Invitation to RIAIoT Distinguished Talk Series: Materials and Devices for Intelligent Sensing

We are excited to announce that the RIAIoT Distinguished Talk Series "Materials and Devices for Intelligent Sensing" will be held on 3 August 2026 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. We are honoured to have Prof.Tawfique Hasan, Professor of NanoEngineering, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, as the distinguished speaker for this event.

Please find the detailed information below: 

Title: Materials and Devices for Intelligent Sensing
Date: 3 August 2026 (Monday)
Time: 3: 00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Lecture Theatre FJ302, 3/F, Chan Tai Ho Building (Wing FJ), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Talk Abstract:

Sensors across different application domains face a common challenge: useful information must be extracted from complex, indirect and often incomplete physical signals. In this talk, I will discuss how computation can provide the link between materials, devices and measurement, allowing compact systems to move from signal acquisition towards meaningful interpretation.

I will discuss our work on nanomaterials and printed device platforms for intelligent sensing, including gas sensors, recyclable electronics and compact tactile sensors for robotic perception. These systems rely not only on the intrinsic properties of the materials, but also on how materials design, device architecture and computational analysis are combined to produce useful sensing outputs. I will then connect this idea to our work on miniaturized computational spectrometers, where engineered optical responses and reconstruction algorithms replace conventional dispersive optics. Across these examples, the device does not simply record a signal. Its material response, physical structure and computational model together define what can be measured and how it can be interpreted.

My talk will therefore show how this integrated materials - device - computation approach can enable compact, manufacturable and intelligent sensing systems for environmental monitoring, robotics and portable optical analysis. In doing so, it draws together sensors and spectrometers within computation-led frameworks for intelligent physical measurement.

Biography:

Tawfique Hasan is Professor of NanoEngineering in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. His research group develops nanomaterials, printable electronics, optoelectronic devices and computational sensing systems. His work spans gas sensors, tactile sensors, flexible and recyclable electronics, photodetectors and miniaturized computational spectrometers, with a central interest in structuring materials and device architectures, then using computation to extract information from complex electrical and optical responses. He is a Fellow of Optica and has served as a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Photonics Society.