, water movement, weather prediction, oil recovery and the population dynamics of species are all related to partial differential equations. A five-day IAS Focused Program brought more than 30 mathematicians to consider new ideas and latest results in this area.

Hardship is the Wellspring of Poetry

Why is great work so rarely created in institutionalized creative writing workshops? Why can’t great work be invented by robots and other artificial intelligence systems? Bei Dao, the organizer of the event International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong (IPNHK), believes that hardship is both the wellspring of poetry and its motivating force. Hardship and oppression allow poetry to transcend the boundaries of history, nationality, religion, ideology and even language.

Scientific Computing

Algorithm development, modeling and simulation and numerical analysis have directly impacted our power to process and resolve physical and mathematical problems. Tremendous progress has been made by researchers in the greater China region in the fields of mathematics and scientific computing. At the IAS Focused Program on Scientific Computing, 60 outstanding researchers working in these fields met for five days to exchange views and share their latest findings.

Editors Linus See, Betty Chau Writer Henry Lam Contributing Staff Tsz Chun Chan, Karol Cheung Eric Lin, Nancy Pun Margaret Wong, Prudence Wong Web Developers Ken Fung, Ivan Tang © Copyright 2017 HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study All Rights Reserved W: ias.ust.hk T: (852) 2358 5912 E: ias@ust.hk Designed by PTC

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IAS Scholars IAS Junior Fellow Shu Ning Chan

Dr Shu Ning Chan was trained as a civil engineer. In his research, he focuses on the use of fluid mechanics to solve problems with the water environment, such as stormwater drainage design, wastewater treatment, water quality modeling and forecasting and assessment of the environmental impact of pollution discharge. Using the emerging technologies of computer modeling, machine learning and unmanned aerial vehicles, he hopes to contribute to the development of “smart cities” worldwide through his research on environmental hydraulics.

After receiving his PhD from the University of Hong Kong, Chan served as a postdoctoral researcher at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He joined HKUST in 2015 and subsequently became an IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Smart Water Management for a Sustainable Hong Kong

Water pollution control is a challenging task for Hong Kong, a densely populated coastal city with a complex tidal flow of seawater. Given the massive amount of wastewater created by daily activities, the careful treatment and discharge of sewage will be necessary to maintain Hong Kong’s precious coastal water environment.

Chan and his colleagues collaborated with the Hong Kong government to develop a daily coastal water quality forecast system for the city, using computational hydrodynamic models. By predicting the tidal transport of pollutants in real time, it provides citizens with an online daily forecast of beach water quality indices through the Internet. Together with their recent research on chlorine dosage optimization for sewage disinfection, the system has enhanced coastal water quality management in Hong Kong. It is regarded as one of the most advanced systems of its kind in the world.

Chan has also collaborated on research on drinking water quality and safety. He is one of the key investigators on an interdisciplinary project studying lead contamination and transport in the drinking water supply system of high-rise buildings. In his research, experiments, computer modeling and advanced chemical analysis are used to understand the mechanisms leading to a recent local incident of excess lead in drinking water, with the aim of enhancing public health protection. \\ Water pollution control demands innovative technology. As engineers, we share the responsibility for building a sustainable world through our research on smart solutions to water management. \\

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IAS Scholars IAS Postdoctoral Fellow Wei-Fen Chen

Dr Wei-Fen Chen earned her PhD in Communications and Media from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with an emphasis on social mobility and consumer behavior. Her life could have been very different if she had followed one of her earlier career paths. Chen had trained to become a teacher, but after graduating, she instead pursued a master’s degree in journalism and worked in a design house and for the Taiwanese government. She found her calling in research along the way.

After receiving her PhD, the Fulbright Scholar came to Hong Kong in 2016 for its academic environment. She has since met acclaimed scholars in her field, whose names she had first encountered in academic journals and reports, feeling “well supported by Hong Kong’s resources and environment to concentrate on my research.” Looking ahead, she plans to experiment with a variety of approaches and methodologies to further enhance her research process. Studying the Everyday Experiences of Consumers in Emerging Markets

Social mobility and consumer behaviors are at the core of Chen’s research. As she puts it, economists focus on the facts and numbers, whereas she studies the everyday experiences of individuals. One of her projects is concerned with the “new poor” in Taiwan and the United States, pinpointing a social group that is well educated but economically disadvantaged. Members of this group suffer as a result of post-recession economic conditions. Many of these fine young men and women come from middle- or upper-class families and possess various forms of capital but find themselves with hopeless futures.

These “new poor” seek to gain social esteem and position themselves socially by associating “taste” with criteria other than purchasing power. Certain approaches to travel consumption, such as backpacking, are celebrated over traditional approaches such as luxurious group tours as a way of traveling with “better taste”.

Expanding her area of inquiry, Chen looks into the rapidly changing cultural norms, societal dynamics and vibrant economic activities of developing countries. She studies human behavior in an increasingly globalized world, with particular reference to social and geographical mobility. This relates to interesting themes such as international students’ consumption and fan subtitling in the emerging market media, as well as their social and cultural implications. \\ Research suits my personality and gives me autonomy in and ownership of my work. \\

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IAS Community Eminent Visitors Honored Prof Arup Chakraborty - IAS Visiting Professor

Prof Arup Chakraborty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was elected to the US National Academy of Medicine at its 2017 annual meeting. This is one of the Academy’s highest honors, recognizing outstanding contributions to health and medicine. Chakraborty is one of 21 individuals to hold membership of all three branches of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Engineering for completely different bodies of work.

Chakraborty has been IAS Visiting Professor since 2012. In collaboration with HKUST faculty I-Ming Hsing (Chemical and Biological Engineering) and Matthew McKay (Electronic and Computer Engineering), as well as IAS Junior Fellow Raymond Louie, he analyzes the DNA and RNA sequences of various viruses to help design more effective drugs and vaccines. Prof Eli Yablonovitch - IAS Visiting Professor

In 2017, Prof Eli Yablonovitch from the University of California at Berkeley was named a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional accolade bestowed on academic inventors. A pioneer in the field of optoelectronics, Prof Yablonovitch championed the use of strained semiconductor lasers in modern optical telecommunication and coined the term “photonic crystal”. His startup company Ethertronics Inc. has shipped over 1.7 billion cellphone antennae, and Luxtera Inc., a company he cofounded, was the first to develop silicon photonics.

Yablonovitch was also awarded the 2018 Edison Medal by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Named after Thomas Edison and presented annually since 1909, the IEEE Edison Medal rewards a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering or the electrical arts. Yablonovitch was noted for his “leadership, innovations, and entrepreneurial achievements in photonics, semi-conductor lasers, antennae, and solar cells.” An IAS Visiting Professor since 2010, Yablonovitch was made a Doctor of Engineering honoris causa by HKUST in 2011.

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IAS Community Call for Nominations The IAS Junior Fellows

Founded only 25 years ago, HKUST has undergone extraordinary development to become a leading research institution and one of the most prominent young universities worldwide. Looking ahead, HKUST plans to enhance its contribution to the world academic community, not only by delivering high quality research and tertiary education, but also by nurturing especially talented young men and women in pursuit of their scholarly goals.

The IAS strives to provide the best possible environment to support creative activity by all of its affiliates. The Junior Fellow program is intended to allow young researchers to develop their scholarly potential free from the distractions and administrative burdens that often accompany academic positions. In the company of more senior colleagues and IAS affiliates, who can act as role models and mentors, Junior Fellows can realize their potential during some of their most creative and productive years.

The nomination process is ongoing and rolling. Details can be found at our website: ias.ust.hk/juniorfellows

Enquiries: iasjf@ust.hk

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IAS Community Laboratory Upgraded for the Next Generation of OLED Technology Ching W Tang and His Team Present New Research Facilities

The first set of equipment has been installed at the State Key Laboratory on Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies. With the HK$4 million investment, IAS Bank of East Asia Professor Ching W Tang and his team are now equipped with the machinery necessary to develop organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices of any complexity and with any number of layers.

Since it was first implemented in commercial products more than a decade ago, OLED technology has seen a remarkable growth in business scale and its market value is expected to exceed $50 billion US by 2023. The new technology faces challenges in competing with the currently dominant LCD technology in terms of cost and in delivering key functions and improved performance to further broaden its scope of applications. Research and development of OLED technology receives heavy investment to keep the industry growing. \\ One of my missions at HKUST is to build up this lab. Now we have the facility and the real work begins. \\ Basic Research on Better Materials

The research team led by Tang seeks to understand how OLED materials degrade over time and to produce OLED devices with greater efficiency and longer lifetimes. The newly installed production system comprises a central transfer chamber for substrate delivery and five detachable process chambers for device fabrication. To bring greater stability to the OLED devices, the deposition system allows complete exclusion of moisture and oxygen during production. Each chamber is equipped with a specific deposition apparatus and adds different functional coatings onto the substrate under various conditions. The robot situated in the central chamber circulates the substrate across different process chambers for deposition. In experiments designed by Tang’s research team, “recipes” are evaluated to discover how different combinations of chemicals and layering affect the device performance, particularly the operating lifetime of the device.

“The current OLED production line typically occupies a space greater than a football field, allowing it to handle glass plates of several square meters in size. In comparison, our deposition tool is a super miniature version of the production environment, capable of only handling glass plates about the size of a large cellphone screen. Despite its size, this research equipment can deliver products of comparable, if not better, quality and performance with the additional capability of fabricating OLED devices of advanced features.” Preparing for Virtual Reality

The lab also explores finer display resolutions. Pixels on a cellphone OLED display are now produced by evaporating materials through a shadow mask, which is a thin metal stencil with hundreds of thousands of tiny holes on it. Each of these tiny holes is scores of micrometers wide. A resolution of 400-500 pixels per inch (ppi, the measurement for display resolution) is considered fine for a cellphone display – the OLED screen on the iPhone X is 458 ppi, but this is far from satisfactory for displays on virtual reality (VR) gadgets. The team hopes to develop a way to fabricate ultra-fine aperture arrays on a very thin plate as the deposition mask for OLED panel production, enabling resolutions of 2000 ppi or higher.

'A project in our lab is to devise a method to simplify the vapor deposition processes in fabricating OLED devices.' Tang said, 'The aim is to reduce the deposition time and the waste of materials, thereby the manufacturing cost of OLED displays can be reduced. This new method allows us to deposit multiple materials at a close range using deposition chambers that are much reduced in size compared to conventional deposition chambers.”

“I very much appreciate the practice at HKUST whereby researchers can share tools and equipment in central facilities and among research groups. We can leverage our own resources and make the best use of them.”

Looking ahead, OLED technology may fully replace LCDs in the future. Tang sees that it is already happening with cellphone displays, 'although we are not yet sure if this will also be the case for televisions. The emergence of VR opens up a whole new realm and OLED research will certainly find a way to contribute. When that happens, there will be another important application for OLED displays. At HKUST, we hope we will be able to make significant contributions to the evolution of OLED display technology.' \\ What’s good about working at HKUST is that there are many talented people and rich resources in place. We can make the best use of them in our research. \\

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IAS Community IAS Professors Shed Light on STEM IAS Bank of East Asia Professor Ching W Tang visits the “Science, the Way to My Future” exhibition

The Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Hong Kong Institution of Science collectively participated in the InnoCarnival, an anchor event organized by the Innovation and Technology Commission, in October 2017. The theme of this year’s InnoCarnival was “Live Smart, Be Innovative”. The event was designed to introduce smart living to its attendees and to promote local innovation and a culture of technology.

The three academies co-organized an exhibition entitled “Science, the Way to My Future” at the Science Park, showcasing to the public the importance of science and technology to society and the great potential for development in these fields. Through interactive augmented reality and virtual reality games, visitors experienced the fun offered by advances in technology. A series of public talks on the topic of “Scientists and Science Life” were delivered by scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to share their scientific knowledge and extensive experience of science and technology. IAS Bank of East Asia Professor Ching W Tang (also a Founding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong) introduced the next-generation display technology, and IAS Professor Henry Tye (also Vice-President of the Hong Kong Institution of Science) offered insights into the origin of the universe.

To encourage aspiring young people to consider careers in science and technology, mentorship will be offered by members of the three academies to 120 local secondary school students. During this two-year “Distinguished Masters, Accomplished Students” program, each mentor will maintain close connections with three to four student mentees and cultivate their curiosity and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research. In addition to Tang, five HKUST faculty members will participate in the program.

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IAS Community Tin Ka Ping Fellows Prosper IAS Tin Ka Ping Fellows (from left): Kun Ding, Ting Zhang and Shoucheng Dong

With a generous donation from the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, for eight years the Tin Ka Ping Education Fund has helped young talents from mainland China to explore new horizons of knowledge at HKUST. Since 2011, five IAS Tin Ka Ping Fellows have been appointed:

Zhiyi Wei (2011-13) from UST China (Biochemistry)

Ting Zhang (2012-14) from Peking University (Electronics)

Shoucheng Dong (2014-15) from Wuhan University (Chemistry)

Kun Ding (2015-17) from Fudan University (Physics)

Dongying Zhou (2018- ) from Suzhou University (Physics) The Tin Ka Ping Fellows and IAS faculty members met the Foundation's representatives in January 2018.

More than 30 articles have been published by Tin Ka Ping Fellows in peer-reviewed journals. Among the Fellows, Zhiyi Wei was recruited as a faculty member by the Southern University of Science and Technology through the nation’s Thousand Talents Plan, and he continues his collaboration with IAS Visiting Professor Paul Schimmel at the IAS HKUST Scripps R&D Laboratory. The newly appointed Fellow, Dongying Zhou, was selected by the prestigious Hong Kong Scholars Program to conduct research with Prof Ching W Tang.

The Tin Ka Ping Foundation was established by Mr Tin Ka Ping in 1982 with a mission of contributing to the development of society and the nation. Mr Tin believes that education is the key to a prosperous future, and the Foundation has supported more than 300 universities, secondary schools, and primary schools in Greater China. As a staunch supporter of our University, the Foundation has also pledged donations to support the visits of Chinese writers to HKUST and the Center for the Development of the Gifted and Talented.

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Intellectual Hub IAS Nobel Prize Popular Science Lectures

To convey the latest scientific findings to the community, the IAS has traditionally organized a series of lectures following the announcements of the Nobel Prize each year. The lectures introduce audiences to the winners and the work recognized by this highest honor. This year’s series of events attracted more than 400 participants. Detection of Gravitational Waves

IAS TT and WF Chao Foundation Professor and Chair Professor of Physics George Smoot was as excited as his fellow cosmologists to explain to his audience how gravitational waves had been detected on Earth. He showed how merging black holes and merging neuron stars project waves across the universe according to general relativity. The prize-winning research made possible by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) confirmed a prediction made by Einstein 100 years ago. The first binary neuron star merger detected by LIGO marked a new era in astronomy. “Gravitational Waves, Merging Black Holes and Merging Binary Neutron Stars—2017 Nobel Prize in Physics” by George Smoot (14 Nov 2017) Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM)

In their lecture, HKUST Visiting Professor of Life Science Bik Tye and IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Life Science Yuanliang Zhai explained how the new technical innovation of Cryo-EM equips laboratories with larger capacities. Thanks to contributions by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson, Cryo-EM effectively generates three-dimensional images of the molecules of life. Researchers can now freeze biomolecules mid-movement and portray them at atomic resolution.

To extend the reach of the lecture, the IAS piloted its delivery to the Diocesan Girls’ School, allowing the speakers to interact with an additional 100 students in real time. “Developing Cryo-electron Microscopy for the High-resolution Structure Determination of Biomolecules in Solution—2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry” by Bik Tye and Yuanliang Zhai (22 Nov 2017) Behavioral Economics—Predicting Irrational Humans

HKUST Associate Professor of Economics Wooyoung Lim introduced the work of Richard Thaler, this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. According to mainstream economics, humans behave rationally. In fact, however, humans have limited rationality, social preferences and a lack of self-control. This implies that people do not always behave economically. This study opens up a new approach to investigating human decisions. “Richard Thaler and Behavioral Economics—2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences” by Wooyoung Lim (23 Nov 2017) The Clock in Our Cells

The cells in our bodies follow an approximately 24-hour circadian rhythm that governs all organisms on the planet. The cycle was first discovered in 1971 in fruit flies, and the Nobel Laureates Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W Young received recognition for successfully cloning the gene that regulates the circadian rhythm. HKUST Assistant Professor of Life Science Yan Yan explained that their findings offer new insights into how organisms’ biological clock impacts their health. “Molecular Mechanisms of the Circadian Rhythm—2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine” by Yan Yan (27 Nov 2017)

Videos of the IAS lectures are available online: ias.ust.hk/channel

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Intellectual Hub The Mystery of Machine Learning

Machines have outperformed humans in numerous complex tasks. AlphaGo’s dominance over the top human Go players clearly showed that artificial intelligence has reached a new level. Mathematics has played a central role in deep learning to unlock the potential of machines to learn. Through mathmatical and theoretical queries, one can better understand how machines automatically learn to represent data in multiple layers of increasing abstraction and thereby uncover intricate structures in large datasets.

The IAS Workshop on the Mathematics of Deep Learning ran for five days and brings together 12 speakers with interdisciplinary research expertise in the fields of mathematics, computer science, neural science and psychology. The workshop attracted interest across the academic community, gaining close to 100 participants. IAS workshop on the Mathematics of Deep Learning (8-12 Jan 2018)

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Intellectual Hub In Search of New Physics

Since the discovery of the Higgs boson, the main objectives of high-energy physics have been to precisely measure Higgs properties and to search for new physics. These objectives strongly motivated the construction of an e+e- Higgs factory and a new pp collider with significantly higher energy than the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The Higgs boson plays a crucial role in explaining the breaking of spontaneous electroweak symmetry and the mass generation of known fundamental particles. It is thus important to precisely measure the Higgs-gauge couplings, the Higgs-Yukawa couplings and the Higgs self-couplings. Compared with the LHC, a designated Higgs factory would more rapidly and efficiently achieve this goal. Such precise measurements can also help to unveil new physics that alter Higgs properties.

There are good reasons to expect that new physics will emerge at the TeV scale or above. A higher-energy pp collider will be crucial to explore new physics and the properties of particles discovered using the LHC.

The IAS Program on High Energy Physics in Hong Kong was launched in 2015 to bring theorists, experimentalists and accelerator physicists together and facilitate stimulating discussion among participants. In the fourth year of the program, more than 100 participants visited from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The participants addressed issues relating to physics, detectors and colliders, emphasizing the future of high-energy physics. As part of the program, a four-day conference was held during 22-25 January 2018. Topical workshops were organized on themes such as the next steps in particle physics beyond the LHC, central calorimeters for high energy e+e- colliders and high-temperature superconducting cables and magnets. IAS Program on High Energy Physics (8-26 Jan 2018)

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Intellectual Hub Superconductors and Quantum Computers

Tech corporations such as Google and Microsoft are investing in the study of topological superconductors, which have special types of excitation called Majorana modes with important implications for the production of quantum computers.

Quantum Hall states emerge when a two-dimensional electron gas comes under a strong magnetic field. The gas becomes an insulator, but there are dissipationless channels on the edges to conduct electricity. The study of these physical conditions has grown rapidly.

The two-day Croucher and IAS Conference on Topological Phases and Topological Quantum Computation gathered more than 20 leading researchers from Hong Kong and overseas to share insights into basic research in this field. The program was supported by the Croucher Foundation. Croucher and IAS Conference on Topological Phases and Topological Quantum Computation (18-19 Dec 2017)

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Intellectual Hub Bridging Mathematics and Other Branches of Science

Partial differential equations are used to study a wide range of real-life phenomena—musical sound propagation, water movement, weather prediction, oil recovery, the population dynamics of species, the ecological impact of pollutant removal from groundwater and aspects of material science.

In 2017, the five-day IAS Focused Program on Frontiers of Theory and Applications of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations featured more than 30 world-renowned pure and applied mathematicians, particularly from HKUST and the University of British Columbia. It provided a platform for stimulating new ideas and initiating and producing first-rate results in this area. IAS Focused Program on Frontiers of Theory and Applications of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations (11-15 Dec 2017)

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Intellectual Hub Hardship is the Wellspring of Poetry

Why is a middle-class lifestyle not conducive to the production of great work? Why is great work so rarely created in institutionalized creative writing workshops? Why can’t great work be invented by robots and other artificial intelligence systems? Bei Dao, the organizer of the event International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong (IPNHK), believes that hardship is both the wellspring of poetry and its motivating force. Hardship and oppression allow poetry to transcend the boundaries of history, nationality, religion, ideology and even language.

The theme of IPNHK 2017 was “An Ancient Enmity,” and one of the nights was held at HKUST, bringing together eight poets and 130 audience members. Since 2009, the event has been organized in the city to convey to modern China the thoughts and ideas about poetry of internationally acclaimed poets and stimulate Chinese poets’ reflection on their own conditions for reading world poetry. IPNHK 2017, “An Ancient Enmity”, held at HKUST (24 Nov 2017)

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Intellectual Hub Scientific Computing

Never before have humans relied more on computer and related technology than we do today. Algorithm development, modeling and simulation and numerical analysis have directly impacted our power to process and resolve physical and mathematical problems. Scientific computing is a rapidly growing research field and is regarded as a new scientific approach supplementing traditional, theoretical and experimental studies.

Tremendous progress has been made by researchers in the greater China region in the fields of mathematics and scientific computing. At the IAS Focused Program on Scientific Computing, 60 outstanding researchers working in these fields met for five days to exchange views and share their latest findings. IAS Focused Program on Scientific Computing (4-8 Dec 2017)

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IAS Corner What Can the IAS Do for You?

\\ We provide a platform for prominent scholars to inspire new thinking and share the latest fruits of their research with HKUST and the wider community through IAS Distinguished Lectures and Joint School Lectures / Seminars.

\\ We host IAS Visitor Programs to attract internationally renowned scholars to IAS for extended visits and collaboration with HKUST faculty to drive cutting-edge discovery and advance academic excellence.

\\ We propel the development of research activities and initiatives at HKUST and seek solutions to the most challenging problems in high-impact areas in the form of IAS Programs, international conferences, symposia or workshops.

\\ We support creative pursuits of young men and women of the highest caliber by recruiting them to become IAS Junior Fellows, who focus on their research affiliated with HKUST and collaborate with our academic community.

You may contact Andrew G Cohen, IAS Director, to discuss further.

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Join Our Events What’s Next at the IAS?

View our events in the coming months. Lectures

Usually lasting for 1-2 hours, these lectures focus on topics of interests for a general or specific audience. The Pricing of Tail Risk and the Equity Premium: Evidence from International Option Markets (8 Feb)

Speaker: Torben Andersen Northwestern University Nonparametric Option-implied Volatility (8 Feb)

Speaker: Viktor Todorov Northwestern University Biogenesis and Activities of Plant Micro-RNA ─ the 'Where' and 'How' (9 Feb)

Speaker: Xuemei Chen University of California at Riverside Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols (12 Feb)

Speaker: Shengming Ma Fudan University Real-time Tracking of Ion Channels Shows Anomalous Diffusion and Compartmentalization on the Surface of Mammalian Cells (8 May)

Speaker: Diego Krapf Colorado State University IAS Workshops / Programs

These advanced activities feature in-depth discussion on specific research topics, often spanning multiple days. IAS Program on Chinese Creative Writing (Feb - May)

Organizers: Jianmei Liu HKUST Zaifu Liu HKUST IAS Workshop on Inverse Problems, Imaging and Partial Differential Equations (12-16 Mar)

Organizers: Gang Bao Zhenjiang University Tony F Chan HKUST Shingyu Leung HKUST Gunther Uhlmann HKUST Xiao-Ping Wang HKUST Yang Wang HKUST Hai Zhang HKUST IAS Focused Program on Mechanisms of Gene Transcription and its Regulation (19-23 Mar)

Organizers: Xuhui Huang HKUST Toyotaka Ishibashi HKUST Robert Landick University of Wisconsin-Madison Dong Wang University of California at San Diego The Blue Ribbon Panel Meeting on Setting the Future Directions of Alzheimer’s Disease Research (25-28 Mar)

Moderators / Organizers: Christophe Bernarde Aix-Marseille Université Marseille Judy Campisi Buck Institute for Research on Aging Suzana Herculano-Houzel Vanderbilt University Mu-ming Poo Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of California at Berkeley Intimacy of Creativity - The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers (23 Apr - 6 May)

Artistic Director: Bright Sheng University of Michigan and HKUST IAS Focused Program on Time Series Analysis of Higher Moments and Distributions of Financial Data (28-30 May)

Organizers: Zongwu Cai University of Kansas Giuseppe Cavaliere University of Bologna Chia-Lin Chang National Chung Hsing University Shiqing Ling HKUST Michael McAleer National Tsing Hua University Gordon Research Conferences (GRC)

As one of the world’s premier conferences, GRC gathers prominent scientists in biological, chemical and physical science disciplines at the IAS for a weeklong conference, which provides an interactive platform for hundreds of researchers, scholars, and graduate students to exchange new research ideas and broaden their network in the global academic community. Associated Gordon Research Seminars (GRS) allow young scholars to seek advice from their mentors and build up research networks for future collaboration.

Chairs & Vice-Chairs:

Solar Energy Conversion: Materials, Physics and Devices for Advanced Solar Energy Conversion (GRS) (16-17 Jun)

Ning Xu Nanjing University

Solar Energy Conversion: Pathways for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage: Electricity, Thermal and Fuel (17-22 Jun)

Jia Zhu Nanjing University Can Li Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Anders Hagfeldt École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: New Perspectives on the Virus-Host Interplay in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Their Impact on Diagnosis and Therapeutic Interventions (24-29 Jun)

George S Tsao The University of Hong Kong Fei-Fei Liu University of Toronto Kwok Wai Lo The Chinese University of Hong Kong Quynh-Thu X Le Stanford University

Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology: Molecular and Cellular Dynamics of Neural Function (GRS) (30 Jun – 1 Jul)

Anita A Thambirajah McGill University

Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology: Recent Discoveries and Technological Advances in the Study of the Nervous System During Development, Health and Disease (1-6 Jul)

John J Ngai University of California at Berkeley Aaron Gitler Stanford University

Ocean Biogeochemistry: Biogeochemistry of Marine Interfaces (GRS) (7-8 Jul)

Jihua Liu Shandong University Bethanie R Edwards University of Hawaii at Manoa

Ocean Biogeochemistry: Biogeochemistry of Marine Interfaces (8-13 Jul)

Louis Legendre Sorbonne Université, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University Sylvia Sander International Atomic Energy Agency Chuanlun Zhang Southern University of Science and Technology Susanne Neuer Arizona State University

Genomic Instability: Chromosome Replication, Repair and Organization in the Maintenance of Genome Stability (GRS) (21-22 Jul)

Giulia Saredi University of Dundee Catalina Pereira Cornell University

Genomic Instability: Chromosome Replication, Repair and Architecture (22-27 Jul)

Anja Groth University of Copenhagen Anindya Dutta University of Virginia Lee Zou Harvard University Michael S Y Huen The University of Hong Kong

Personalized Medicine: Exploring the New Era of Individualized Treatment Through Science, Technology and Integrated Medicine (29 Jul – 3 Aug)

Yen Yun Taipei Medical University Edward J Benz Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Steven T Rosen City of Hope National Medical Center Hsing-Jien Kung Taipei Medical University

Advanced Materials for Sustainable Infrastructure Development: Green and Low Carbon Cementitious Materials for Sustainability (5-10 Aug)

Changwen Miao Southeast University Pedro Castro-Borges CINVESTAV del IPN Unidad Mérida Kamal Khaya Missouri University of Science and Technology R Doug Hooton University of Toronto

Structural Nanomaterials: Complexity and Heterogeneity in Microstructure and Their Relation with Properties (12-17 Aug)

Z P Lu University of Science and Technology Beijing Simon Ringer University of Sydney Qing Ping Sun HKUST Andrea Hodge University of Southern California

The above activities were last updated on 31 Jan 2018 and may be subject to change. For the latest details of events, please visit ias.ust.hk/events. © Copyright 2017 HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study All Rights Reserved W: ias.ust.hk T: (852) 2358 5912 E: ias@ust.hk Designed by PTC