News

Prof. David Cardwell, Prof-Vice-Chancellor of University of Cambridge visits PolyU

Prof. David CARDWELL, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Planning), University of Cambridge, UK, visited PolyU on 18 January 2023. Prof. Cardwell was warmly received by Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, President of PolyU, Prof. Ben YOUNG, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR.  During the visit, Prof. Cardwell exchanged views with PolyU senior management on the trends and future of the higher education. Prof. Cardwell also visited some of the laboratories of PAIR’s constituent research units to understand more about the advanced research facilities and recent research accomplishments in the fields of artificial intelligence of things and resources engineering towards carbon neutrality.

ADoPRI discovers nanoscale ferroelectric new materials

A research team led by Prof. Daniel LAU, Chair Professor of Nanomaterials and Head of Department of Applied Physics of PolyU and Associate Director of Photonics Research Institute (PRI) discovered that bilayers of molybdenum disulphide and tungsten disulphide produced at the nanometre scale retain their intrinsic ferroelectric property so that electrical polarisation can be reversed by simply applying an external electric current. The manufacturing of this new class of nano-scale ferroelectrics can be reproduced at large scales with low cost, low energy demand and faithful reproducibility.  The research result promises to advance the frontier of modern electronics and attract keen interest among electronics manufacturers. This research was a collaboration project involving researchers from the Renmin University of China, University of Cambridge and Nanjing University. The study has been published on Science. Further reading: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2023/0118_polyu-research-discovers-nanoscale-ferroelectric-new-materials-exhibiting-potential/

Ir Prof. ZHENG Yong-ping, DoRISA, featured in Ta Kung Po

Ir Prof. ZHENG Yong-ping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Henry G. Leong Professor in Biomedical Engineering, was featured in Ta Kung Po sharing his invention “Scolioscan”—a palm-sized 3D ultrasound imaging device for radiation-free assessment of scoliosis. Online coverage: Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/3WPYJNm (Chinese only)

Three PAIR projects awarded Research Impact Fund to deliver innovations for a sustainable community

Three research projects led by scholars at the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) have been awarded the Research Impact Fund (RIF) 2022/23 by the Research Grants Council, with a total grant value of HK$14.35 million. Thirteen projects were supported by RIF in this exercise. PolyU was awarded a total funding of HK$27.55 million for five projects, topping local universities in terms of the number of funded projects. Project Description Project Coordinator Budget to be funded by the RGC* (HKD) A novel approach to target cancer stemness using peptidic chimeric antigen receptor (pCAR) macrophages New scientific knowledge for a novel therapeutic strategy against liver cancer stem cells for hepatocellular carcinoma Prof. LEE Kin-wah Terence Member of Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation (RCMI) (in collaboration with HKU) $4,150,000 Flexible and Stretchable Batteries for Wearable Applications For wearable technologies, smart electronic textiles, electronic skins, soft robotics, bioelectronics and the Internet of Things Prof. ZHENG Zijian Associate Director of Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR) (in collaboration with CityU and CUHK) $5,550,000 Next Generation of In-situ Precision Three-dimensional Surface Metrology: A Smart Self-adaptive Multiscopic Approach for Industrial 4.0 The project attempts to research and develop a customizable smart SAMS system for in-situ precision 3D surface measurement under different manufacturing environments and applications for lasting impact on the advancement of measurement science and technology ready for Industry 4.0. Prof. Benny C.F. CHEUNG Associate Director of Research Centre for SMART Vision (RCSV) and Management Committee Member of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) (in collaboration with HKU) $4,650,000 *The RGC funds 70% of the project cost while university / organisational partner(s) will match the remaining 30% of the project cost. Further reading: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/media/media-releases/2023/0106_five-polyu-projects-awarded-research-impact-fund/

Nobel Laureate in Physics to deliver PAIR Distinguished Lecture on 9 Feb online

PAIR cordially invites you to our Distinguished Lecture on 9 February 2023 (Thursday) at 4:00pm-5:30pm (HKT) via Zoom. The lecture “A 40-Year Journey” will be delivered by Prof. Reinhard GENZEL, Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany. Professor Genzel received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics together with British mathematical physicist Roger Penrose and American astronomer Andrea Ghez, for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. In this lecture, Professor Genzel will discuss the forty-year journey, which his colleagues and himself have been undertaking to study the mass distribution in the centre of the Milky Way from ever more precise, long-term studies of the motions of gas and stars as test particles of the space time. These studies show the existence of a four million solar mass object, which must be a single massive black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt. Don’t miss the chance to learn from distinguished astrophysicist! Find out more and register at: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pair/news-and-events/events/2023/2/20230209-pair-distinguished-lecture---prof-reinhard-genzel/?sc_lang=en

Prof. Raymond WONG Wai-yeung, ADoRISE, to be featured on RTHK TV programme

The fifth episode of the RTHK programme “Our Scientists” featuring Prof. Raymond WONG Wai-yeung, Dean of the Faculty of Science (FS), Interim Director of the School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT) and Associate Director of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), will air this coming Saturday (21 January 2023) at 8:00p.m. on Channel 31 of the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). In this episode, Prof. Wong will share his research on sustainable energy development and enhanced energy conversions technologies. The eight-episode documentary brings audience to the exciting world of science. It interviews a number of outstanding scientists to understand their intellectual and continuous pursuit for scientific exploration and knowledge, as well as the challenges, joy and success along the scientific journey. Further reading: https://www.rthk.hk/tv/dtt31/programme/ourscientists2022/episode/857745 (Chinese only)

RIAIoT AI specialist introduces ChatGPT at a science popularisation programme

Prof. GUO Song, Leading Member of Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT), delivered a speech on ChatGPT at a science popularisation programme for youths organised by the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences on 7 January at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. In his speech, Prof. Guo introduced ChatGPT, an AI chatbot which can simulate human conversation just like the manga character “Doraemon”, and the three elements behind the technology: model, data and computing.   Online coverage: Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3CxiDVe Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3vOUcP6 Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/3IwC4RK

The PAIR Public Seminar was successfully held on 10 January 2023

Dr WANG Yulun, Fellow at Teladoc Health and Co-founder and Chairman of World Telehealth Initiative and Maxcess Health, delivered the PAIR Public Lecture titled “An Entrepreneur’s Perspective on Surgical Robotics and Telemedicine, and their Convergence” in hybrid mode on 10 January 2023. The seminar attracted over 120 participants from over 25 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, etc. The participants came from diverse backgrounds and sectors, including academia, science and engineering, research and development, the medical and healthcare industry, etc. Dr Wang began the seminar by giving a brief history of surgical robots and their applications. He then showed the audience a short video about the first transatlantic tele-surgical operation, “Lindbergh operation”, carried out by a team of French surgeons led by Prof. Jacques Marescaux in New York on a patient in Strasbourg, France, on 7 September 2001. The operation involved minimally invasive surgery and high-speed fibre optic technology. The surgeon controlled the arms of the robotic surgical system in New York to operate on the patient in France.  Dr Wang then elaborated on the emergence of telemedicine and technology-enabled remote health care. He pointed out that more and more doctors have become specialists, and patients are now looking for quality, access and low-cost healthcare. Telemedicine utilises technologies for electronic health records and personalised medicine, big data analytics, artificial intelligence and remote monitoring so that practitioners can serve more patients efficiently without boundaries. Another short video was shown to explain the application of telestroke medicine—telemedicine for stroke patients in remote locations. Stroke experts work with local emergency health care providers to recommend a diagnosis and treatment. In this way, thousands of lives can be saved since patients can have access to proper stroke treatments and advice within three hours. Subsequently, Dr Wang talked about the digital transformation during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The internet has driven various sectors, including the healthcare industry, to do business internationally through interconnected computer networks. The COVID-19 pandemic has also catalysed the rapid adoption of digital technology. Hence, the future of the healthcare system will be a combination of cloud-based solutions in digital health, telemedicine and virtual care, which are considered reliable, scalable and cost-effective. Finally, Dr Wang looked at digital healthcare for non-profit and charitable causes. He talked about the World Telehealth Initiative (WTI), a non-profit he co-founded in 2017, leverages telehealth to bring clinical expertise to the world’s most vulnerable communities to build the local expert capacity and advance core health services. A 30-minute question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR, followed. The audience had a fruitful exchange with Dr Wang on the regulatory issues in healthcare, the contributory role of computer science and biomedical engineering in telemedicine, the technical and financial complications in telemedicine, ethical issues in digital healthcare, etc. Please click here for an online review.

PAIR wishes you a prosperous year of the rabbit!

The PAIR Public Seminar was successfully held on 10 January 2023

[Please enter your news content, below is the sample content] he Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) will offer 90 taught postgraduate programmes in 2019/20, and is now inviting applications. Addressing the evolving needs of the society and the industries, PolyU remains committed to providing dynamic and high-quality programmes for nurturing talents to be capable of facing challenges of the times. In the coming academic year, PolyU is going to launch new programmes such as Master of Science in "Global Food Safety Management and Risk Analysis", "Accounting and Finance Analytics", and "Business Analytics". There are also programmes with restructured curriculum, such as "Industrial and Systems Engineering" and "Management and Marketing". PolyU's "Info Day for Taught Postgraduate Programmes" will be held on 12 January 2019 (Saturday) from 2pm to 6pm on PolyU campus to provide prospective applicants first-hand information and consultations on their further studies. More than 80 information seminars and consultation sessions will be organised by the eight Faculties/Schools of PolyU: Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles; Faculty of Business; Faculty of Construction and Environment; Faculty of Engineering; Faculty of Health and Social Sciences; Faculty of Humanities; School of Design; and School of Hotel and Tourism Management. For more details of the Info Day, please visit:-http://www.polyu.edu.hk/tpginfoday.