SENG News, Issue 22

Abstract

If you have any difficulties viewing this email, please click here. SENG eNewsletter (Issue 22, Nov 2019)

PARTNERSHIP

Washington University in St Louis Signs MoU with HKUST to Strengthen Collaboration

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) focuses on collaboration between the engineering schools of the two universities to benefit their research and teaching activities and to further the internationalization of both institutions.

FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

Advancing Visible Light Communication

Prof. Patrick YUE is named a Fellow of The Optical Society, becoming one of the 94 Fellows worldwide selected in the class of 2020.

Young Academics Recognized Nationally

Two assistant professors are named 2019 Excellent Young Scholars by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

AI-Based Lip-Reader

HKUST President’s Cup champion becomes winner of global engineering presentation competition

Humanoid Robots Dancing to K-tpop

HKUST becomes the first HK team to win in sports dance category of Intelligent Robot Contest in Seoul

First Team from Hong Kong

HKUST wins 1st runner-up and Dynamizer Award in debut participation in ROBO-ONE

OUTREACH & COMMUNITY

HKUST Receives HK$40 Million from Seal of Love Charitable Foundation

The gift is set to empower HKUST students in solving real-world problems with innovative thinking and technology know-how, and to deliver social impact with tangible solutions in resource-limited communities.

TEACHING & LEARNING

HKUST Launches Joint School MSc in Financial Technology Program

The program leverages the diverse expertise of professors in the Business, Engineering, and Science Schools to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills related to popular financial technologies and their engineering and financial principles.

SENG Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award 2018-19

The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate continuous excellence in undergraduate teaching, foster students’ interest in the subject, promote students’ learning, develop innovative and effective teaching methodologies, and more.

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

Meet WEI Lili Video game enthusiast WEI Lili has turned her childhood interest into cutting-edge research that sets to produce reliable high-quality software for mobile phone users.

CAMPUS NEWS

Multicultural Talents to Explore Postgrad Study Opportunities

The School of Engineering has the pleasure of hosting 67 top engineering students at bachelor’s or master’s level who demonstrated outstanding academic performance and research capabilities at the Summer Camp for Elite Students at HKUST.

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Eco-friendly E-Fuel Recharges Electric Vehicles in Just a Few Minutes HKUST-led Research Successfully Develops Rechargeable Liquid Fuels to Power Electric Vehicles and Electricity Grid Content Banner Prof. Zhao Tianshou (middle) and Prof. Chen Qing (first from left) and their research teams. Prof. Zhao Tianshou (middle) and Prof. Chen Qing (first from left) and their research teams. [Download Photo] Body Across-university research project led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has successfully developed an environment-friendly rechargeable liquid fuel that promises to have impact on a global scale. It can fully recharge an electric vehicle in a matter of minutes – a great enhancement from existing battery technology which usually takes hours.

This fuel – called ‘e-fuel’ – is carbon-neutral if charged with solar or wind energy. Like fossil fuels, it can be readily dispatched to the power grid, and also rapidly recharged to vehicles.

The research, titled ‘Creation of Rechargeable Electron-fuels for Stationary Power Supplies and Electric Vehicles’, is led by Prof. ZHAO Tianshou of HKUST and supported by academics from The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Prof. Zhao Tianshou is Cheong Ying Chan Professor of Engineering and Environment, Chair Professor of Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Director of the HKUST Energy Institute. The five-year research project – from 2018 to 2022 – is funded by the Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme to the tune of HK$50 million.

“We have successfully developed a stable lithium-sulfur battery that promises to be energy-dense and capable of storing energy at low cost, and can be applied to both electric vehicles and grids transmitting a high fraction of solar and wind energy,” Prof. Zhao explained.

“The biggest excitement for us is that we can transform the lithium-sulfur battery to a flow system, or e-fuel as we call it.”

Unlike recharging a battery for hours for an electric vehicle, recharging the vehicle with e-fuel takes a matter of minutes. And since it’s rechargeable, e-fuel won’t go away like fossil fuels do after the consumption. At the recharging station, the energy-depleted e-fuel is removed from the fuel tank, which then is refilled with fully-charged e-fuel.

The e-fuel system adopts the chemistry of a lithium-sulfur battery for the high capacity of the lithium metal and the low cost of the sulfur cathode. While the research team made great progress in developing e-fuel, they still had challenges to overcome. First, dendrites forming on the lithium surface may shorten the battery life. Second, the discharged sulfur will dissolve and diffuse to damage the lithium anode.

“A solution is to form a porous lithium anode with surface protection, previously achieved through impractical, strenuous fabrication procedures,” Prof. Qing Chen, Assistant Professor in the same department who works on this project with Prof. Zhao, explained. “We make thermodynamics work for us. With two spontaneous reactions, we formed a porous lithium anode on a carbon skeleton, and coated it with a protective, composite layer.”

This simple yet effective approach led to one of the best performance records ever achieved for a high-loading lithium-sulfur battery. The loading – meaning the amount of active materials per area of the device, has to be high so that the high performance on paper can eventually translate into a practical, high-performance system.

While the research is still ongoing, selected results have already been published in Nature Communications – one of the world’s most prestigious multidisciplinary journals. Since the inauguration of the journal in 2010, HKUST has contributed 22 papers, most of which represent major breakthroughs in their respective fields.

About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. In the engineering and technology area, HKUST was ranked No.18 in the QS World University Rankings 2019 and No.23 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019.

TAGS News Tags E-Fuel Energy Electric Vehicles Environment Sustainability

15/10/2019 Thumbnail Title International Partnership to Boost Research and Education Washington University in St Louis Signed MOU with HKUST to Strengthen Collaboration Content Banner HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof. Tim Cheng (front left) and James M. McKelvey Prof. Aaron Bobick, WashU Dean of McKelvey School of Engineering (front right), sign the MoU under the witness of the WashU delegates and HKUST representatives. HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof. Tim Cheng (front left) and James M. McKelvey Prof. Aaron Bobick, WashU Dean of McKelvey School of Engineering (front right), sign the MoU under the witness of the WashU delegates and HKUST representatives. [Download Photo] Body Ahigh-level delegation led by James M. McKelvey Prof. Aaron BOBICK, Dean of McKelvey School of Engineering (McKelvey Engineering) of Washington University in St Louis (WashU), visited the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on September 20, 2019 to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a framework within which cooperation may develop between the two leading universities in the world.

The MoU focuses on collaboration between McKelvey Engineering at WashU and the School of Engineering (SENG) at HKUST in order to benefit their research and teaching activities in the field of engineering and to further the internationalization of both institutions. The preliminary plan is to explore joint research activities, including seminars, conferences and public lectures, and establish joint projects through collaborative education programs to facilitate student exchange.

Apart from the Dean of McKelvey Engineering, who was present to sign the MoU, the delegates also included senior management at WashU, namely Prof. Bruno SINOPOLI, Chair of Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering and Das Family Distinguished Professor; Mr. Nick BENASSI, Senior Associate Dean and Chief of Staff; and Ms. Teresa SARAI, Assistant Dean for International Relations.

The delegates were greeted by the HKUST counterparts, including Prof. Albert IP, Council Member; Prof. Tim CHENG, Dean of Engineering; Prof. CHENG Siu-Wing, Associate Dean of Engineering (Undergraduate Studies); Prof. Richard SO, Associate Dean of Engineering (Research & Graduate Studies); Prof. Bert SHI, Head of Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering; and Prof. Terence WONG, Assistant Professor of Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, among others.

Founded in 1853, WashU is among the world’s leaders in teaching, research, patient care, and service to society. It was ranked No.32 in the U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings 2018 and No.52 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.

TAGS News Tags Internationalization and Partnership

19/11/2019 Thumbnail Title Advancing Visible Light Communication Prof. Patrick YUE Named a Fellow of The Optical Society Content Banner Prof. Patrick Yue demonstrates a wirelessly powered visible light communication (WP VLC) system designed by his graduate students. Prof. Patrick Yue demonstrates a wirelessly powered visible light communication (WP VLC) system designed by his graduate students. [Download Photo] Body Prof. Patrick YUE, Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE), was elected as a 2020 Fellow of The Optical Society (OSA) “for contributions to the advancement of visible light communication and optical fiber communication system-on-chip design based on silicon technologies”. He is one of the 94 Fellows worldwide selected in the class of 2020.

No more than 10% of the total OSA membership may be Fellows at any given time, making each year’s honorees a highly selective group. The number elected each year is limited to approximately 0.5% of the current membership total.

Since 1959, over 2,500 members have joined the rank of OSA Fellow. These members have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics through distinguished contributions to education, research, engineering, business and society.

Founded in 1916, OSA is the leading professional association in optics and photonics, home to accomplished science, engineering, and business leaders from all over the world. Through world-renowned publications, meetings, and membership programs, OSA provides quality information and inspiring interactions that power achievements in the science of light.

With this new fellow honor, the ECE Department now has four OSA Fellows in its current faculty. The other ECE OSA Fellows are Prof. KWOK Hoi-Sing, Prof. Kei May LAU and Prof. QU Jianan.

Related links:

OSA press release: The Optical Society Announces 2020 Fellows Class (Oct 31, 2019) About OSA Fellow Members TAGS News Tags Electronic and Computer Engineering

28/11/2019 Thumbnail Title Young Academics Recognized Nationally Two Assistant Professors Named Excellent Young Scholars by National Natural Science Foundation of China Content Banner 2019 NSFC Excellent Young Scholars: Prof. Anthony Leung (left) and Prof. Wang Jiguang 2019 NSFC Excellent Young Scholars: Prof. Anthony Leung (left) and Prof. Wang Jiguang [Download Photo] Body Prof. Anthony LEUNG, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Prof. WANG Jiguang, Chemical and Biological Engineering, were named 2019 Excellent Young Scholars (EYS) by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

EYS is one of the most prestigious awards for young scientists (under 38 for male and under 40 for female) in China. It recognizes promising scholars who have already achieved good results in fundamental research to pursue innovative research in new areas and aims to foster them to be internationally leading academics in their respective fields. Prof. Leung and Prof. Wang will each receive RMB1.3 million over a period of three years to conduct pioneering research on the soil-plant interaction to civil engineering applications and on data-driven analysis in tumor evolution respectively.

This is the first time that NSFC opens the highly competitive EYS award to scholars from Hong Kong and Macau. Among the 25 scholars selected from the two regions, three come from HKUST, including Prof. Leung, Prof. Wang, and Prof. Li Yingying from the School of Business and Management.

TAGS News Tags Geotechnical Engineering cancer genomics Civil and Environmental Engineering Chemical and Biological Engineering Life Science Award

18/11/2019 Thumbnail Title Humanoid Robots Dancing to K-pop HKUST Became the First Hong Kong Team to Win in Sports Dance Category of Intelligent Robot Contest in Seoul Content Banner HKUST’s two humanoid robots performed a dance with music at the Intelligent Robot Contest 2019 in Seoul. HKUST’s two humanoid robots performed a dance with music at the Intelligent Robot Contest 2019 in Seoul. [Download Photo] Body The Humanoid Team of the HKUST Robotics Team was crowned champion in the sports dance category of the Intelligent Robot Contest (IRC) 2019 held in Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX), Seoul on 10-12 October. This is the first time for a Hong Kong team to win in this category, which attracted 12 teams from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong this year.

The HKUST team was made up of five engineering undergraduates who come from three disciplines, namely computer engineering, electronic engineering and mechanical engineering. It is the second time that the HKUST Robotics Team students joined this competition, after the first time last year. This year, the five students participated in three categories – auto curling, auto sprinting and sports dance. Each of them utilized their knowledge and experience from their academics and the Robotics Team to contribute to the success.

In the competition, teams had to program two humanoid robots to perform a dance with a song in one to three minutes. Scoring criteria included stability, dancing skills, dancing to the rhythm and response from audiences. The HKUST students put substantial effort in designing dance moves and matching them with a suitable song. All teams demonstrated performance of a high standard and the HKUST team was recognized by judges and audiences for their robots’ high stability and strong rhythmic dance.

The achievement is a result of joint effort by team members. In preparation for the competition, they collaborated to overcome challenges and exchanged opinions to come up with the best solution. The competition also provided a valuable platform for them to widen their horizons in the field of humanoid robot.

IRC was organized by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of Korea and Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, with teams from Japan, Korea, Canada, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong participating.

Student list

Related link:

Video of HKUST Robotics Team’s performance in Intelligent Robot Competition 2019 (sports dance category)

SeoulTech Robot Contest - Intelligent Robot Competition (SRC IRC)

This news was prepared with the help of HKUST Robotics Team member LEUNG Pok-Man (Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, Year 3 undergraduate).

TAGS News Tags Robotics Competition Undergraduate

First Team from Hong Kong HKUST Won 1st Runner-up and Dynamizer Award in Debut Participation in ROBO-ONE Content Banner The winning team: (from left) Mak Ka-Hei, Leung Pok-Man, Mak Kin-Wing, Lee Chun-Hei and Amrutavarsh Sanganabasappa Kinagi, with their autonomous biped robot in front The winning team: (from left) Mak Ka-Hei, Leung Pok-Man, Mak Kin-Wing, Lee Chun-Hei and Amrutavarsh Sanganabasappa Kinagi, with their autonomous biped robot in front [Download Photo] Body Ateam of five undergraduates from the HKUST Robotics Team won the 1st Runner-up and Dynamizer Award in the 5th ROBO-ONE auto in Kanagawa, Japan on September 28, 2019. This is the first time for a Hong Kong team to participate in ROBO-ONE, the largest biped robot competition worldwide which was first held in Japan in 2002. ROBO-ONE auto is an autonomous biped robot competition under ROBO-ONE and attracted 18 teams from Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong this year.

The five students come from four different disciplines, namely computer engineering, computer science, electronic engineering and mechanical engineering. Each of them acquired different engineering knowledge through their learning experiences and successfully contributed it to the team.

It took them several months to finish the robot, including mechanical designs, electronic circuit designs, and algorithm designs. Their goal is to create a biped robot to fight with the opponent automatically. The prerequisite is that their robot needs to accurately recognize an object, a person, and another robot in front, which is also a compulsory task in the screening before the competition. To help their robot to make these recognitions, the team had been working on the depth camera together with machine learning.

In addition, the team examined the walking gait of their robot via simulation so that they can have a more rigorous control of how their robot walks. Apart from the algorithm, plenty of designs and prototyping were carried out repeatedly to realize a reliable and effective mechanical design of the robot. It also took effort to merge all those components in order to build the robot. Finally, all the hard work paid off as they delivered outstanding performance in the contest.

Student List

Related link:

The 5th ROBO-ONE auto ROBO-ONE official website This news was prepared with the help of HKUST Robotics Team member MAK Kin-Wing (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Year 4 undergraduate).

TAGS News Tags Robotics Student Competition

Generous Gift to Support Student Innovative Service HKUST Receives HK$40 Million from Seal of Love Charitable Foundation Content Banner (From right) Ms. Dee Dee Chan, Director of the Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, Mr. Lawrence Chan, Founder of the Foundation and his wife Mrs. Lillian Chan, HKUST President Prof. Wei Shyy, and HKUST Provost Prof. Lionel Ni officiate the naming ceremony. (From right) Ms. Dee Dee Chan, Director of the Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, Mr. Lawrence Chan, Founder of the Foundation and his wife Mrs. Lillian Chan, HKUST President Prof. Wei Shyy, and HKUST Provost Prof. Lionel Ni officiate the naming ceremony. [Download Photo] Body The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) received a HK$40 million donation from Seal of Love Charitable Foundation (Foundation). The gift is set to empower HKUST students in solving real-world problems with innovative thinking and technology know-how, and to deliver social impact with tangible solutions in resource-limited communities.

The generous gift from the Foundation – a charitable organization dedicated to helping others with projects mostly focused on supporting education and the underprivileged in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia – will be used to set up an endowment fund called the “Seal of Love Foundation Student Innovative Service Fund” (Fund). In appreciation of the Foundation’s benevolent support, the University has named a wing of its semi-circular Academic Building “Seal of Love Charitable Foundation Wing”.

Founder of the Foundation Mr. Lawrence CHAN and his family members officiated at the naming ceremony earlier to unveil the commemorative plaque of the Wing. At the ceremony, Director of the Foundation Ms. Dee Dee CHAN said, “I can think of no better partners to help fulfil this vision than the bright and promising young scholars of HKUST. We hope that our new Fund will allow HKUST students to use their imagination and technological know-how to come up with disruptive tangible solutions to the world’s most pressing problems with maximum social impact.” Other officiating guests included Prof. Wei SHYY, President of HKUST and Prof. Lionel NI, Provost of HKUST.

Prof. SHYY said HKUST shares a common goal with the Foundation on driving self-expectation on having positive social impact with what HKUST is good at, namely, innovation, design thinking and science and technology. “We encourage our students to apply their ideas and knowledge with a goal of serving people; hence, it is a combination of service and learning for them. I am very grateful for the Foundation’s generous support. It is a testimony of confidence in our faculty’s and students’ devotion and capabilities.”

Seal of Love Charitable Foundation was established in 2010 by Mr. Lawrence CHAN, the eldest son of the late CHAN Chak-Fu – a pioneer in hotel industry who built a global empire stretching from Asia to Europe and the United States – including the Park Lane Hotel in Hong Kong. Since its inception, the Foundation has devoted efforts to serving the underprivileged in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, building schools and sponsoring students to earn vocational and university degrees in Cambodia, as well as supporting a Chinese medicine mobile clinic for elderly in Hong Kong.

Student Innovation for Global Health Technology (SIGHT) – a program launched in 2014 that empowers HKUST students to tackle global health issues both locally and overseas – is the first project to be supported by the Fund. In collaboration with various partners, SIGHT students devise creative and affordable solutions for real-world problems. Their inventions include a diagnostic software for diabetic retinopathy in Indonesia, a tailored keyboard for students with special educational needs (SEN) to enter Math formula in Hong Kong, and a mobile electronic health record system for medical teams who serve the slums and rural provinces of Cambodia, which has since found its way to Gambia. Other upcoming projects include medicine and equipment transport for mobile clinics in Cambodia, learning aids for SEN students in Hong Kong and tackling anemia in tribal villages of Gujarat, India.

TAGS News Tags Donation Global Health Technology Global and Community Engagement Global Challenges Education

Multidisciplinary Education to Bridge Talent Gap in Fintech Industry HKUST Launches Joint School MSc in Financial Technology Program Content Banner The MSc Fintech program launch ceremony is officiated by Prof. Lionel NI, Provost of HKUST (fifth right); Prof. TAM Kar-Yan, Dean of School of Business and Management (fourth right); Prof. Richard SO, Associate Dean of School of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies) (second left) and Prof. Tim LEUNG, Associate Dean (Recruitment) of School of Science (first left) . Guests including Prof. Ning CAI, Program Director of the MSc Fintech Program (first right); Prof. HUI Kai-Lung, HKUST School of Business an The MSc Fintech program launch ceremony is officiated by Prof. Lionel NI, Provost of HKUST (fifth right); Prof. TAM Kar-Yan, Dean of School of Business and Management (fourth right); Prof. Richard SO, Associate Dean of School of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies) (second left) and Prof. Tim LEUNG, Associate Dean (Recruitment) of School of Science (first left) . Guests including Prof. CAI Ning, Program Director of the MSc Fintech Program (first right); Prof. HUI Kai-Lung, HKUST School of Business and Management Associate Dean (Research) and Co-Director of the MSc Fintech Program (second right). [Download Photo] Body School of Business and Management, School of Engineering, and School of Science of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are jointly offering the inaugural university-wide Master of Science in Financial Technology (MSc Fintech) Program in Hong Kong.

The MSc Fintech program at HKUST is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that aims to bridge the talent gap in the Fintech industry. The Program leverages the diverse expertise of professors in the three schools to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills related to popular financial technologies and their engineering and financial principles. Students will enhance their market competitiveness in the multi-disciplinary and booming Fintech space. The first cohort welcomes 60 professionals with backgrounds mainly in finance and technology.

The Program’s launch ceremony was held last Saturday and was officiated by Prof. Lionel NI, Provost of HKUST, Prof. TAM Kar-Yan, Dean of HKUST School of Business and Management, Prof. Richard SO, Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) of HKUST School of Engineering, and Prof. Tim LEUNG, Associate Dean (Student Recruitment) of HKUST School of Science.

“This Program capitalizes on HKUST’s world-class education in Business, Engineering, and Science to provide students with an exceptional opportunity to achieve success in today’s multifaceted world. We are proud to be pioneers and demonstrate the unique positioning of HKUST,” said Prof. Ni.

“The program addresses timely needs from the market as reflected by the caliber and diversity of the maiden class. We have a good blend of students with impressive academic credentials from top schools around the world, as well as seasoned executives and professionals from the financial and technology industries. Their concerted motivation is to learn, develop, and lead global Fintech innovation and applications,” said Prof. HUI Kai-Lung, HKUST School of Business and Management Associate Dean (Research) and Co-Director of the MSc Fintech Program.

Senior Advisor and Chairman of WeLab virtual bank and HKUST Department of Finance Adjunct Professor Prof. KC CHAN delivered a keynote speech entitled “Fintech Education in Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area” at the launch ceremony highlighting the advantages of Hong Kong as an education hub for Fintech talents. Thereafter, a panel discussion on the “Virtual Bank and the Future of Fintech” further shed light on the instrumental role of Fintech in the overall development of the financial industry. Panelists Mrs. Christine IP, CEO-Greater China of United Overseas Bank; Mr. Arthur YUEN, Deputy Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority; and Mr. Simon YOUNG, Chief Compliance Officer-Overseas at Ping An Group, all alumni of HKUST, contributed their valuable industry knowledge and insights.

TAGS News Tags Fintech Teaching and Learning Education

Outstanding Teachers Recognized SENG Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award 2018-19 Content Banner

[Download Photo] Body Four faculty members from four different departments were honored in the School of Engineering (SENG) Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award 2018-19. The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate continuous excellence in undergraduate teaching, foster students’ interest in the subject, promote students’ learning, develop innovative and effective teaching methodologies, and more.

Prof. Desmond TSOI, Computer Science and Engineering, received the Distinguished Teaching Award. He has been the highest teaching evaluation scorer among faculty members of his department for seven successive semesters and was voted one of the Best Ten Lecturers by HKUST students in 2017. He has been very active in supervising final year projects and other student projects which is beyond his teaching duties, and some of the projects went on to win prestigious awards outside the University. He also contributed significantly to the newly introduced Operating Systems course.

Prof. Mansun CHAN, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Prof. Jack CHENG, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Prof. Richard LAKERVELD, Chemical and Biological Engineering, received Teaching Awards.

Prof. Mansun Chan made substantial contribution in incorporating new teaching pedagogies into the Microelectronic Devices and Technology course. These included developing a massive open online course (MOOC) version which was launched in May 2018 to over 6,000 students worldwide and implementing flipped classroom blended learning in Fall 2018.

He was devoted to bringing engineering to primary and secondary school students. In addition to initiating the IEEE Electronic Camp and IEEE Electronic Endeavor Match, he offered regular courses via different units of the university, including Center for the Development of the Gifted and Talented, Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers, and HKUST Summer Institute.

Prof. Jack Cheng has been teaching two important undergraduate core courses, and the one on Introduction to Construction Management has been constantly rated one of the best lectures in the department. In addition to supervising final year projects which have gone on to win various awards, he successfully applied for a teaching development project fund at the University’s Center for Education Innovation to improve the teaching of building information modelling in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. He has also actively taken up administrative duties for advancing undergraduate education and curriculum innovation.

Prof. Richard Lakerveld has been teaching two important undergraduate courses, titled Process & Product Design Principles and Pharmaceutical Engineering, which were both well received by students. He also made great contributions in developing a 5-credit new process and product design course.

He devoted his time to help HKUST’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Student Chapter to hold a beer-brewing workshop on campus, which was a big success and has become a tradition and a highlight of experiential learning element of the department. The HKUST AIChE Student Chapter subsequently received an Outstanding Student Chapter Award by AIChE.

Related link:

About the SENG Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award

TAGS News Tags Teaching and Learning Recognition Undergraduate

Women in Engineering – meet WEI Lili Leveraging Computer Science to Turn Imagination into Reality Content Banner Wei Lili Wei Lili [Download Photo] Body PhD student in Computer Science and Engineering (Class of 2020), HKUST; BSc in Computer Science (Class of 2015), Nanjing University 2018 Google PhD Fellow in mobile computing, one of the only six fellows from universities in East Asia among the 57 recipients in this global program in 2018 2018 Microsoft Research Asia Fellow, the only female among the 11 fellows, chosen from 100+ nominated PhD candidates in the Asia-Pacific region

Video game enthusiast Wei Lili has turned her childhood interest into cutting-edge research that sets to produce reliable high-quality software for mobile phone users.

1. What do you find fascinating about computer science?

I think my interest in computer science starts from my enthusiasm in playing all kinds of video games when I was a kid. I particularly like those role-playing games with interesting stories. When I was young, I had various imaginations of adventure stories in my mind and thought it would be fantastic if I can make my stories into real games. I think computer science techniques are a medium to turn my imagination into reality in the digital world. This is the original motivation for me to choose computer science as my major.

2. Why do you choose HKUST to further your studies?

When I was in high school in my hometown Shenzhen, I attended an orientation of HKUST given by our high school alumni, who were HKUST students. I was impressed by their sharing on the campus life and beautiful views of the university. HKUST became my dream school since then. In addition, HKUST is a renowned research-oriented university. So I applied for the PhD program in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering after I finished my undergraduate study in Nanjing University and fortunately got an offer.

3. What do you like about studying at HKUST?

I am having a great time in our research group. My supervisor, Prof. Cheung Shing-Chi, is very passionate about research. I can feel his excitement when he talks about research problems and his ideas. Prof. Cheung is also a very caring and supportive supervisor. On the one hand, he gives us freedom to choose our interested research topics and to conduct research work at our own pace. On the other hand, he consistently gives us valuable advice on both general research methodologies and detailed solutions to the specific research obstacles. Peers in my group are also very enthusiastic about research. I learned a lot of hands-on strategies on how to conduct research studies from discussions with them.

4. What research are you working on in your PhD?

My primary research area is in software engineering. We aim to help software engineers to produce reliable high-quality software. In my PhD study, I work on fragmentation-induced compatibility issues in Android apps. Android is a popular open-source mobile operating system. Many smartphone manufacturers (Samsung, Huawei, etc.) choose to build their device models based on Android. However, the manufacturers will customize the Android system to meet their own needs. This results in many different Android versions (Samsung Android, Huawei Android, etc.). The problem is that these different Android versions can behave differently. An Android app can thus behave inconsistently on different Android device models. For example, an app which works properly on Samsung devices may crash on Huawei devices. This is what we call “fragmentation-induced compatibility issues”. This has created great challenges in Android app development as it is very difficult for developers to identify such issues given the huge number of available Android device models. In my PhD study, I have conducted studies to characterize such compatibility issues and developed tools to automatically detect them in Android apps. Our tools have already detected 185 such issues in different Android apps and 89 of them have already been fixed.

5. Can you share with us your learning experience in the Google PhD Fellowship Program and Microsoft Research Asia Fellowship Program?

The two fellowships offer different valuable opportunities and resources to help us pursue research. They are highly competitive, so I feel extremely fortunate and much encouraged to be selected for both of them. I view them as recognitions of my research accomplishments.

Google offers a one-year mentorship program. I had a mentor from Google Research and we had quarterly meetings discussing my research projects. He gave me many interesting ideas from his perspective as a researcher and engineer at Google. Google also invites the PhD fellows to an annual summit. I attended the summit in 2019 summer in Google’s main campus in the US. It was a great experience as Google researchers from various areas shared their latest studies and findings with us. We also had chances to give poster presentations and lightning talks to introduce our research projects. I was very glad to have the chance to exchange ideas with all the bright minds I met in the summit. Also, I met the fellowship review committee chair for my area in the summit. I was much encouraged to hear from him that he had a strong impression on my proposal and found my proposed technique very useful.

Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) invites the PhD fellows to their annual conference, “Computing in the 21st Century Conference”. I attended the conference in 2018, which was also the ceremony for the 20th anniversary of MSRA. The conference invited many famous computer scientists from all over the globe and enabled us to have a treasured experience to meet with several Turing Award winners including Prof. Andrew Yao, Prof. Raj Reddy and Prof. Yoshua Bengio. All of them shared their advice for young computer science researchers. In addition, the program also offers a three-month internship. I am looking forward to spending some time as an intern at MSRA.

6. What is your career aspiration?

I would like to find a faculty position after I graduate. I enjoy doing research in software engineering and I wish that I can share my enthusiasm with my future students.

7. As a female student, how do you see the gender balance at SENG?

I think male students still account for a large number in SENG. In fact, I was the only female student in our research group (among 6 to 8 students) for four years. I think one of the reasons for such gap is that people have stereotypes on engineering students: engineering is a male’s game and engineering students are nerdy. But from my experience and observation, these are not true. I know a lot of female rock stars in engineering who maintain good balance between their career and life. I believe everyone – no matter male or female – can succeed in engineering if you have the passion and ability.

I am glad that the gender balance is improving with more and more female students joining engineering study. In this year, we have three new female members in our group. Now I can have more girls’ time in my lab. J

8. Advice to prospective students who are interested in engineering?

Engineering is fun. It is a discipline of making useful artifacts to improve our life. To be a good engineering student, you do not only need strong backgrounds in science (mathematics, physics, etc.), but more importantly, you should think about human – that is leveraging your science backgrounds to create useful artifacts for human. It is very rewarding when you see that the artifacts you build are well recognized by users.

9. What are the essential qualities that engineering students should possess?

Patience and perseverance. Resolving real-world problems and building practical artifacts require you to deal with every detail. This can be tedious. I think engineering students should be patient and perseverant to tackle these problems.

10. Your tips of success in studying engineering?

Be prepared for difficulties but don’t be afraid of them. There can be a lot of difficulties since engineering students need to face the complexity in the real world. In particular, research postgraduate students focus on cutting-edge problems which are not easy to resolve. However, be brave to face the difficulties and seek for resolutions. You will find they may not be as challenging as you imagined.

Related links:

2018 Google PhD Fellowship recipients 2018 Microsoft Research Asia Fellowship recipients PhD Student Lili WEI Awarded Google PhD Fellowship and Microsoft Research Asia PhD Fellowship Awards in 2018 TAGS News Tags Women / Gender Women in Engineering Software Technologies Computer Science and Engineering Postgraduate

Multicultural Talents to Explore Postgrad Study Opportunities SENG Summer Camp for Elite Students 2019 Content Banner Group photo at HKUST Piazza Group photo at HKUST Piazza [Download Photo] Body The School of Engineering (SENG) had the pleasure of hosting 67 top engineering students at bachelor’s or master’s level who demonstrated outstanding academic performance and research capabilities at the Summer Camp for Elite Students at HKUST on July 7-13, 2019. The students came from 14 different countries, namely Italy, Sweden, Spain, The Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, and China (including a selected group from Chu Kochen Honors College, Zhejiang University).

The participants went through a rigorous selection process to get into this exciting camp, where accommodation, local transportation, meals and airfare sponsorship were provided. Camp activities included leadership training sessions, research talks, industry visits, interactive activities as well as off-campus sightseeing. Participants also had the opportunities to meet SENG professors and visit their labs, enabling them to explore their research interests and gain diverse exposure.

SENG attracts top-quality students all year round, not just during the summer. Academic reputation is just one of the reasons why these students are choosing to come to the School. Being a young university with 28 years of history, HKUST was ranked 18th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019: Engineering and Technology, and has been the first in Hong Kong since 2010 when this league table was first published. The University was placed at 23rd in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 by Subject: Engineering and Technology. HKUST graduates were ranked 16th in the world for employability.

Exceptionally qualified PhD applicants with excellent academic records may apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (HKPFS) awarded by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong. Successful candidates will be awarded HK$309,600 (~USD 39,700), as well as travel allowance of HK$12,900 (~USD1,650) per year, up to four years. On top of that, successful candidates will also receive an Excellent Research Award of HK$40,000 in their first year. HKUST has recruited the most HKPFS awardees among all Hong Kong institutions for seven years in a row, and SENG has recruited the most fellows among all local engineering schools since the fellowship scheme was launched.

If you are interested in pursuing postgraduate studies at SENG, please contact us at <sengrpg@ust.hk>.

Program rundown of the summer camp

Photo album

TAGS News Tags Postgraduate International Student Exchange Scholarship