FAQ for Undergraduate Students in 2019-20 Sem 2 (updated by 2 March, 2020)

A. Teaching Arrangement 1. When will the online teaching start? 3- 9 February 2020: There will be no teaching activities. 10 February to 14 March 2020: Online teaching (plus e-learning) will be conducted instead of face-to-face teaching. 16 – 28 March 2020: Recess Period, all teaching activities will be suspended for a period of two weeks or longer from 16 March 2020, depending on the development of the novel coronavirus epidemic A 'Student Guide to Online Learning' website has been prepared, which provide useful information that help you to make the most of your online education.   2. What is the arrangement for the courses which involve lab sessions? Different lab courses may have different arrangements. The subject lecturer will upload information about the course in due course and tell you what to do through blackboard.   3. How about AP40004 (Final Year Project) & AP20014 (Innovation Project)? For AP40004, It is possible to rearrange experiments or changes the research topics if you have difficulties in continuing your experimental works. Please discuss with your project supervisor about the arrangement. For AP20014, please discuss with the subject lecturers about the arrangement.   4. When will the add-drop period start? Adjustment before Semester Commencement: 31 January – 9 February 2020 Add/Drop Period: 10 – 22 February 2020 During the last 2 days of the add/drop period (i.e. 21 – 22 February 2020) Students can retake passed subjects, except for GUR subjects. Students of Full-time programmes and students studying Part-time/Mixed-mode Undergraduate Degree programmes with General University Requirements (GUR), can take additional subjects outside curriculum to broaden their knowledge. If students have genuine needs to drop a subject of 2019-20 Semester 2 after the Add/Drop Period, students will be required to submit the late drop requests to the programme offering departments by 6 March 2020 through email.   B. Academic Advising 1. How to contact my Academic advisor? You can send an email or call the office phone numbers of the advisor. You can check the information of your academic advisor via eStudent. eStudent> My Advisor> Academic Advising   C. Others 1. Why there is no information available about my course? Please contact the subject lecturer by email after you have registered the course. The subject lecturer will reply to you within a few days. 2. I cannot find my Academic Advisors or subject lecturers. What can I do? You may contact Ms. Meijei Wong (email: tswong@polyu.edu.hk) for assistance. 3. I am not able to come back to Hong Kong and there is only limited access to the internet from my home town. We can only provide online resources now. You should report any difficulties regarding learning to your academic advisor as soon as you can.   Below updated by 2 March, 2020 Arrangement of subject late drop (until 6 Mar) (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/web/en/for-polyu-students/notices-to-students/index.html?id=212) Self-help website for online teaching delivery (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/its/general-information/newsletter/176-year-2020/feb/963-self-help-website-on-online-teaching-delivery) New VPN for access from Mainland China (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/its/general-information/newsletter/176-year-2020/feb/964-express-secure-vpn-service-to-polyu-online-teaching-delivery-platform-for-students-based-in-mainland/) Declare graduation (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/web/en/for-polyu-students/student-handbook/2019-20/en/Ch-5/index.html#K), and checking the fulfilment of graduation requirement (via reference checklist) Application for HK Observatory internship (see AP Facebook page)

FAQ for Undergraduate Students (updated by Dec 16, 2019)

Part A - About Sem 1 courses Q: How will coursework marks be calculated? A: Your subject lecturers will contact you by email or on ways of conducting on-line teaching and learning using various means such as Blackboard, WeChat or Skype. The coursework assessment arrangement, which varies from subject to subject, will also be communicated to you by your subject lecturers.   (Please also refer to AR Notice email on 14 Nov titled ‘Cancellation of face-to-face teaching’)     Q: When and how will Sem 1 final exam be conducted? A: At the moment AR is working on a solution for the examination arrangement. We will keep you updated for any development.     Q: I’m now NOT in Hong Kong. Should I come back for final exam? A: Non-local students or exchange students at PolyU no longer need to stay in Hong Kong for the rest of the semester, as teaching and learning activities will be delivered on-line during this period. Concerning final exam, AR is working on a solution for the examination arrangement. We will keep you updated for any development. (Please also refer to AR Notice email on 14 Nov titled ‘Cancellation of face-to-face teaching’)     Q: When will Sem 1 exam timetable be released? A: For the final exam of AP10001, AP10005, AP10006, AP10008, AP10009 and AP20015, the exam timetable will be released on 24 Dec 2019. Students can access the information via eStudent on that day.     Q:  If I have to go for exchange in Sem 2, will I miss the exam of Sem 1? A: At the moment AR is working on a solution for the examination arrangement. We will keep you updated for any development. You are advised to contact your academic advisor and subject lecturers and inform them about your plan for exchange in Sem 2, such that proper arrangements can be made with sufficient preparation.     Part B - About semester 2 Q: What’s the schedule of Sem 2 course registration? A:  The class timetable of Sem 2 will be released on 13 Dec 2019. For the compulsory subjects, we have already pre-assigned to you. You can perform ‘Mock run of Subject Registration’ from 16- 23 Dec 2019 and ‘Subject Registration’ from 2 - 7 Jan 2020. There is no update from AR about subject registration postponement. We will keep you updated for any development. You may need to refer to your reference checklist when performing course registration.  At e-student page, take the following path: eStudent --> Study Information --> Reference Checklist (Trial Run Version) – (Subjects Taken vs Your Graduation Requirements)    You may need to refer to your reference checklist when performing course registration. At e-student page, take the following path: eStudent --> Study Information --> Reference Checklist (Trial Run Version) – (Subjects Taken vs Your Graduation Requirements)     Q: Can I proceed with the exchange scheduled in Sem 2? A: Please contact IAO for further information.     Part C - About other facilities Q: I feel very depressed and anxious due to the situation. A: This is a very difficult time for you, your families/ friends and people around you. If you wish to talk about your anxiety and emotions, please email Sharon at OCW (sharon.to@polyu.edu.hk), or call 2766 6800 (office hours) or 3161-8123 (non-office hours) If the issues are related to your studies, please contact your academic advisor or programme leaders (EP: Dr. Peter Tsang; OPT: Prof. F. Yan, HD: Dr. C.H. Lam) for assistances.     Q: I have books that are due. What should I do? A: Library is closed now. Please return your items within three days when the Library reopens. If you have difficulty, please contact Library via email (library.circulation@polyu.edu.hk) and provide your name, Student ID, titles of the library items and reason for the request. (Please also refer to Library Notice email on 15 Nov titled ‘Special Arrangements for Library Users’)

Congratulations! Dr. ZHAO Jiong has received China's 2019 Excellent Young Scientists Fund

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has announced the awardees of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund. Dr. ZHAO Jiong, Assistant Professor of Department of Applied Physics (AP) has achieved outstanding results in the 2019 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau), as well as will receive a funding of RMB1.3 million to directly support their scientific research projects in Hong Kong to a maximum period of three years. The fund was extended to Hong Kong and Macau for the first time this year exclusively for applications by eight designated universities. It was highly competitive that said 25 projects are funded for Hong Kong and Macau, Dr. ZHAO was one of the young scientist awarded with his project titled “Experimental nanomechanics on two-dimensional materials”. In this project, they plan to continue the experimental investigations on the bending, defects, phase transitions, and van der Waals forces/energies of the two-dimensional materials and conduct quantitative mechanical analysis based on a series of atomic-resolution fast imaging approaches developed through the project. Three-dimensional imaging and computer-aided analysis methods will be applied to the two-dimensional materials of atomic thickness, laying a solid foundation for the future applications of two-dimensional materials.   For media enquiries and interviews with the scientists, please send email to apdept@polyu.edu.hk

研儀器持續合成葡萄糖 理大新發明紓糧食危機 - 晴報

PolyU research papers published in Nature series journals

Three research papers contributed by the Department of Applied Physics of PolyU were recently published in the Nature series journals: (a) Optoelectronic resistive random-access memory (ORRAM) for neuromorphic vision sensors – “Nature Nanotechnology” Dr Chai Yang, Associate Professor, and his team developed an optoelectronic device that mimics the functions of human retina in image sensing, memorisation, and pre-processing, with image recognition rate and efficiency exceeding existing artificial visual systems. It offers promising contribution towards the development of applications in edge computing and Internet of Things.   (b) Continuous artificial synthesis of glucose precursor using enzyme-immobilised microfluidic reactors – “Nature Communications” Dr Zhang Xuming, Associate Professor, and his team discovered technology to replicate the opto-fluidic system of leave vein to create micro-reactors for conducting the first phase reaction of CO2 fixation in natural photosynthesis. The innovation contributes to artificial photosynthesis developments and will help relieve food crisis and produce biofuel.   (c) Enhanced sieving from exfoliated MoS2 membranes via covalent funcationalisation – “Nature Materials” Dr Nicolas Onofrio, Assistant Professor, and his team developed a nanolaminate membrane based on covalently functionalised molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets. The control of the surface chemistry of exfoliated 2-dimensional (2D) materials allows further exploration of the nanofluidic phenomena inside nanolaminate membranes at fundamental and practical levels for water purification or osmotic energy. Prof Daniel Lau, Head of the Department of Applied Physics, takes pride in the contributions of the three researchers and said, “the Department will continue to devote its efforts in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research”. Prof. Alex Wai, Vice President (Research Development) of PolyU, said, “PolyU has been undertaking cutting-edge research that delivers real impact to academia and to the world. We are committed to nurturing our academics and researchers to collaborate locally and internationally in fundamental and translational research. We are very pleased that their research findings were published in prestigious and world-renowned journals.” (Sing Tao Daily F01, Sky Post P16) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - See original media release on PolyU website on here. Online news coverage: Chron (PRweb) - Three Research Papers Published in Nature Series Journals Sky Post - 研儀器持續合成葡萄糖 理大新發明紓糧食危機 Sing Tao Daily - 理大三項科研論文刊《自然》期刊

PolyU-developed platform to facilitate secondary school students doing experiment out of classroom

RTHK radio programme, 敎學有心人, featured the “AP Sensor” developed by Dr Jim Kwok-lung and Dr Choy Siu-hong from the Department of Applied Physics, PolyU. “AP Sensor” is a remote experiment platform that allows users to do Physics experiments with the built-in sensors in their mobile phones. The project aims to encourage secondary school students to make observations on the daily environment by using their mobile phones via this specially designed APP.  So far, 20 secondary schools have joined the programme and are using the platform.  The radio programme is available online: http://trsurl.com/s/20ZV

香港電台 #387 遙距實驗室 嘉賓: 理工大學應用物理學系詹國龍博士，蔡紹康博士

Outstanding Alumni Award 2019

Congratulations to our outstanding alumni, Ir Arthur Lee Kam-hung, on receiving the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award 2019! Ir Lee is Founder and Chairman of Kolinker Group, one of the leading manufacturers in the quartz crystal industry worldwide. His company has received numerous industrial awards including 2002 and 2011 Hong Kong Awards for Industry. The accomplished industrialist has also been heavily involved in public and educational affairs. Currently he is a Member of Election Committee of 13th National People's Congress of China, Chairman of Kowloon City District Committee (Hung Hom District), Founder Chairman of Kowloon City District Senior Police Call Honorary Presidents Council, Vice President of Foundation Board of Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council (2003 Awardee of Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong), and Honorary Life Vice President of PolyU Foundation. He has offered supports to PolyU's industrial research on a continuous basis and established scholarships for students at PolyU. His technical publications are adopted as the de facto standard in the industry, such as his "Direct Impedance Method for Load Resonant Measurement of Crystal" presented in the US Piezoelectric Device Conference and Exhibition in 1999.

理大應用物理學系 培育光電子學專才 擁抱全球機遇 - 明報升學網

Innovation GPS 創科導航 - Prof Daniel S.P. LAU

Professor Daniel Lau, Head of PolyU’s Department of Applied Physics (AP), was interviewed in a tech-focused TVB programme “Innovation GPS” (創科導航), on the features, applications and developments of graphene -- a superior material having been widely used in various aspects of science, technology and business sectors. The semitransparent perovskite solar cells with graphene electrodes developed by AP research team in 2015 was cited as an example of graphene application. PolyU researchers is further developing another two-dimensional material black phosphorus (BP). They found that lithium battery with BP can be recharged for 1,000 times, five times more than the existing battery. TVB “Innovation GPS (創科導航)” (in Chinese): https://goo.gl/ytbySv