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CUHK Receives Ministry of Education Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards
Three scientific research projects led by researchers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have received Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) 2017 from the State Ministry of Education (MoE), including two second-class award in natural sciences, and one second-class award in scientific and technological progress. The award presentation ceremony was held on 14 April on CUHK campus. Mr. Chen Baosheng, Minister of Education officiated at the ceremony to present the awards. MoE Guests attending the ceremony included Mr. Xu Tao, Director General, Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges; Ms. Liu Jin, Director, Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs; Mr. Lu Yugang, Director General, Department of Basic Education; and Mr. Liu Guiqin, Director General, Department of Social Sciences.
The two projects which were awarded Second-class Awards in Natural Sciences were "Molecular Mechanism and Novel Therapeutic Targets in Treating Endothelial Dysfunction of Metabolic Syndrome" led by Prof. Huang Yu, Deputy Director of the School of Biomedical Sciences in collaboration with Peking University Health Science Centre and Hebei Medical University; and "Molecular Mechanisms of Selective Transport and Degradation of Plant Proteins" by Prof. Jiang Liwen, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Life Sciences, Director of the AoE Centre for Organelle Biogenesis and Function, and Director of the Centre for Cell and Developmental Biology and his research team.
The research project "Development and Industrialisation of 'Bilingual Trilingualism'-based Retrieval and Understanding Platform on Large Scale Social Media", led by Prof. Wong Kam-fai, Associate Dean (External Affairs) of the Faculty of Engineering and Professor of the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, in collaboration with the Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, the University of International Relations, and the 54th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, also won a Second-class Award in Scientific and Technological Progress.
The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) is set up by the MoE to recognize outstanding research projects at all tertiary institutions in mainland China. Since 2009, Hong Kong's tertiary institutions have been included. The award is presented to individuals or units who have made remarkable contributions in the areas of scientific discovery, technological innovation, science and technology advancement and implementation of patented technologies. Details of the 3 awarded projects can be found here in the University's press release.
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Two Distinguished Taiwan Academicians Visit CUHK in 7th AS Academician Visit Programme
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held the Academia Sinica (AS) Academicians Visit Programme cum Lecture Series again by inviting two AS academicians to CUHK on 11 – 14 April. They are Prof. Chiang Ann-Shyn, Division of Life Science, and Prof. Tu King-ning, Division from the Division of Engineering Sciences. They met with CUHK representatives to discuss collaboration opportunities in engineering and biomedical science between the two institutions.
CUHK senior and faculty members participating in this programme reception included Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of Research Subcommittee of CUHK; Prof. Edwin Chan, Associate Vice-President and University Dean of Students; Prof. Yam Yeung, Acting Faculty Dean of Engineering; Prof. Chen Shih-Chi, Assistant Dean; Prof. Chan Wai-yee, School Director of Biomedical Sciences; Prof. Huang Yu, Deputy Director; Prof. Raymond Tong, Department Chairman of Biomedical Engineering; Prof. Megan Ho, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering; and Ms. Wing Wong, Director of Academic Links (China).
Prof. Cheung and CUHK colleagues gave an introduction of the University's latest research developments to the two academicians, and led them to discuss future plans of collaboration during their visits to various academic units and laboratories in the Faculty of Engineering, School of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Art Museum. Meeting was held with representatives of Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences. During their stay, the two academicians delivered public lectures for the "Lecture Series by Academicians" to share their experience and expertise in their respective fields of research. Details are as below:
Speakers | Lecture Topics |
Prof. Chiang Ann-Shyn | Visualizing Memory Allocations in the Drosophila Brain |
Prof. Tu King-Ning | Reliability Challenges in Mobile Technology for Big Data Era |
The AS Academicians Visit Programme was launched by the University in 2011 to promote closer linkage and collaboration in various research fields with AS academicians via the establishment of platforms for academic exchange, and to further enhance teaching and research competitiveness of the University. Details of the visit programme can be found here.
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CUHK Hosts International Workshop on Seismicity near the Hutubi Underground Gas Storage and Mechanism of Induced Earthquakes
The Earth System Science Programme (ESSC) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong hosted an international workshop on "Seismicity near the Hutubi Underground Gas Storage and Mechanism of Induced Earthquakes" on 25 – 27 March, which is first organized in Hong Kong. Over 30 specialists and scholars from mainland China, USA, and Singapore participated in the workshop to report progress of respective research projects and discussed frontier questions on human-induced earthquakes. Discussion on future plans of work and collaboration were also held during the workshop.
Prof. William Ellsworth from Stanford University gave a keynote presentation entitled "How Faults Wake Up: Insights from Induced Earthquakes" for the event. The presentation aroused broad discussions not only on mechanisms to induce earthquakes, but also on how various parties and stakeholders of society including government, industry, and the scientific research sector can collaborate to tackle significant environmental challenges. The participants also had in-depth exchanges with ESSC professors including Prof. Wong Teng-fong, Prof. Yang Hongfeng, and Prof. Liu Lin on collaborative plans in nurture of talents and joint research projects.
Located in Xinjiang of mainland China, the Hutubi Underground Gas Storage has been constructed as the largest underground repository for natural gas in China. To meet globally increasing energy demand, it is inevitable to have a larger degree of energy exploitation on the globe, such as developing unconventional oil and gas resources and underground natural gas storage. The assessment of earthquake hazards associated with these human activities and induced earthquakes becomes critical for scientists to launch future research and analyse geological phnenomena, and to enable the international community to formulate precautionary measures to prepare for the hazards. CUHK members of the ESSC programme have been actively investigating the challenges brought by induced earthquakes. Since 2016, they have jointly conducted a research project with Prof. Baoshan Wang from the Institute of Geophysics of China Earthquake Administration (CEA) under the NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme.
