The Faculty of Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong has been dedicated to promoting science to the general public, especially to young people. In addition to our annual Popular Science Talks, where our faculty members give talks on cutting-edge topics of science, we are pleased to hold a special Popular Science Lecture Series on research that covers topics related to each year’s Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry or Physiology or Medicine.
This year, the Popular Science Special Lecture Series: How Nobel Prizes Are Won will be held on 12 December 2025 (Friday).
| Date | 12 December 2025 (Friday) |
| Time | 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
| Venue | LT6, Yasumoto International Academic Park, CUHK (Seats are limited; first-come, first-served) |
| Registration & Deadlines |  10 December 2025 (Wednesday) |
| Enquiries | 3943 1387 / cpse@cuhk.edu.hk |
Lecture Series Topics:
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Talk 1 |
New Rooms for Chemistry
Prof. SAVATIEIEV Oleksandr (Department of Chemistry) In English The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists—Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi—for creating special materials called metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). These materials are like tiny sponges made from metals and organic molecules. What makes them special is that they have lots of empty space inside, which can trap gases or liquids. This makes them useful for solving big problems like capturing carbon pollution, getting clean water from dry air, and storing clean energy like hydrogen. Robson started the idea, Kitagawa showed how they could absorb gases, and Yaghi made stronger versions and named them MOFs. Thanks to their work, scientists now have thousands of these materials to choose from, each with different uses. Their discovery helps make chemistry more useful in everyday life and supports a cleaner, healthier planet.
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| Talk 2 |
Finding Schrödinger’s Cat: When Quantum Goes Macroscopic
Prof. LI Yufan (Department of Physics) In English Quantum mechanics rules the unseen world of microscopic particles, those that possess only discrete energies, tunnel through barriers, entangle with distant partners, exist in superpositions of states. These counterintuitive behaviors make it difficult to grasp how vast assemblies of such bizarre little entities could give rise to the familiar, macroscopic world we inhabit. Nearly a century ago, Erwin Schrödinger imagined a cat that could be both alive and dead at the same time—a thought experiment meant to illustrate the paradoxical strangeness of quantum theory. In the early 1980s, physicists began to ask whether macroscopic systems might also obey the laws of quantum mechanics after all. Pioneering experiments by John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis revealed quantum tunnelling and discrete energy levels in superconducting circuits large enough to hold in one’s hand. Their work, recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics, laid the groundwork for today’s superconducting qubits—the “Schrödinger’s cats” at the heart of emerging quantum computers. This talk explores the ideas behind these discoveries and how they reshape our understanding of the everyday world. |
