A collaborated research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and Tsinghua University has theoretically proposed anew mechanism of electrical 180°switching of Néel vector and experimentally realized it in antiferromagnetic materials with spin-splitting band structure featuring the C-paired spin-valley locking,also named as altermagnet.The team also demonstrated the material‘s capability to manipulate Néel vector,paving the way for the manufacturing of ultrafast memory devices.Antiferromagnetic spintronics has sparked widespread interest due to its enormous potential for creating ultra-dense and ultrafast antiferromagnetic memory that is suitable for modern high-performance information technologies.The electrical 180°switching of the Néel vector is along-term objective for producing electrically controllable antiferromagnetic memory using opposite Néel vectors as binary"0"and"1".However,the state-of-art antiferromagnetic switching mechanisms have long been limited for 90°or 120°switching of Néel vector,which unavoidably requires multiple writing channels that contradict ultradense integration.The study of electrical 180°switching of Néel vector makes spin-splitting antiferromagnet anew potential candidate for ultrafast memory.Specifically,in collinear antiferromagnet,the Néel vector nhave two stable states n_+and n_-with symmetric energy barriers.To leave an asymmetry of energy barriers,the team led by Prof.LIU Junwei,Associate Professor at the Department of Physics at HKUST proposed to exert an external magnetic field to interact with the tiny DMI-induced moment.Then,the damping-like spin-orbit torque[2]can be used to drive Néel vector nto cross the barrier from n_+to n_-but cannot cross the opposite one(Figure 1a).As shown in Figure 1b,the atomic spin model simulation shows that ncan be deterministically switched to state n_+or n_-in 0.1 ns.Integrating the non-zero Berry curvatures on spin-splitting bands of tight-binding model,the anomalous Hall conductivities show high sensitivity to these two states n_+and n_-,shown in Figure 1c.In experiments led by Prof.PAN Feng and Prof.SONG Cheng,from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University,the good cyclic performance of fabricated antiferromagnetic Mn5Si3 thin film is shown in Figure 1d,which means the current-driven 180°switching of Néel vector is robust and sustainable.In fact,the team had presented anew theory as C-paired spin-valley locking(SVL)a few years ago in the scientific journal Nature Communications,indicating anew way to induce the magnetization in antiferromagnet and laying the foundation of switching of Néel Vector.Compared to this conventional T-paired SVL materials,the C-paired SVL materials create the spin-splitting bands by the strong exchange coupling between itinerant electrons and local magnetic moments instead of SOC.Furthermore,the spin-splitting valleys are paired with opposite spin directions by preserved crystal symmetry rather than time-reversal symmetry,as shown in Figure 2.In practice,a strain/charge current can be exerted to slightly break or affect the crystal symmetry and therefore induce anet magnetization/noncollinear spin current. 查看详细>>

A research team led by the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)has addressed the long-standing challenge of creating artificial olfactory sensors with arrays of diverse high-performance gas sensors.Their newly developed biomimetic olfactory chips(BOC)are able to integrate nanotube sensor arrays on nanoporous substrates with up to 10,000 individually addressable gas sensors per chip,a configuration that is similar to how olfaction works for humans and other animals.For decades,researchers worldwide have been developing artificial olfaction and electronic noses(e-noses)with the aim of emulating the intricate mechanism of the biological olfactory system to effectively discern complex odorant mixtures.Yet,major challenges of their development lie on the difficulty of miniaturizing the system and increasing its recognition capabilities in determining the exact gas species and their concentrations within complex odorant mixtures.To tackle these issues,the research team led by Prof.FAN Zhiyong,Chair Professor at HKUST’s Department of Electronic&Computer Engineering and Department of Chemical&Biological Engineering,used an engineered material composition gradient that allows for wide arrays of diverse sensors on one small nanostructured chip.Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence,their biomimetic olfactory chips exhibit exceptional sensitivity to various gases with excellent distinguishability for mixed gases and 24 distinct odors.With avision to expand their olfactory chip’s applications,the team also integrated the chips with vision sensors on arobot dog,creating acombined olfactory and visual system that can accurately identify objects in blind boxes.The development of the biomimetic olfactory chips will not only improve the existing broad applications of the artificial olfaction and e-noses systems in food,environmental,medical and industrial process control etc,but also open up new possibilities in intelligent systems,such as advanced robots and portable smart devices,for applications in security patrols and rescue operations. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)announced today(August 21)that it will launch amultispectral optical satellite at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu with Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Ltd(Chang Guang)this Friday(August 25).The satellite"HKUST-FYBB#1"will be used for tracking remote sensing data related to global environment,disaster and sustainable development.As the first university in Hong Kong to initiate asatellite mission,the launch also marks HKUST’s first step towards building aremote sensing satellite constellation and acomprehensive environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting system.The multispectral optical satellite set to be launched this Friday for research purposes is the most advanced type in the realm of civilian satellites.The spatial resolution of the remote sensing images it collects is 0.5 meters,which is 20 times higher than the openly accessible data of images taken from the European Space Agency‘s Sentinel-2 optical satellite.Its swath of image is over 150 kilometers,comparable to those of the latest generation of the United States’land satellites.As an expression of gratitude to Mr.Francis YIP Chi-Hung and his wife,Mrs.Catherine YIP NG Bun-Bun,for their generous donation and support for the launch,the satellite is named"HKUST-FYBB#1".HKUST will first use the data collected by the satellite to establish adigital twin system that covers all slopes in Hong Kong for the monitoring of their surface conditions,as well as the simulation and showing of the process of landslide disasters and societal responses to emergencies.This is done in the hope of enhancing coordination and decision-making in disaster response and management.HKUST signed an agreement earlier with Chang Guang,the first commercial remote sensing satellite company in Mainland China.Apart from the launching of“HKUST-FYBB#1”,HKUST and Chang Guang will venture into along-term,extensive and multi-facet collaboration in satellite research and development for carbon emission and its data application.Combining HKUST‘s scientific research capability and achievements in meteorology,oceanography and environmental protection,as well as remote sensing data obtained from Chang Guang‘s 108 orbiting satellites,which form the world‘s largest sub-meter level commercial remote sensing satellite constellation“JiLin-1”,the parties are set to build acomprehensive environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting system.The system aims to provide scientific data in support of the nation’s dual carbon policy goals,namely peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.It also seeks to enhance the country‘s remote sensing technology–a cutting-edge technique involving the collection of electromagnetic radiation information from space or higher altitude on Earth‘s surface,as well as the processing and imaging of such data for the identification and understanding of the Earth‘s environment and resources. 查看详细>>

Artificial intelligence(AI)is all the rage lately in the public eye.How AI is being incorporated to the advantage of our everyday life despite its rapid development,however,remains an elusive topic that deserves the attention of many scientists.While in theory,AI can replace,or even displace,human beings from their positions,the challenge remains on how different industries and institutions can take advantage of this technological advancement and not drown in it.Recently,a team of researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)conducted an ambitious study of AI applications on the education front,examining how AI could enhance grading while observing human participants’behavior in the presence of acomputerized companion.They found that teachers were generally receptive to AI’s input-until both sides came to an argument on who should reign supreme.This very much resembles how human beings interact with one another when anew member forays into existing territory.The research was conducted by HKUST Department of Computer Science and Engineering Ph.D.candidate Chengbo Zheng and four of his teammates under the supervision of Associate Professor Prof.Xiaojuan MA.They developed an AI group member named AESER(Automated Essay ScorER)and separated twenty English teachers into ten groups to investigate the impact of AESER in agroup discussion setting,where the AI would contribute in opinion deliberation,asking and answering questions and even voting for the final decision.In this study,designed akin to the controlled“Wizard of Oz”research method,a deep learning model and ahuman researcher would form joint input to AESER,which would then exchange views and conduct discussions with other participants in an online meeting room.While the team expected AESER to promote objectivity and provide novel perspectives that would otherwise be overlooked,potential challenges were soon revealed.First,there was the risk of conformity,where the engagement of AI would soon create amajority to thwart discussions.Second,views provided by AESER were found to be rigid and even stubborn,which frustrated the participants when they found that an argument could never be“won”.Many also did not think AI’s input should be given equal weight and are more fit to play the role of an assistant to actual human work."At this stage,AI is deemed somewhat‘stubborn‘by human collaborators,for good and bad,”noted Prof.Ma.“On the one hand,AI is stubborn so it does not fear to express its opinions frankly and openly.However,human collaborators feel disengaged when they could not meaningfully persuade AI to change its view.Humans varying attitudes towards AI.Some consider it to be asingle intelligent entity while others regard AI as the voice of collective intelligence that emerges from big data.Discussions about issues such as authority and bias thus arise.”The immediate next step for the team involves expanding its scope to gather more quantitative data,which will provide more measurable and precise insights into how AI impacts group decision-making.They are also looking to explore large language models(LLMs)such as ChatGPT into the study,which could potentially bring new insights and perspectives to group discussions.Their study was published at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in April 2023. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and the Wuxi Economic Development Zone(Wuxi EDZ)have signed an agreement to deepen exchanges and collaboration on areas spanning innovation,entrepreneurship,talent training and policy research.Witnessed by HKUST President Prof.Nancy IP,Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Party Committee Mr.DU Xiaogang and other representatives from both sides,Prof.Tim CHENG,HKUST Vice-President(Research and Development),and Mr.YANG Jianping,Secretary of CPC Working Committee and Director of Management Committee of Wuxi EDZ,signed the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU).Under the MoU,the two parties will jointly establish the Wuxi-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Center(Center)at HKUST.Through organizing activities such as entrepreneurship competitions,the Center will identify and incubate research teams and innovative start-ups in microelectronics,big data,cloud computing,fintech,precision medical equipment as well as life and health sciences–areas where the unique strengths of HKUST lie.For more established research teams and companies,the Wuxi EDZ will offer policy support to facilitate their collaboration with the industry and academia in promoting knowledge transfer.Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Party Committee Mr.Du said,“Wuxi and HKUST have enormous potential for collaboration.We hope the University will set foot in Wuxi EDZ so that we can deepen exchanges in academic research and education.We look forward to organizing innovation and entrepreneurship competitions together,and developing think tanks with policy experts to facilitate our exchanges in innovation,talent cultivation and resource mobilization.”HKUST President Prof.Ip said,“HKUST is delighted to forge partnership with the Wuxi EDZ.Combining HKUST’s strength in education and innovation and Wuxi’s edges in economic and industrial development,I believe the Wuxi-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Center will contribute to the pooling of resources from Guangdong,Hong Kong,Macau and the Yangtze River Delta Region.With these joint efforts we hope to promote translational research and industrial development in frontier technologies.”HKUST and Wuxi EDZ will organize competitions and other activities on talent grooming,including annual trips for HKUST faculty members,students and alumni-entrepreneurs to visit Wuxi,where they can exchange on technological advancements with local stakeholders.A new technology and innovation exchange fund will be set up by Wuxi EDZ for such visits.The two sides will also explore ways to creating synergy for research projects on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,among other research topics.HKUST President Prof.Nancy IP,HKUST Vice-President(Research and Development)Prof.Tim CHENG,HKUST Vice-President for Institutional Advancement Prof.WANG Yang,HKUST Associate Vice-President for Research and Development(Knowledge Transfer)Dr.Shin Cheul KIM,Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Party Committee Mr.DU Xiaogang,Member of the Standing Committee of the Wuxi Municipal Party Committee and Director of the United Front Work Department Mr.ZHOU Changqing,Vice Mayor of Wuxi Municipal People‘s Government Mr.QIN Yongxin,and Secretary of CPC Working Committee and Director of Management Committee of Wuxi Economic Development Zone Mr.YANG Jianping,unveiled the foundation plaque of the Wuxi-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Center at the ceremony.About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)(https://hkust.edu.hk/)is aworld-class research intensive university that focuses on science,technology and business as well as humanities and social science.HKUST offers an international campus,and aholistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision,a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking.Over 80%of our research work were rated“Internationally excellent”or“world leading”in the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee.We were ranked 3rd in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2022,and our graduates were ranked 30th worldwide and among the best from universities from Asia in Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2022.As of 2022,HKUST members have founded 1,645 active start-ups,including 9Unicorns and 8IPO companies,generating economic impact worth over HK$400billion.InvestHK cited QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 to demonstrate the performance of five world’s top 100 local universities in several innovation-centric areas,among which HKUST ranked top in four engineering and materials science subjects. 查看详细>>

A research led by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)has revealed anovel mechanism that regulates secretion of sonic hedgehog(Shh),a key signaling molecular that plays an important role in cancer progression,in mammals,opening the door to novel therapeutic strategies for cancer induced by the hedgehog signaling pathway.The hedgehog(Hh)signaling pathway is instrumental in regulating embryonic patterning and facilitating the development of the central nervous system and organs of the human body.Such apathway transmitting information between cells is initiated by the Hh ligands,which are first secreted from the producing cells and then bound with specific receptors on target cells to induce Hh signaling.Hh signaling is amajor target for cancer therapy because this pathway,when hijacked by cancer cells,can promote cancer progression.However,all of the current Hh antagonists function to inhibit the activity of major factors mediating Hh signaling in target cells,but do not effectively block cancer progression that is promoted by the secreted Hh ligands.Now,an international research team led by Prof.GUO Yusong,Associate Professor of Division of Life Science at HKUST,has revealed the mechanism governing the secretion of sonic hedgehog,a key member of Hh ligands in mammals,from the producing cells,offering new insights into inhibiting its secretion and shutting down Hh signaling pathway when it is hijacked by cancer cells,thereby hindering cancer progression.In the conventional secretory transport pathway,newly synthesized secretory proteins are firstly translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum(ER),where they are folded and modified.These proteins are then packaged into transport vesicles to be delivered to the Golgi apparatus to receive further modifications.Subsequently,they are enriched in transport vesicles at the trans Golgi network(TGN)and delivered to the plasma membrane to be secreted to the extracellular environment 查看详细>>

The School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST Business School)has joined aresearch collaboration with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities(APRU)to look closely into the impacts and opportunities of technology on workforce and living quality in Asia-Pacific economies.Digital automation is transforming the world with unprecedented scope and speed,and its impact is compelling,including the demand for new roles and skills in many sectors.This joint HKUST-APRU Project connects ten scholars from leading universities across the APRU network to examine the changes presented by rapid digitalization in our society.“Our Project seeks to open up adialogue to facilitate policymakers,leading thinkers and researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate on solutions to the challenges,”said Prof.TAM Kar-Yan,the Project Lead and also Dean of HKUST Business School.“With our studies,we not only hope to stimulate an informed discussion in society,but also gather insights and recommendations from different regions,on ways to minimize the negative impacts and to protect and prepare the workforce for the future.”The findings are presented in seven chapters in the report:Transformation of Work in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century.The report highlights issues of the Asia-Pacific region and outlines policy recommendations to leaders of higher education,government,and industry.These recommendations include:cultivating an innovative workforce through STEM education and investment in teachers;developing reskilling and reform capacities to support the displaced workforce;meeting the skills demand through workforce mobility and immigration policy;addressing the increasing income inequality through social welfare programs;and investing in the technology,innovation,and entrepreneurship infrastructure to provide agility in the market.According to Christina SCHÖNLEBER,APRU Director(Policy and Programs,“We are pleased to see this timely report offer guidance to policymakers as it draws on the rigorous research and knowledge of APRU experts and partners.These recommendations are relevant to the unique context of Asia-Pacific and will influence the way we will work and live in the future.” 查看详细>>

A group of marine scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)recently discovered over 7,000 new microbial species in the Oceans,including Acidobacteria–a natural medicinal phylum with the CRISPR gene editing system discovered at sea for the first time,shedding new light on human’s understanding of microbial biodiversity in the oceans and bringing hope to the development of new drugs.Led by Prof.QIAN Peiyuan,Acting Head of Department of Ocean Science and David von Hansemann Chair Professor of Science at HKUST,the University’s research team collaborated with peers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia,University of Georgia in the US and University of Queensland in Australia on sourcing water samples across Pacific,Atlantic and Indian Oceans.Over aspan of eight years,the team developed biofilms with the water samples on different materials,eventually discovering more than 7,000 new biofilm-forming species and 10 new bacterial phyla–breaking the existing belief that the world has only 35,000 marine microbial species and 80 bacterial phyla[1].The finding greatly enhanced human’s knowledge in microbial biodiversity of the oceans.Acidobacteria–one of the new marine phyla identified in this research known only exist in terrestrial soils previously,has been used for developing novel antibiotics and anti-tumor drugs due to its high level of biosynthetic gene clusters.This newly-discovered marine phylum not only shares functions of its terrestrial counterpart,but is also the first ocean species found to contain the CRISPR gene-editing system.The finding was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.“The discovery of new marine microbial species has not only improved our understanding of ocean biodiversity,but more importantly,these species have big potential,both in terms of facilitating our understanding of lives and offering new clues to our search of new treatments for diseases,”said Prof.Qian. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and the Hong Kong Sports Institute(HKSI)signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU)today to facilitate dual career pathways in sports and academics for elite athletes in Hong Kong.Under this MoU,HKSI can nominate full-time elite athletes for admission to undergraduate programs of HKUST.The University will offer flexible academic accommodations,including study load balancing,re-scheduling in examinations and adjustment in class attendance requirement,on acase-by-case basis.An advisory committee comprising faculty members and sports specialists will be formed to oversee the athletes’learning progress and address their individual needs.To accommodate their intensive trainings and competition schedules,HKUST may extend their study to amaximum of twice the normative program duration.The nominated athletes can also benefit from the Student Athletes Admission Scheme(SAAS),a new admission scheme recently launched by HKUST to recruit and support student athletes in pursuing their sporting dreams while obtaining aquality education at HKUST.On top of the above-mentioned flexible academic arrangement,successful applicants may receive tuition scholarships and living allowances of up to HK$42,100 and HK$55,000 per year respectively.In addition,HKUST also offers sponsorship for sports competitions,sports injury prevention and treatment trainings as well as sports counselling services for student athletes.The MoU was signed by HKUST Acting Provost Prof.PONG Ting-Chuen and HKSI Chief Executive Dr.Trisha LEAHY.Witnesses were Prof.Sabrina LIN,HKUST Vice-President for Institutional Advancement;Prof.King CHOW,HKUST Acting Dean of Students and Mr.Ron LEE,HKSI Director of Community Relations and Marketing.Dr.Trisha Leahy said,“HKSI attaches great importance to the provision of comprehensive support in promoting the holistic development and sustainable growth of young athletes.The MOU provides athletes with flexible access to tertiary education.It solidifies the concept of dual career pathway and empowers elite athletes pursuing their sporting dreams while continuing university studies.Thanks to the HKUST for sharing the same vision on whole-person development with the HKSI and Ilook forward to an even more integrated collaboration with HKUST in the future”.Prof.Pong Ting-Chuen said,“The collaboration between the two parties will not only facilitate young athletes in their dual career development in sports and studies,but will also foster sporting culture and diversity in the university community.HKUST has been giving out scholarships,support and recognition to our student athletes for many years.We wish this collaboration could strengthen our support for young athletes in Hong Kong.”Prof.King Chow added,“Working closely together,both HKUST and HKSI would endeavor to help elite athletes balance their education and training needs in the best possible way.”After the signing ceremony,Hong Kong athletes Edith LEE,Rachel WONG and James YUEN shared their study experience at HKUST and the kind of help an athlete desires.Edith Lee,an archery athlete and aYear three student majoring in Computer Science and Engineering,is now taking leave from study.She said the gap year arrangement gave her space and confidence in pursuing her sporting dream.She is also thankful for the competition sponsorships offered by the University,which helps relieve her financial burden.Rachel Wong,a gymnast and Year four student majoring in Biological Science,said the admission arrangement and chance for conditional offer could help high school athletes in lifting part of their pressure from preparing for public examinations,hence,they are able to concentrate more on sports trainings and competitions.Meanwhile,James Yuen,a HKSI Scholarship Athlete in Wushu and aYear one student in the School of Business and Management,said that academic accommodation such as adjustments on the credit loading for each semester is essential as it allows athletes to have more time in preparing for competitions and related selections. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)today launched the“Sustainable Smart Campus as aLiving Lab”(SSC)–an initiative that transforms the campus into atesting ground for learning,experimenting,and advancing smart and innovative ideas to address real-life challenges.With apledge of HK$50 million over the next three years,the University aims to identify sustainable,smart and cross-disciplinary home-grown HKUST projects and implement them on campus.Projects are collaboratively developed by faculty,staff,students and alumni.By uniting HKUST’s quality research and innovative learning approaches,it is hoped that SSC projects will become asource of inspiration to the Hong Kong community,contributing to its development in becoming aworld-class sustainable and smart city.HKUST President Prof.Wei SHYY said,“Universities are microcosms of society.HKUST has been fully engaged in encompassing business management,policy as well as science and technologies to make our campus smarter and more sustainable,and with this endeavor to help advise society’s transition to afuture that is greener,more livable,and human centric.SSC is meant to be aspringboard for testing new ideas and approaches.Projects need not include cutting edge technologies,nor do they need to succeed on the first try.But by turning our campus into a‘living lab’,we hope to instill aculture of learning from failure and self-initiated changes,which will eventually spread to alarger community beyond our campus.”Nine projects–ranging from enhancing library user experience through facial recognition technology,to promoting positive and healthy behaviors through visual arts installations,to utilizing areal-time big data platform of people flows to facilitate effective planning–were selected as the inaugural round of projects.Project champions staged exhibition booths in the Chia-Wei Woo Academic Concourse during the past week to share their ideas and gain feedback from the community.Implementation of the projects are spearheaded through HKUST’s GREAT Smart Cities Center(GSCC),in collaboration with the HKUST Sustainability Unit.The second round of submission of SSC project proposals is now open till March 22.Director of GSCC Prof.LO Hong-Kam said,“Through actual implementation of concepts and technologies on campus,SSC is an important platform to advance the underpinning science and technology,and sustainability principles for smart city development.Since its conception,many industry partners and government agencies have explored collaborative opportunities with us.We firmly believe that SSC will contribute to transforming otherwise abstract smart city concepts to sustainable and smart realities.”The SSC campaign follows years of sustainability achievements at HKUST.In June 2016,the University adopted its first sustainability master plan–HKUST 2020 Sustainability Challenge,which set an aggressive set of performance targets for reducing energy consumption,greenhouse gas emission and wastage.Through acombination of actions,policies,and changes in behavior,HKUST has reduced over 700 tons of waste going to the landfill–a reduction of nearly one-third from the 2014 baseline,and has saved enough energy that two new buildings–Cheng Yu Tung Building and Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Conference Lodge–were added to the campus with no net increase in energy consumption. 查看详细>>