Some of the latest awards and honors accorded to members of HKUST, and new appointments
(As of 28 February 2015)

Faculty

►Prof Wen Weijia, Department of Physics, was awarded second-class 2014 State Natural Science Award by the State Council for the project on "Structural and physical mechanism investigation for giant electrorheological fluid". Other core team members include Prof Sheng Ping and Prof Tam Wing-yim, Department of Physics; Prof Yang Shihe, Department of Chemistry; and Prof Ma Hongru from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The project represented a major achievement in experimental and theoretical research in soft-condensed matter physics. The giant electrorheological (GER) effect was discovered and the micro-structure of GER fluid observed for the first time in the world. Furthermore, the GER fluid was designed and fabricated successfully. The GER fluid eventually broke through the intensity threshold and became the first practical smart material used for many engineering applications.

►Prof Jianping Gan, Professor in ENVR and MATH, was awarded second-class 2014 State Natural Science Award by the State Council for his research on “Dynamic Changes and Coupling Correlations among South China Sea and the nearby tropical sea areas.”

►Prof Shuji Nakamura, Visiting Professor of HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study, was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for “the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources”.

►HKUST Jockey Club IAS Bank of East Asia Professor and Chair Professor of Department of Chemistry, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and Department of Physics Prof Ching W Tang received the Nick Holonyak Jr. Award from the Optical Society of America.

►Prof Ricky Shi-wei Lee, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of Center for Advanced Microsystems Packaging, was the winner of the 2014 Calvin W Rice Lecture Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his contribution to the mechanical engineering society across the world.

►Prof Yilong Han, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, was awarded the 2014 Achievement in Asia Award for his distinguished contributions in melting transition, glass transition and the observation of geometrical frustration through creative experiments in colloidal dynamics.

►Prof Benzhong Tang, Stephen Kam-chuen Cheong Professor of Science, Chair Professor of Chemistry and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof Tianshou Zhao, Chair Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at HKUST, Director of the HKUST Energy Institute, and a Senior Fellow of the HKUST Institute for Advanced Study; and Dr Jacky W Y Lam from the Department of Chemistry were named among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014 by Thomson Reuters.

►A team led by Prof Ting-Chuen Pong, Senior Advisor to the Executive Vice-President and Provost (Teaching Innovation and e-Learning), Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, won the Natural Sciences Award and 1st Runner-up in Hybrid Learning Category of Wharton-QS Stars Awards 2014: Reimagine Education.

►Prof Fugee Tsung, Head of Industrial Engineering & Logistics Management, has been elected as the first Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Quality Technology (JQT) outside US. 

Fellows

►Prof Michael Altman, Head of the Department of Physics, was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society.

►Prof Pascale Fung and Prof Patrick Yue, Electronic and Computer Engineering, were elected Fellows of the prestigious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for 2015.

►Professor Irene Lo, Civil and Environmental Engineering, was elected as an Academician (Technical and Environmental Sciences) of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

►Prof Joseph Kwan, Director of Health, Safety and Environment Office and Adjunct Professor of Division of Environment was elected as Fellow by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) for his significant contributions to the field of industrial safety, hygiene and infectious control.

Students

►PhD student Mr Feng Ni, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and undergraduate Mr Chun-shing Poon, Electronic and Computer Engineering, under the supervision of Prof Yi-Kuen Lee, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the Global Youth Innovator Award at the 2015 iCAN Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas.
 

►Wenjian Huang, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, and Timothy Sze-wai Ng, Department of Finance, won the HKSTPC Technopreneur Gold Award at the YDC E-Challenge Competition 2014 organized by the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council.
 

►Four MPhil students of the Technology, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Program, namely, Jitesh Chhabria, Phillip Chan, Derek Yip and Yang Xi, won the Champion of Healthcare Designathon Competition.
 

►Lincoln Chan, Nicole Li, Coco Tong and Andy Wong, Yr 3 majoring in accounting, won the Championship and Best Written Report in the Qualification Programme (QP) Case Analysis Competition 2014 organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Andy Wong was named the Best Presenter.
  

Alumni

►Electronic and Computer Engineering alumnus and founder of DIJ Innovations Mr Frank Wang was selected as one of the Top 10 Innovators from China by Forbes.

Appointments

►Prof Hong-kam Lo, Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CIVL) with effect from 1 July.

►Prof Michael Sung, Electronic and Computer Engineering and Associate Director of the Entrepreneurship Center, has taken up his new post of Director of Industry Engagement and Internship in the School of Engineering in 2015.

►Prof Ting-chuen Pong, Senior Advisor to the Executive Vice-President and Provost (Teaching Innovation and e-Learning) and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, has been appointed Director of Centre for Engineering Education Innovation in the School of Engineering, with effect from 1 January 2015.