KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU organises STEM competition to raise public awareness of light pollution

The “Dark-sky-friendly Lighting Fixture STEM Competition” was co-organised by HKU Department of Physics, HKU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen), in association with the Hong Kong Space Museum, to raise public awareness of the severe light pollution problem in Hong Kong. Entries from 8 teams were received. Each team is required to submit an outdoor lighting fixture (real size or scaled model) which can minimise light pollution for demonstration, along with a written technical report. The winning entry came from Fanling Kau Yan College. The team visited Sheung Shui Wai and learnt how residents there suffered from light trespass originated from lamp posts and created a smart sensing street lamp array with adjustable light intensity based on the flow of pedestrian traffic, thus leading to a reduction in the intensity and the number of lighting fixtures required.

HKU and ATEC jointly organises “Musical Instrument Design Competition” to spark the interest of STEAM in the young generation

The “Musical Instrument Design Competition” was jointly organised by HKU Faculty of Engineering and the Arts & Technology Education Centre (ATEC), under the project titled “Science & Engineering of Music”, which was supported by the Knowledge Exchange Fund of the University Grant Committee. The project aims to enhance the knowledge of and interest in the engineering of creating artifacts for humanistic expressions among the young generation. It also encourages the use of innovative technologies and creative design ideas. Over 400 participants from primary, secondary and international schools ranging from Primary 2 to Secondary 6 joined the competition. The students showed off their musical skills by performing with the musical instruments they designed in a live session. The teams from Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School awarded the Champions in both Primary and Secondary School categories. Pui Kiu Primary School and St. Teresa Secondary School were awarded the Champions of Outstanding Performance Award of Primary and Secondary School category respectively.

HKU start-up wins championship at the Hong Kong finals of the IMAGINE IF! Competition

Lifespans, a start-up company formed by HKU professors and alumni, won at the Hong Kong Finals of IMAGINE IF! 2018-19 and will participate in the Global Final of IMAGINE IF! at the “Health Horizons - Future Healthcare Forum” from June 26 to 27 in Cambridge, UK. Lifespans develops proprietary technologies that make orthopaedic implants safer and more effective when treating fractured hips, shoulders, and spines in elderly patients. Its products are undergoing final safety testing and are expected to be available to hospitals in the second quarter of 2019.

Two HKU Engineering scholars elevated as IEEE Fellow 2019

Two academics from HKU Faculty of Engineering have been elevated to IEEE Fellows 2019. Professor Yu Yizhou of Department of Computer Science was elected for his contributions to geometric and image-based modeling, while Dr Jiang Lijun of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was elected for his contributions to broadband computational electromagnetic methods. Professor Yu’s work has made significant contributions to subareas of computer vision and graphics, including image-based modeling and gradient domain geometric modeling. Dr Jiang has made distinctive contributions in large-scale heterogeneous electromagnetic modeling, EMC/EMI for VLSI and packaging, and multiphysics characterisation methodologies.

HKU Faculty of Engineering and the Arts & Technology Education Centre jointly organize the Musical Instrument Design Competition

HKU Faculty of Engineering and the Arts & Technology Education Centre (ATEC) are jointly organizing the Musical Instrument Design Competition with the support of HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund. Over 300 students from primary 3 to secondary 5 have joined the competition. A number of talks and workshops related to sound, music, science and engineering were organized in November and December 2018. Students were taught to design and make a piece of work that can produce sound and be used as a musical instrument. This project aims to nurture students’ creativity and their problem solving and communication skills as well as to enhance their knowledge and appreciation of the science and mathematics of sound and music. A live performance of the participated students playing the musical instruments they designed and made will be held in May 2019.

HKU Engineering Professor Ron Hui named Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors

Professor Ron Hui of the HKU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has been named a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Professor Hui said he is thankful that many of his inventions have been adopted for applications in wireless charging of portable electronics and sustainable lighting. He has over 55 patents adopted by industry.

HKU Assistant Professor makes the list of top 10 young Innovators under 35

HKU Computer Science Assistant Professor Dr Ruibang Luo is named as one of the top 10 young Innovators under the age of 35 by MIT Technology Review. Dr Luo and his team used Next-Generation Sequencing and Single Molecule Sequencing technologies and developed algorithms for two fundamental genome sequence analysis problems, 'genome assembly' and 'genome alignment', shortening the time required for cancer and rare disease diagnosis and pinpointing the problems more accurately for targeted treatment.