Biotechnology covers a wide range of fast-growing areas of economic importance. The seven research areas that have been targeted for development by BRI are :
1. Biomedical instrumentation and diagnostics 2. Drug delivery and development
3. Agricultural and environmental bioengineering 4. Genetic engineering of biomacromolecules 5. Biosensor
6. Immunology
7. Molecular genetics of plants
The activities ofBRI include the recruitment ofbiotechnology related faculty, the purchase of equipment, the planning and construction of facilities, and the support of research projects in the targeted areas.
RESEARCH CENTRE, INSTITUTES AND CENTRAL RESEARCH FACILITIES
Hong Kong Telecom Institute of Information Technology
This Institute has been founded with a grant of $100 million from Hong Kong Telecommunication Limited. The concept of the Institute is based on the recognition that in future there will be no economic development, no industry or commerce, no service or manufacturing capability of any significance without the full utilisation of telecommunication and information technology. All Schools at the University are involved in the research activity of this Institute. At present, the Institute is sponsoring four major research programmes, namely Lightware Technology, NetworkTechnology, Wireless Communication, and Video Technology.
Undergraduate scholarships and postgraduate research studentships are also offered through the Institute, and certain members of the academic faculty are designated as Institute Fellows.
Materials Characterisation and Preparation Centre
The Materials Characterisation and Preparation Centre is a central facility for the synthesis, study and testing of new materials and materials needed for in-house or collaborative research projects. The Centre constitutes an important resource which provides state-of-the-art instrumentation, organises workshops and training, and is a focal point for interdisciplinary research. The facility serves academics in all the Science and Engineering departments and is also available to external clients from other tertiary institutions, government bodies, and private industry. During 1993 the Centre moved to larger premises in the Phase II building, thus enabling the scope of facilities to be expanded to meet more fully the needs of the growing research community of staff and graduate students.
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RESEARCH CENTRE, INSTITUTES AND CENTRAL RESEARCH FACILITIES
Microelectronics Fabrication Centre
The mission of the MFC is to provide capabilities for the fabrication of microelectronic devices and integrated circuits in support of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research. Particular objectives for technology development include novel semiconductor devices, higher speed transistors and ICs, innovative microsensors and microactuators, and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
To achieve the objectives, half of the phase I 495-square metre-Centre is devoted to Class 1 ,000 clean rooms (containing less than 1 ,000 particles larger than a half micro metre per cubic foot of air) where state-of-the-art microelectronic processing equipment is located. The Centre's clean rooms are divided into four basic fabrication modules, namely, photolithography, thermal diffusion/thin-film deposition, dry/wet etching and metallisation.
While the centre is closely associated with electronics engineering, researchers in other disciplines have also found microfabrication techniques highly valuable for various
application~. Research projects from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering and other engineering fields have also been ultilising the facility of the Microfabrication Centre.
Sino Software Research Centre
The Sino Software Research Centre (SSRC) was established in July 1992 with a $20 million grant from the Sino Land Co., Ltd. It has the dual aim of supporting software research that can lead to practical applications, and providing assistance in transforming those applications into useful products.
The Centre sees its primary role as that of a catalyst, helping software research projects reach the critical phase in which ideas may be translated into prototypes that can be evaluated using large-scale trials. Projects led by HKUST faculty members from any department are eligible for support.
RESEARCH CENTRE, INSTITUTES AND CENTRAL RESEARCH FACILITIES
The Centre particularly encourages research and development in areas that are relevant to the economic and social development of Hong Kong. Current areas of activity include:
Chinese language software interface support Heterogeneous database management technology Intelligent video manipulation tools
Commerical INTERNET access in Hong Kong Software reuse in-the-small
System requirements modelling
Beyond its interest in software research and development, the SSRC also provides technical and consultative help to local businesses as they seek to implement the latest software technologies. As part of this effort, the Centre sponsors . workshops, seminars and lectures on software topics related to the needs of businesses and public institutions. In August 1992, for example, it organised a well-attended UNIX Security Workshop, which offered practical advice, specific solutions, and hands-on experience in safeguarding UNIX operating systems.
As an integral part of HKUST's Research and Development Branch, the SSRC is dedicated both to advancing the state of the art in software technologies and to serving the needs of Hong Kong.
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THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
VII. ACADEMIC SERVICES University Library
The University Library occupies a central location close to the University's entrance Piazza, covering five floors and commanding a spectacular sea view.
As an integral component of the academic programme, the Library supports the University's teaching and research in science, engineering, business and management, the humanities and social sciences. There are seminar rooms for meetings and instruction, areas for group discussion, and study carrels for individual use. Audio-visual materials, both educational and recreational, are available for use in specially equipped facilities.
The Library is much more than a repository for the accumulated know ledge of civilisation; it serves as the heart of our intellectual enterprise.
The rapid development of the University requires a correspondingly rapid rate of growth in its library collection.
The Library opened in 1991 with a collection of approximately 120,000 b0oks, bound periodicals and non-print materials.
During the 1991-94 triennium, and thereafter, the Library plans to add about 60,000 items per year to provide support for the University's programme development. Reaching beyond local holdings, the Library has made extensive provisions for automation. The Library Online System forms a part of the campus-wide network, and is therefore accessible from every part of the campus. Through the Online System users are able to consult a broad range of bibliographic and full-text information as well as to searchCD-ROM databases. The University Library is linked via telecommunications to libraries and databases in institutions locally and overseas.
In 1993, the Library occupied four levels with over 8,000 square metres of floor space and 1,000 seats. A fifth floor opens in the Fall of 1994 53 with another 2,000 square metres floor space and 160 seats. Phase III construction of the University
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ACADEMIC SERVICES
campus would see the Library expand horizontally at the second and third levels to a total space of 13,000 square metres with a capacity for 1.2 million volumes.
An experienced staff assists patrons in a variety of ways, from the selection, acquisition, and cataloguing of materials to using the collection, online searches, and interlibrary loans.
There are also a fully equipped classroom and a computer laboratory for group instruction. The Library has a strong service orientation in order to effectively meet the information needs of its academic community.
Centre of Computing Services and Tele-communications
The Centre of Computing Services and Telecommunications develops and manages the computing and networking infrastructure of the University. It provides computing support to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and research applications in science, engineering, business and management, and humanities and social science. Besides, the Centre serves the University's administrative needs by providing an integrated information system to support the day-to-day routines as well as to satisfy the need for information in management decision making.
The HKUST computing environment is modelled after the distributed client -server architecture. The network backbone is a collection of advanced, high-speed FDDI (Fibre Distributed Data Interface) rings, each running at 100 megabits per second.
The FDDI rings are interconnected by a gigaswitch, which gives an aggregate network bandwidth of 3.6 gigabits per second. The campus network is connected to Harnet (The Hong Kong Academic & Research Network) via a 1.544 megabits per second Tl circuit, and to Internet via a 64 kilo bits per second circuit to the United States. Network services are available not only in offices and laboratories but also in staff quarters and student dormitories.
The Centre operates powerful server computers to provide campus-wide network sevices such as network printing, e-mail and electronic notice board. One important characteristic of the University's computing environment is its
Chinese-ACADEMIC SERVICES
English bilingual capability. Increasingly, more applications will have this dual support.
All microcomputers and powerful scientific workstations are connected to the campus network, providing desktop computing power as well as serving as windows to a vast array of information and computing resource, such as the library system and various scientific and business packages, on the University's own network or that of other institutions in Hong Kong, and through the Internet, on networks of educational and research institutions worldwide.
To support scientific computing and visualisation, CCST has developed a high performance, distributed and parallel computing environment composing of high-end computation and graphics workstations with FDDI interface and interconnected by a super highspeed gigas witch.
In addition to the central facilities, the Centre also manages a number of 11 computer barns 11 in various locations of the academic buildings, providing PC, Macintosh and Unix workstation facilities for undergraduate teaching and student use. Each academic department also has one or more computing facility rooms for use by postgraduate students and academic staff.
Apart from computing services, the Centre also operates the campus-wide PABX system.
Language Centre
The Language Centre has a pan-University role in the provision of language courses, both as academic disciplines and as a support service. English is the medium of instruction in the University, and a priority of the Language Centre is to assist students in all Schools to acquire the necessary language skills for them to gain the maximum benefit from their subject courses.
The Language Centre has two 24-booth audio- visual language laboratories (for oral/aural work), and one 24-booth
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ACADEMIC SERVICES
computerised language laboratory (for oral/aural work as well as text processing and editing).
The Language Centre also runs a Self-Access Centre, a purpose-built facility that contains audio, video computer and multimedia equipment, along with a variety of Language-learning materials. The Self-Access Centre is open on weekdays and Saturday mornings. Its aim is to help staff and students to improve their skills in English and other languages through independent learning.