ME Scholar and Outstanding Entrepreneur Alumnus named Young Technological Pioneers

To spur the passion and the creativity of young scientists and technological entrepreneurs, the Hong Kong Young Scientists Association (香港青年科學家協會) has initiated the Selection of Young Science and Technology Pioneers so as to assure their contribution to the vibe of the science development of Hong Kong. The “Selection of Young Technological Pioneers cum Scientific Creativity Forum (青年科創先鋒人物評選暨科創論壇)” was held on 30 Aug 2022 and announced 25 awardees. At the event, some awardees together with the leading heads of the field gave a thematic speech and had an exchange on the prospect of the scientific development of society.

The selected pioneers include Unicorn entrepreneurs, young professors, and innovators whether growing up locally, studying in Hong Kong or overseas investors with projects in Hong Kong. Their business covers various fields like robots, artificial intelligence, cyber network, biological medication, and fintech.

We are thrilled that our Associate Professor Dr An Liang (安亮博士) and young graduate Dr Wang Lei (王雷博士) were elected among the 25 young science and technology pioneers in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the innovation and technology ecosystem in Hong Kong.

During the forum, Dr An Liang as an expert in energy conversion and storage technologies expected the Government to enhance its support to scientific researchers and encouraged enterprises to establish joint laboratories with universities so as to nurture more research talents for the whole society. Dr An has systematically studied the characteristics of flow and mass transport in a complex microporous structure in which electrochemical reactions occur, and achieved a number of innovative results. He was also awarded funding from China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund 2020.

Dr Wang Lei started his undergraduate study in Mechanical Engineering with full scholarship in 2006 and obtained his BEng with First Class Honours in 2010 from PolyU. Dr Wang has always been interested in renewable energy technologies. His interest and passion were strongly cultivated in the dynamic study environment at PolyU and drove him to continue his further study. He then completed his PhD research in new energy storage technologies in 2014 at the University of Hong Kong. Dr Wang founded EcoFlow in 2017 and has been serving as the company’s CEO. Under his leadership, EcoFlow has developed into a national high-tech enterprise and is recognized as a unicorn company backed up by Sequoia and Hong Kong Foundation X with a valuation of over one billion USD in 2021.

It is very encouraging to see that the young scientist and entrepreneur alumnus from the Department were acclaimed by the Nation to further develop scientific research in cutting-edge technologies and made remarkable contributions to the community.