60^th Anniversary of CUHK and Faculty of Science

2023 marks the 60^th anniversary of both CUHK and the Faculty of Science. We are so excited to tell you that the Faculty is going to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in a series of events through efforts by all the stakeholders of the extended Science family.

More information will come available shortly, stay tuned!

Several events including the “60^th Anniversary Distinguished Science Lecture Series” is held throughout 2023. It is our honour to have Professor YAU Shing Tung, Distinguished Professor-at-Large and Director of The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMS) at CUHK, as well as Emeritus Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University, to deliver a lecture entitled “Tolo Homecoming - Reunion for CUHK's Diamond Jubilee” on 24 April 2023.

Science Faculty 60^th Anniversary Distinguished Science Lecture -
The Cost-Performance Tradeoff in Living Systems

On 14 April 2023, the Faculty and the Department of Physics jointly presented the first “Science Faculty 60^th Anniversary Distinguished Science Lecture”, featuring a talk entitled “The Cost-Performance Tradeoff in Living Systems” by Dr. TU Yuhai of the IBM T.J. Watson Research Centre, USA.

Dr. Tu first introduced some background about the complex networks in living systems, and later then he shared his insights on ultra-sensitive switch, sensory adaptation, and accurate biochemical oscillations by using tools and concepts from nonequilibrium statistical physics.

Dean’s Cup: Football

On 16 April 2023, more than 140 alumni, students, and staff of the Science Faculty formed 12 teams and gathered bright and early for some Seven-a-side soccer fun at Sir Philip Haddon-cave Sports Field, as part of the Science Faculty’s 60^th anniversary celebrations. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Science Faculty Dean Professor SONG Chunshan remarked that he was glad to see such a warm turn-out for the tournament, especially for a number of alumni who might not have had the chance to return to campus over the last few years.

Despite that the weather on the day of the event being unusually hot, the 12 teams played hard to fight for the championship title. Team “FNS” were crowned as the champions, while the 1^st Runner-up and 2^nd Runner-up titles were won by “StatHero” and “MLE” respectively.

CUHK and University of Edinburgh (UoE) Launch Dual Degree Programme

Professor Michal BRANICKI of UoE’s School of Mathematics visited CUHK in January 2023.
(From left) Prof. WONG Hoi Ying, Prof. SONG Chunshan, Prof. Michal BRANICKI,
and Prof. Phillip YAM in a celebratory ceremony.

Offered jointly by the CUHK Department of Statistics and the UoE School of Mathematics, the CUHK – UoE Dual Degree Programme (DDP) presents students with a unique opportunity to broaden their horizons that leverages on the strengths of both universities for a rigorous training in mathematical and statistical sciences. The first cohort will start in 2023-24 and students under the DDP will graduate with two bachelor’s degrees each from CUHK and UoE respectively.

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Professor YANG Hongfeng’s Field Work in Weiyuan

Professor YANG Hongfeng from the Earth and Environmental Sciences Programme has been actively investigating the induced earthquakes in the shale gas fields in China, funded by a major project by National Natural Science Foundation of China, managed at Shenzhen Research Institute, CUHK. Shale gas is a key source of clean energy; however, earthquakes may be induced during the development. How to reduce earthquake risks and damage is a globally crucial problem in developing shale gas industry.

Under collaboration with the Sichuan Earthquake Agency, the Southern University of Science and Technology, and an instrument company in Zhuhai, the research group successfully deployed 248 seismometers in the Weiyuan Shale Gas Field, marking the largest number of temporary seismic stations and the longest duration (from 15 August 2022 to 11 February 2023). Among the deployed devices, 50 instruments worth 1.2 million RMB were supported freely by the instrument company. The fieldwork had been very difficult due to the mandatory quarantine of outgoing students from Hong Kong during the pandemic and the extremely hot weather with daily highest temperatures of over 40°C.

The research outputs regarding induced earthquakes in the Sichuan Basin were also showcased in the InnoCarnival 2022 at Hong Kong Science Park from 22 to 30 October 2022. With the aid of a video and a computer game developed by the Centre for Innovation and Technology, the exhibition booth attracted around 4,000 visitors and raised concerns about balancing the need for energy and the risks of induced earthquakes.

Honours & Awards

Professor Keith CHAN Received “Educational Impact – Silver Award”

Professor CHAN Kin Wai of the Department of Statistics attended the poster presentation at the Teaching and Learning Innovation Expo 2022 which was held from 14 to 16 December 2022 and received the “Educational Impact – Silver Award” for his e-learning platform.

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CUHK and Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund Established Nissin Foods Scholarship For Food and Nutritional Sciences Students

Seven students received the Scholarship launched by the Nissin Foods Company Limited which aims to encourage undergraduate and postgraduate students of CUHK’s Food and Nutritional Sciences programme to pursue academic excellence.

The seven scholarship recipients for the 2022-23 academic year are: CHAN Hoi Yi, HSU Po Ling, KWAN Ka Yi, LAM Shuk Fan, and WONG Wai Yee from the Bachelor’s degree programme, and KEI Nelson, and LIN Yuhong from the PhD programme. The full scholarship is provided by Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund and will be used to pay for tuition fees.

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Science Student and His Team En Route to Global Huawei ICT Competition 2022-2023 after Wins at Hong Kong and Asia Pacific Competitions

ZHANG Wenyu (PhD student in Statistics) teamed up with two other CUHK students for the Huawei ICT Competition 2022-2023 Hong Kong. The team Cloud Players rose to the top among 600 students from universities in Hong Kong to clinch the championship title; Wenyu also won the Highest Score Individual award.

Wenyu and his team spent two months to prepare for the competition, “We cannot achieve this award without the concerted efforts of the team. None of us is an expert in ICT, but we have given full play to our strengths, and some luck!” Although no expert in ICT by trade, Wenyu’s current PhD research is somewhat related to ICT. “My PhD research is focused on machine learning and biostatistics, so that it requires a comprehensive understanding of statistical learning theory, which is related to the AI part in ICT.”

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Student Sharing: Learning from the Global Young Scientists Summit 2023

GUAN Xin (PhD Student in Chemistry) joined the four-day GYSS2023 in Singapore in January 2023, and would like to share his thoughts on his experience at the Summit:

“It is a great honor for me to join this annual multi-disciplinary summit in Singapore. My major is Chemistry and I mainly focused on the lectures related to supramolecular chemistry, green chemistry, new technologies, and future materials in this meeting. These lectures and panel discussions given by Nobel Laureates and other luminaries were inspiring and gave me new ideas for my future research. I gained a deeper understanding of the development of chemistry from the past to the present, and even the future.

This event undoubtedly provides young scientists with a golden opportunity to exchange ideas and establish new connections. I believe that through collaboration and academic exchange between different cultures and disciplines, young scientists can make greater contributions in their respective research fields and truly change the world in the future.”

An Opportunity to Shine: A Journey to Greatness

Alumni Lunch Gatherings

The face-to-face gatherings are finally back! The Faculty held two lunch gatherings in March 2023 to reconnect with our alumni from different undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. We look forward to seeing more of you in our future events!

Statistics Alumni Activities

The Alumni Association of Department of Statistics organised two alumni events in February and March 2023.

The CUHK Physics Alumni Association

The CUHK Physics Alumni Association held its Annual General Meeting in 2023 and elected the new cabinet members for 2023. See member list HERE.

The Inauguration Ceremony of Ng Yin Ying Early Career Professorship

With the generous donation and enthusiastic support from Professor Arthur CHENG and Dr. Winnie WONG, the Faculty of Science established the Ng Yin Ying Early Career Professorship for recruiting and nurturing junior faculty.

A ceremony was held physically on campus on 6 January 2023 to commemorate the inauguration of the professorship with the presence of the donators, Professor SONG Chunshan (Dean of Science), guests, colleagues and students from the Earth and Environmental Sciences Programme. Professor ZHAN Yan, the inaugural Ng Yin Ying Assistant Professor of Geophysics, delivered a public lecture entitled “Volcanoes: A Breathing Part of the Earth”.

2022-23 Science Faculty Postgraduate Research Day

Conducting research is one of the most important aspects of pursuing advanced degrees such as Master and Doctor of Philosophy. Arguably the most crucial component, original and rigorous research is the hallmark of the research postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Science at CUHK.

A new poster session was introduced to this year’s Postgraduate Research Day, which was held on 8 February 2023. 24 postgraduate students from seven graduate divisions showcased their original research work with professors and fellow students from disciplines across the Faculty. The symposium offered an excellent opportunity for our postgraduates to gain exposure in scientific meeting and to network with our faculty members.

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Women in Science: My Personal Experience in Mathematics

On 17 March 2023, the Faculty of Science invited renowned mathematician, musician, and public speaker Dr. Eugenia CHENG to share her personal experience via Zoom about studying and conducting research in mathematics, as well as promoting mathematics to the general public in the latest instalment of the meaningful series “Women in Science”.

Faculty Award Ceremony 2023

After a busy year and the lifting of strict measures of pandemic control, more than 200 staff, students, alumni, and guests gathered on 1 April 2023 to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and faculty members in the Faculty Award Ceremony 2023.

Professor SONG Chunshan appreciated all for their contributions and participation in the past year; he also thanked them for supporting the education, research, and service mission in the Faculty of Science.

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The 17^th Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series

In memory of the late Professor Lau Oi Wah, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and our former Dean of Science, for her life-long devotion of promoting science education in the University and secondary schools, the Faculty has been hosting an annual Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series since 2005 to extend Professor Lau’s vision of science education.

In the 17^th Lecture Series, Professor XU Lei of Department of Physics talked about the secret of splashing and Professor CHEN Ye of Department of Chemistry introduced the nanoscience around us to over 100 secondary school students.

2023 marks the 60^th anniversary of CUHK and the Faculty of Science, it is also an important milestone to mark our efforts made in science education. We will continue to carry on Professor Lau’s legacy and hope the lectures could ignite the passion for science for all.

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