•
T
H
E
HONG KONG
UNIVE~SITYOF
SCI
E
NCE
&
TEC
H
NOLOGY
Clear Water Bay,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
SPRING
1996
THE SEARCH FOR NEW MATERIALS
With laboratories running at full speed, scientists and engineersat HKUST are making important strides in their quest to under-stand and develop new materials for the industries of the 21st century.
Lighter, stronger, more efficient plastics, ceramics, and composites. Biomaterials for medical devices able to interact with biological syst~ms. "Smart fluids" that can be reversibly transformed from a liquid to a solid phase, instantaneously taking on programmed shapes in a manner that could render some mechanical gears and valves obsolete.
Advanced materials like these are the product of knowledge and invention. At present, the pursuit of knowledge is leading researchers ever deeper into the microstructure of materials,
where they seek to understand events at the molecular and atomic
The atom is the fundamental building block of crystalline materials. Crystal growth taking place on an atomic scale is illustrated in this image of a silicon crystal sill/ace take/! by Dr Micltael ALTMAN (Physics), nsing a low energy electron microscope. The dark lines distinguish layers of growth, or atomic steps, !ltat differ frolll each other by only 10·/0 meters, the height of one atom. As a semiconductor, silicon is the most widely used material in IIlicroelectronic devices today.
• A new type of molecule can be see/l in the volcano-like stl'llctures formed by rings of six carbon 82 fullerenes, each touched with a neodynium atom, on a lattice made of smaller carbon 60 fullere/!es. This image, taken with a sCn/lIling tmllleling microscope, shows a stl'llcture approximately 1.2 ltanometers high with a diameter of 4 nanometers. Graduate student Nian Lu~ and Prof Nelson CUE (Physics) are studying the electronic properties of the altered carbon 82 molecule and its intel/ace with the lattice below.
levels so as to control the properties determined there.
In this microscopic world, where dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter, HKUST researchers are especially intent on investigating the electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of novel materials that may form the basis of the information technologies of the future.
Some very striking images of these materials have been obtained using the powerful instruments in the University'S materials science laboratories. A few of them are presented here-as much for their strange beauty as for the glimpses they provide into the all-important search for new materials.
Clusters are groups of atoms from two to several thousand in number that constitute a new class of materials. This image, taken with a transmission electron microscope, shows clusters of a carbon 60 derivative, a fullerene lltaterial prepared by Dr BellzllOllg TANG (CllCmistry). Fullerelle materials are so-called because their moleClllar stl'llcture resembles the geodesic domes desiglled by Buckminster Fuller. Til additioll to
supercollduc-tivity, ferromagnetism, alld anti-AIDS bioactivity, fullere/!e materials are of illterestto scielltists becmlse of their unique optical properties. Dr Tallg has discovered that this form of carboll 60 call act as all optical filler blockillg ligM or radiation within a specific frequellcy balld.
•
o
• A thin film of zinc sulfide telluride is the basis of this illllovative li gM-emittillg device fabricated by a research group led by Dr Philip Sou (Physics). As a highly efficiellt source of visible blue ligM, this material ope/!s the door to developmellt of a wide range of optoelectrollic applications.
l
PRESIDENT'S PROGRESS REPORT
HKUST's International Endeavors
In
my remarks at the University's Third Congregation, I said that we had come a long way towards achiev-ing the goal of buildachiev-ing a world-class technological institution, and that we should now set our sights on human-izing the institution by making it moregenteel, more cultural, more Chinese, and more international.
In this report, let me describe two of our recent initiatives on the international front.
Hong Kong sits at the crossroads of East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. As a result, HKUST finds it natural to develop and maintain robust working relationships with like institutions in these regions.
Faculty members at HKUST have always collaborated with
overseas colleagues individually. Many of our Schools and Departments maintain cooperative agreements with overseas counterparts. However, at the University level we have signed
very few agreements, since documents of that type frequently contain little actual substance. Our preference is to support
endeavors initiated at the working level, and to find ways to provide infrastructures that can lighten the faculty's administra-tive burdens and bring them additional resources.
Members of our faculty hail from over 30 countries, but an overwhelming majority earned their doctorates in North America,
especially the United States. It is therefore to no one's surprise
that our academic links to North America have been strong. The infrastructure required here is one that sLlpports HKUST's
eco-nomic development mission. We vigoroLlsly promote applied R&D and technology-oriented partnerships with North
Ameri-ca's business and industrial sectors.
Association of East Asian Research Universities
Strange as it may seem, interactions among the academic sectors of East Asia have not been all that significant. If,
how-ever, a small number of universities oflike vision and compara-ble quality were to come together to form a regional association, such a body could serve to facilitate the work of faculty and students who wish to engage in cooperative ventures.
Recently, the presidents of nine East Asian universities decided to meet on the HKUST campus to explore the possibility of forming such an association. They represented:
Chinese Mainland - Fudan, Tsinghua (Beijing), University of
Science and Technology of China [USTC]
Japan - Tokyo, Tsukuba
Korea - Pohang University of Science and Technology [Postech],
Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [KAIST]
TailVan - Tsing Hua (Hsinchu) Hong Kong - HKUST
SPRING 1996
These institutions (plus several others which have since
indicated their interest in joining as founding members) all have
significant strengths in science and technology. They also share
many other common traits, including academic profiles, educa-tional goals, faculty composition, research capabilities, and traditional East Asian values.
During the meeting, the original idea of simply forming an association of technological universities expanded. The out-come was the establishment of the Association of East Asian Research Universities with an initial focus on science and tech-nology.
A Board was also established to serve as its governing body. I was elected Chairperson, and President Hiroyuki YOSHIKAWA of the University of Tokyo was elected Vice Chairperson, to
sei·ve along with Presidents Sooyoung CHANG (Postech), Chun-Shan SHEN (Tsing Hua), and YANG Fujia (Fudan) as Board Members for a term of two years. The next general meeting will be held in Tokyo and Tsukuba. It is expected that joint academic activities will commence at that time.
Areas of early action will revolve around the exchange of faculty and students; development of common curricula and transferable credits; sharing offacilities, information, and
mate-rials;
coopera-tion on aca-demic and
ap-plied research projects; and joint sponsor-ship of topical conferences, student con-tests, and in-ternational
events.
Europe I1lstitute at HKUST
Although European interest and presence, other than Brit-ish, have not been strong in East Asia, this situation is expected to change rapidly as China and other East Asian countries continue to surge ahead economically. Hong Kong is perfectly located to contribute to, and benefit from, the change.
Over the past year, we have worked towards the
establish-ment of a technology and manageestablish-ment-based Europe Institute on the campus of HKUST. The Institute is to serve as an umbrella covering a number of national Centers. For HKUST' s
faculty and students, each national Center will facilitate person-nel exchange and research collaboration with institutions in that nation. At the same time, it will provide footholds and observa-tion platforms for that naobserva-tion's universities, R&D organizaobserva-tions,
foundations, and multinational corporations which now show
keen interest in East Asia but are not yet ready to risk major investments.
This concept was discussed with, and among, the
Consuls-General in Hong Kong representing nations of the European Union, some of whom have visited our campus frequently. The
HKUST IN ACTION
Consuls-General from nations making up the European Union visited the University on 12 February to work with us on establishing a Europe Institute at HKUST. The technology and management-based Institute would house a number of national Centers .
• Nine senior officials from the Hong Kong Govern-ment spent the month of February studying Cantonese at HKUST in an innovative course devised by the University's Language Centre for the Civil Service Training Centre. The expatriate officials concentrated on gaining fluency in the kind of Cantonese needed to conduct government business, including oral presentations and fielding questions from the floor.
establishment of a Europe Institute received enthusiatic support from all. In February they came as a group to meet with our academic administrators and some of our senior faculty, and to discuss the agenda in detail. A Steering Committee consisting of EU and HKUST representatives is being formed.
Preparations for setting up a German Center ha ve progressed rapidl y. U ni versity presidents, leaders of Fraunhofer Institutes, and the president of the German Research Foun-dation have visited HKUST and are help-ing to lay the ground work.
Preparations for setting up a Brit-ish Center commenced following my March trip to London, Manchester,
and Warwick with Vice-President for Administration & Business Paul BOL-TON, under the sponsorship of the Brit-ish Trade Commission British Council, and UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Of-fice.
• A milestone in the University's campus development was celebrated on 28 March with the Topping Out Ceremony for the new Graduate Residences, University Center, and Senior Staff Quarters. Mr Martin HADAWAY, Group Managing Director of Gammon Construction Limited, and President Chi a- Wei Woo presided over the ceremony.
Summit, to be held in Hong Kong in the autumn of 1996 and 1997.
A New World Order
The Asia-Europe summit meeting held in Bang-kok in March heralds the development of what I
have called a New World Order, in which a third key link-between East Asia and Western Europe-will join the
time-honored North American-Western Eu-ropean alliance, and the North Ameri-can-East Asian economic partnership, to complete a triangular balance of in-ternational power. Compared with the current situation which finds the United States alone at the pivot directing East-West traffic, this New World Order will be a much more stable structure for peace-ful coexistence and co-operation.
It is my hope that the Europe Institute will contribute to the operation of the World
Economic Forum's Europe-East Asia Economic • A New World Order
We at HKUST foresaw that develop-ment, and will contribute within our capability to the structuring of this New World Order. D
t
BUILDING A UNIVERSITY
Depa
r
tment of Economics
A s part of the School of Business and Management at HKUST, the Department of Economics encourages a comprehen -sive understanding of the scope of e co-nomics as a discipline. Rather than nar-rowing its focus to the strictly quantitative
or theoretical aspects of economics, the
Department has created a strong teaching and research environment in which ec o-nomic theory is developed and applied to broad areas of practical concern.
"We have a strong interest in busi
-ness economics," says Department Head Leonard Kwok-Hon CHENG, "and that is good because it ties us to the real world. Economics should be about business as
well as public policy or social science. I
like the fact that we are in the business
school."
Other important application areas are economic growth and development and international economics. "These choices
obviously reflect our location in the mid-dle of the Asia-Pacific dynamic growth area, as well as Hong Kong's status as an international trading and financial center," says Prof Cheng. "Our aim as a Depart
-ment is to be global in the standards we
maintain and the audience we reach, but with an emphasis on local and regional issues."
At the core of the Department is a concentration of expertise in economic
theory and methodology. "It's important that we provide solid training in economic analysis," Prof Cheng explains. "Not only is it the foundation of our own discipline,
but it also provides a methodological
ba-sis for some other disciplines in the bus i-ness school. Economic analysis is an es
-sential ingredient of business research."
Econom
ic
Theor
y
([nd
Ec
onom
et
r
ics
Economic analysis can be qualitative,
quantitative, and statistical in nature. The
name given by economists to the pro
ce-dures they've developed by combining economic theory and statistical analysis is econometrics. As Prof Lung-Fei LEE, a distinguished econometrician and Fellow
of the Econometric Society, explains,
SPRING 1996 "Econometrics is a calculation tool to explain or forecas t economic ac -ti vities." A re -cent project il-lustrates how it can be used to quantify various items of interest. Mostpeo
-Prof Lllllg-Fei LEE, a distill -gllished ecollollletriciall, is olle of three Chillese lIIellluers
elected to the Ecollollletric Society.
pIe believe that university graduates earn more than those who start to work right after finishing their secondary school edu -cation. But if a survey finds that university oraduates earn 10% more, Prof Lee ar -b
oues "we still do not know how much of b ,
this 10% is due solely to university study."
A person's earning capacity could also be affected by factors such as talent, family background, and interest in the subject
studied. Using simultaneous equations,
Prof Lee has constructed a model that can
estimate these relations and be used to
explain income differences.
What distinguishes economics from fortune telling, then, is the ability to create economic models that can account for the
data and be empirically tested. In recent
decades, as economic forecasting has b
e-come more sophisticated owing to ad
-vances in econometrics, the study of
eco-nomics has increasingly become an opera
-tional discipline geared to providing pra
c-tical advice. "Models such as these are
important for decision makers as they pro
-vide a frame of reference for the allocation of limited resources," says Prof Lee.
Econometrics is what economists do,
not what they study. Within economics as
a discipline, the terms microeconomics and macroeconomics are used as broad categories designating the level or scale of analysis. Microeconomics deals with the economic activities of individual cons
um-ers, business firms, markets, and so on.
Macroeconomics is concerned with the economy as a whole, focusing on the ag-gregate outcome of individual actions.
Monetary systems, investment flows, busi
-ness cycles, and levels of employment,
taxation, and inflation are typical subjects
of macroeconomic theory.
Busin
e
ss Economics
At HKUST, the principal area of microeconomic study is business econom
-ics. "Basically, what we do is use eco
-nomic principles to analyze the behavior
of firms and solve problems of organi
za-tion and strategy. In this way, we can help
corporate managers compete successfully
in various market environments," says Dr
Changqi Wu.
Undergraduate economics majors are
asked to choose one of two special izations offered in the program: Business E co-nomics, leading to a BBA degree, or Eco
-nomic Science, leading to a BSc degree. In the former, students focus on problems
related to a company's internal operation
and economic environment, and on
eco-nomic reasoning as an essential element in sound business decision making. In the
latter, the focus is on the scientific basis of economics and on economic problems and solutions viewed from the perspecti ve of
policy makers and social scientists.
In business economics, renewed at -tention has been placed in recent years on developing adequate theories of business organization. One topic of particular re
l-evance for this region is the structure of shared ownership agreements, including
joint ventures. Dr Zhigang TAO and Dr Wu are currently collaborating on a study of joint ventures in China that examines
the balance of incentives and control for the Chinese and foreign partners. "By analyzing different joint venture options," says Dr Tao, "we can determine the prin -ciples for optimal structuring of such
or-ganizations. This should be of benefit to the business community, as well as a con
-tribution to the theory of the firm."
One type of agreement is a "contrac -tual joint venture" giving the foreign in
-vestor a progressively declining share of
ownership. In non-high-tech industries,
Dr Tao sees this as a workable solution for foreign companies that depend on tech
-nology transfer to do business in commer
-cial environments lacking strong protec
-tion of intellectual property rights.
Another area of interest for business economists is industrial organization
-the distribution of firms within an indu
s-try, their competitive behavior, and gov -ernment regulation. "Some companies in
Hong Kong claim that they are not mo-nopolizing their industry," says Dr Siu Fai
LEUNG. "Otherwise they would have to
face the government's stringent cQntrol.
Microeconomic theories give us a context in which to test their claims."
Economic Growth (Ind Development
The Asia-Pacific region is arguably
the world's most compelling laboratory
for the study of transitional economies. Within this region are strikingly varied
examples of how government policies are used to guide economic reform and attract
foreign trade, investment, and technology
transfer. And yet, as in other developing
regions, the difficulty of mounting a sci-entific study of these processes cannot be
underestimated. For economists, as for
other social scientists, the difficulty has to
do with the availability, or lack of it, of
reliable data in much of Asia and South-east Asia.
"In China, where much of our
atten-tion is concentrated, the situation has
im-proved," says Prof Cheng. Currently, data
acquisition by foreign scholars is a largely commercial proposition, unlike 10 or 15
years ago when data sets were unavailable
except to those enjoying a close personal
relationship with the proprietors of the
data. It is expected, too, that the situation will continue to improve with the further development of academic and professional infrastructure in China.
At HKUST, the half dozen econo-mists studying China's economic devel-opment are led by Prof Justin Yifu LIN, an
internationally recognized economist who divides his time between Hong Kong and
Beijing, where he is Director of the China Center for Economic Research at Peking
University. With his leadership, HKUST
scholars look forward to accessing impor-tant data sets that have not been available for study so far.
With such data, HKUST economjsts
plan to collaborate on comprehensive
re-search studies that may take several years to complete. To facilitate such projects,
and to coordinate the interdisciplinary work of scholars from other departments,
the University'S Centre for Economic De-velopment was established in August 1995.
According to its Director, Dr Francis
T. LUI, the Centre for Economic
Develop-ment promotes research on China's eco-nomic reforms, the economic integration of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta,
and the emergence of regional economies
in China, particularly the region
compris-ing the southern coastal provinces. It also recognizes the importance or international comparisons and research on economic
development theories.
For its inaugural event, the Centre
organized a substantial Conference on South China's Economic Development,
held at HKUST on 15-17 August 1995.
The conference attracted a large group of
economists from China, as well as their
counterparts in Hong Kong.
In June of this year, the Centre will
host an international conference on Capi-tal Flows in Asian Countries, co-spon-sored by the US National Bureau of
Eco-nomic Research. One of the principal top-ics at the conference will be capital flows and ex-change rates in Hong Kong and Asian countries. "Cooking Fish"
Vice-Presidellt for Academic Affairs Shaill-Dow KUNe weicollles parlicipallts at the COllferellce Oil SOlltiz Chilla's ECOIIOlllic DevelopllleIlt, held at HKLTST ill Allgllst 1995.
In a commercial and financial center like Hong Kong, an important meas-ure of credibility is earned
by academic economists who find ways to use their expertise in the service of the community. In keep-ing with the mission of the University, members
of the Economics Department have been assiduous in creating opportunities to
in-teract wi th colleagues in business and gov-ernment.
"We see this as vital," says Prof Cheng.
"We are making an effort to build bridges to the business community and to position ourselves so that we can have an impact on policy making and public discussion of important economic issues."
In addition to offering executive de-velopment courses, Department members have provided consulting services to busi-ness organizations, government agencies,
and conmlercial and professional associa-tions. For the past three years, a half dozen Department members have also contrib-uted a regular column called "Cooking Fish" to the Hong Kong Economic Jour-nal. Taking its name from a passage in
Lao-tzu which counsels a ruler to govern a nation in the same way that you cook a
small fish, the column offers commentary on economic issues of the day, including
social security, unemployment, public housing, MFN, and Hong Kong's drive to develop high-tech industries. In 1994,
col-umns on the Government's proposed old-age pension scheme attracted much atten-tion and the ensuing public discussion led to reconsideration of the plan.
The result of all these efforts is mani-fest in growing recognition of University
economists as an important intellectual resource in the community. The Hong Kong Government recently asked the De-partment to undertake research on issues related to APEC, and the Financial Secre-tary has appointed Prof Cheng to the
Gov-ernment's Economic Advisory Commit-tee.
With a new master's degree program in economics launched this year, the De-partment anticipates increasing its faculty roster from 25 to 28 as the University reaches its planned capacity in the next two years. "We have a lot of work to do in developing our teaching materials and skills and our expertise on local issues,"
says Prof Cheng. Nevertheless, the De-partment of Economics is looking forward with confidence to expanding its research programs on the local and regional
econo-mies and to continuing its multifaceted
service to the community. D
luLD
RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENT
BUMPER HARVEST FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
The academic year 1995-96 is proving a particularly good one for the Technology Transfer Centre and its private-sector
coun-terpart, the HKUST RandD Corporation. Between 1 July and 31 December, 21 third-party contracts were signed by the RandD
Corporation, worth a total of $5.1 million. This represents an
increase of more than 60% over the $3 million in contracts earned during the whole of 1994-95, and a total increase of two
to three times is expected by the end of June.
This increase is a result of several factors: the maturing of a young institution finding its strengths and making a place for
itself in the community, the University's success in appointing faculty members who already have an international reputation
for excellence, and the strengthening of TTC.
The contracts, ranging from cooperative research
agree-ments to projects worth around $1 million, tap University exper
-tise in diverse fields such as biotechnology, manufacturing, and Cantonese teaching. We will highlight just three of these projects
here.
Dr Zaheed KARIM'S work with chip-on-glass technology (see next page for details) represents the University's fourth
contract with Motorola, all with different divisions and involv-ing different faculty members. This evolving relationship with Motorola is an important confirmation of the growing recogni-tion of the University as a valuable R&D partner in the eyes of Hong Kong's industrial sector.
Two new contracts signed with Apotech International Ltd are the third and fourth licensing agreements obtained for Prof 1. Tze-Fei WONG'S controlled-release drug delivery technology.
"The biopharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong is really just starting up, so very few companies are large enough to devote enough resources to the development of new drugs," Prof Wong explains. "The advantage of concentrating on drug delivery for
local industry is that it's high technology but not as expensive as the development of new compounds."
The licenses to Apotech cover the manufacture of sus-tained-release oral preparations of four non-proprietary drugs.
The main advantage of sustained-release preparations is that blood concentrations of the drug are kept fairly constant and
within the therapeutic window, eliminating the si
de-effects often caused by rapid-release drugs. Also, the patient may only need to take tablets once instead of
three or four times per day.
Although controlled-release technology is not new, most currently available preparations are either under patent or closely Stl"llctllre of the • slIstailled-release oral preparatioll. SPRING 1996
r---Structure of Coated Pellet
guarded secrets. Because of this, Prof Wong and his coworkers
have been adept at exploiting the opportunity to provide new
technology to local and regional manufacturers.
Their system of drug delivery, developed in conjunction with the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Industrial Research Insti-tute, uses sugar-starch spheres impregnated with the drug and coated with a specially developed polymer rate-release
mem-brane. When the drug-bearing spheres arrive in the stomach,
digestive enzymes and juices work to break down the rate-release membrane. Gradually, the drug is released and absorbed
into the blood stream as the spheres move down the digestive tract and through the intestine.
Once these new preparations are commercially available, this therapeutic technology will be accessible to the many pa-tients in Asia who cannot afford the current preparations.
Hong Kong has long had a reputation for plastics-and recently, for precision plastic components for high-tech indus-tries. As the Hong Kong economy matures, local industry is becoming a provider as well as consumer of manufacturing
technology. Hong Kong is now one of the world's largest sup-pliers of injection molding machines, due to low unit price.
Hong Kong industrialists, however, want to compete on
quality and technology as well as on price. To make this possi-ble, HKUST's Chemical Engineering Department is
collaborat-ing with a world leader in control technology, Moog
Interna-tional, to modify an adaptive control technology developed by Dr Furong GAO for use in controlling injection velocity and
packing pressure in injection molding machines.
Although injection molding seems a simple process, many parameters, such as the material properties of the plastic, the
temperature, and the geometry of the mold, interact during the process dynamics. Current controllers-devices used to control the input and output of a machine-use fixed control parameters
to calculate the controller output based on injection velocity or packing pressure. As a result, there is a down-time for trial-and-error retuning whenever there are changes in the materials,
mold, or other process conditions.
The aim of the project undertaken with Moog is to develop a prototype controller able to adapt to altered conditions within pre-set molding param-eters, resulting in more efficient quality
con-trol. D
• This dissoilltioll tester call simlliate pH cOllditiollS fall lid ill the digestive tract alld is IIsed to test the effi-ciellcy of the sllstailled-re
DEVELO::::;~CH
00
CENTRE FOR DISPLAY RESEARCH OPENS FOR BUSINESS
The Centre for Display Research (CDR), one of HKUST's premier R&D facilities, officially opened on 17 January 1996.
But work on the Centre has been in progress since August 1994, when Prof Hoi Sing KwoK of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and research collaborators from other departments at HKUST received an unprecedented $14.4 mil-lion grant from Hong Kong's Industry and Technology Develop-ment Council.
The Centre for Display Research is devoted to research and development work on liquid
crys-tal displays (LCDs). First patented in the late 1960s, these devices are normally composed of a very thin layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two high-quality, thin glass plates. An applied electrical field causes the liquid crystals at a given spot to change their essential quality from being clear to being opaque. The controlled response of liquid crystals to electricity is the fundamental principle driving LCD technology.
•
Prof Hoi Sil/g KWOK,Director-Gel/ernl of
llldllstry Mrs Regil/n [p Lnll SlIk-Yee, nlld Presidel/t Chin-Wei Woo nt the CDR
illnllgllrnl cere1ll0llY.
Creating complex images re-quires a transparent matrix or grid
This new technology is called "flip-chip" bonding. A silicon chip, which regulates the amount and rate of electricity supplied to each track in a matrix, is placed upside down directly on the bottom glass plate of an LCD. The gold bumps on the chip can be spaced 0.07 mm apart as opposed to the contacts on conventional plastic film which re
-quire a separation of 0.3 mm. • Rllbbil/g 1IInchille il/ the Cel/tre's stnte-of-the-nrt fncilities.
At present, Hong Kong pro-duces approximately 20% of the world's LCDs, but most if not all of the LCDs produced in the territory are low-end displays.
These include basic, non-matrix LCDs used for digital watches as well as passive matrix LCDs used for pagers and electronic dictionaries.
of horizontal and vertical tracks to be etched on the glass plates. The matrix on a typical pager display consists of 16 horizontal and 120 vertical indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode tracks. By rapidly applying voltage to selected tracks in succession, a programmed image or message can be formed.
The beauty of LCDs is that they are flat and thin. Unlike bulky cathode ray tubes, LCDs have opened up a burgeoning market for personal electronics, ;naking it possible to create a wide range of new applications, including pagers, laptop com-puters, and hand-held color televisions.
One of the Centre's primary goals is to advance thin-film transistor (TFT) technology for use in active matrix LCDs. By placing a tiny transistor and capacitor at each junction in a display matrix, the charge needed to turn a pixel on or off can be stored, thereby eliminati ng the need for the constant reapplication of voltage required to maintain a static image; tlus in turn makes possible larger-sized displays. Progress in this area has already been made at CDR with the development of new improved TFT structures and chemico-mechanical polishing processes.
While much of the work at the Centre concentrates on active matrix LCDs, researchers have also discovered ways to improve the quality of passive matrix LCDs, thereby extending their potential use in products. In a contract signed with Motorola Semiconductors H.K. Ltd, Dr Zaheed KARIM of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering has successfully demon-stt'ated the feasibility of mounting chips directly on glass LC panels using gold bumps and specially designed polymers to provide connections with the ITO tracks in a passive LCD matrix.
According to Prof Kwok, if Hong Kong is to survive in this very competitive market, it is going to have to upgrade its technology and manufacturing base. Production of low-end LCDs will, to a greater and greater extent, be dominated by developing countries where labor costs are low. The present-day cost of producing non-matrix LCDs is roughly $2 per square inch, whereas that of producing large active matrix LCDs is approximately $80 per square inch- 40 times as much. This cost differential provides Hong Kong with an incentive to establish a foothold in the lucrative active matrix LCD market.
Despite the fact that Japan and Korea have created an oversupply of lO-inch-diagonal color LCD screens for notebook computers, Prof Kwok feels confident that Hong Kong can compete successfully in the niche market for 4-inch-diagonal
LCDs, such as those found on camcorders and projectors.
Entering this market would normally require an investment of over $200 nullion for capital equipment and a similar amount for human resources-much more than most companies can afford. By making its research expertise and state-of-the-art equipment available to local industry, the Centre for Display Research promises to provide Hong Kong with a fast path to developing the technology and skills needed to access the grow-ing worldwide market for matrix LCDs and to secure its future
in LCD production. 0
STUDENT COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS ARE
"BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST"
Improving on their excellent
performance of last year, the
HKUST computer
program-ming team placed 11th at the
ACM international finals held
in the United States in
Febru-ary, putting them in the top 1%
of the world's student compu-ter programmers.
The four-member team,
made up of computer science
students Ken WONG Wing Kin,
Chesney WONG, Vincent Ip
Ting Pong and alternate NGAN
Sai Fong, solved five out of a
possible seven problems in the four-hour time limit at the ACM
International Collegiate Programming Finals held in
Philadel-phia on 17 February.
This year's contest was the largest ever, with 1,001 teams
around the world competing in local contests and 43 making it
through the regional semifinals to the finals. At the ACM finals
last year, the HKUST team (both Ken and Sai Fong were
members) placed 13th out of 38 finalists from a starting field of
789 teams.
''Their performance shows a high level of consistency," says their coach, Dr Michael STIBER, an assistant professor in the
Computer Science Department. "They have proven that their
excellent showing last year was no fluke. They are the best of the
best of the best, and they have the potential to do even better."
In fact, Dr Stiber says the team came "heartbreakingly
close" to solving six of the seven problems, a feat which would
have placed them among the top five teams in the world.
"They were seconds away from finding a typo in the
pro-gram which would have solved the problem," he says.
This year they beat formidable competitors such as Cal tech,
Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, and Toronto and placed well ahead
SHARP IDEA EARNS STUDENT $10,000
If
you want great ideas forelec-tronic gadgets that will appeal to
young people, whom would you ask? Why young people of course,
and ones with expertise in
elec-tronics preferably.
This is exactly what Japanese
electronics giant Sharp decided to
do, and one young student from
HKUST walked away with a
$10,000 scholarsh i p and a fi ve
-day trip to Japan for his bright
idea.
LCD Display
for Bar Code Recognizing
Second-year student LEE Wai Ki's prize-winning idea' was
of their Asian rivals. The next best showing by a
regional competitor was by the team from the
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technol-ogy, which placed 34th, followed by Tsing Hua
(38th) and Taiwan (40th).
"This contest tests fundamental computer
sci-ence background--the ability to look at a real
problem and find the underlying algorithm to get
it to work and the
talent to write a
workable
pro-gram quickly," Dr Stiber says.
"Our showing at
these con tes ts
demonstrates
that our
curricu-lum is on par
with the best; it is world-class."
The team members themselves give high marks to their
coach, who spent the months before the finals prepping the
students in weekly four-hour practice sessions or "simulated contests" .
Dr Stiber is now in the process of rebuilding the team forthis
year's round of contests. At a recent meeting open to all students
interested in computer programming, 35 new recruits tried their
hand at solving a few practice problems from the Internet
ar-chive of past ACM contests.
However, "with a three-year degree program, we are at a
disadvantage," says Dr Stiber. "Students are generally best
prepared to compete in their third year. Teams from a four-year
university have two years to compete at that level."
The Association for Computing Machinery, sponsor of the
annual competition, is the leading international professional society in computer science. 0
Cover
, Control
Outlet
for an "Organizing Keyman" with a
built-in barcode reader, common
dis-play link, and remote control center for controlling equipment around the
home.
Although Wai Ki does not know
if Sharp will eventually manufacture
his design, he thinks he can come up
with other innovative ideas and make
a career for himself in electronics. "I want to be an overall engineer--to take a new product through all the production stages from beginning to end. But the idea is the most difficult part." 0
~
<'t
~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ ~0
金一-一切
SPRING 1996 . 蛤_1_-自---高--~ --PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Wilson H. T ANGACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
(POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AND
ACADEMIC RESEARCH)
(鄧漢忠教授:)
Prof Wilson H. Tang has joined the Department of Civil Engi-neering, where he spent six months as a visiting professor in 1995.
A widely consulted 巴xpertin risk, reliability, and decision analysis
for engineering problems, he has directed research projects spon
-sored by the US National Sci巴nce FOllndation, the American Petroleum Institu肥，the Office of Solid Waste Research, and other agencies developing reliability methodologies in geotechnical, structural, offshore, and hydralllic engineering.
Prof Tang was born in Hong Kong, where he completed his secondary education. After earning his BS and MS degrees at 扎位T， he went on to obtain his PhD from Stanford University in 1969. He began t巴achingat the University of lllinois at Urbana-Champaign that sam巴 yearand was appointed professor of civil engineering in 1980.
H巴 iscredited with over 110 publications, including two widely used texts on probability concepts in engineering planning and design. He has also won several awards, including the ASCE State-of-the-Art Award, a Gllggenheim Fellowship, and the UIUC
Camplls Award for ExceIlence in Undergraduate lnstruction. 口
(沈運申教授:)
Prof Vincent Y. Shen, the founding Head of HKUST's Compu-ter Scienc巴 Department，has accepted a new appointment as Asso-ciat巴 Vice-Presidentfor Academic Affairs responsible for glliding
postgraduate study programs and academic research at HKUST
“
1 am honored to be given the opportunity to s巴rve my col-leagues in buiJding high-quality postgraduate research programs,"said Prof Shen. "1 shall do my best to provide support so that our 巴xcel1entfaculty and students can realize their potential."
Prof Shen received his BS from National Taiwan University and his MA and Pl由 fromPrinceton University. He came to HKUST in 1990 with extensive exp巳riencein academe and private industry.
He has pubJished more than 50 papers in various areas of
computer science, co-authored a book on softwar巴巴ng1l1 eenng m巴tricsand modeJs, and served on the editoriaJ boards of IEEE
Transactions 011 S吶附 eE時lI1 een嗯，IEEECo叫'Jute几 andlEEE
Software, for which he was associate editor-in-chief. As int巴enm direc仗toαrofHKUST' s S釗inoSof缸twa創reRes鉛巴a創rchCentre, he fOllnded Hong Kong SuperN哎，the first Jicensed commercial lnternet
serv-ice provider in Hong Kong. 口
Vincent Y. SHEN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC
ENGINEERING Chin-Tau LEA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMA TICS Qiang Du (杜強博士) (李景濤博士)
University of Washington (Electrical Engineer -ing)
Assoc. Professor, Georgia Institute of Technol-ogy
Broadband and wireless n巴tworkarchitectures; high-speed el 巴ctronicand photonic switchin且， network protocols.
PhD
Research Interests 1982
1991-95
Carnegie Mellon University (Mathelllatics)
Asst and Assoc. Professor, Michigan State Un 卜
verslty
Scientific cOlllputation; nUlllerical solution of nonlinear PDEs; parallel algorithllls; applied
Ill ath巴Ill atlcs.
1988 PhD
1990-95
Research Interests
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
BIOCHEMISTRY
Hannah Hong XUE
VISITING ASSOCIA TE PROFESSOR
OFFINANCE
Kalok CHA1叫
(薛紅博士)
University of Toronto (Biochemistry)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Robertson Institute of Biotechnology, University of Glasgow
Structur巴sand functions of ligand-gated
chan-n巴1receptors
1993 PhD
1993-95
(陳家樂博士)
Ohio State University (Finance)
Assoc. Professor, Arizona State University Asset prices b巴havior;futures and options; Illar -ket Illicrostructure.
1990 199
5-R巴searchInt巴rests
D
D
且
Research Interests
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Douglas B. RlGBY (李道加博士) LECTURER IN CHEMISTRY P巴ijunCONG (叢佩軍博士)
w
University of Arizona (Civil Engineering) Adjllnct Professor, University of Arizon日
Soil-strllctllre interaction; experimental testing
and constitutive mod巴ling of soils and intel
faces; grollndwater flow; finite element tech
-lllques
1996 PhD
1994-95
Research 1nt巴rests
California 1nstitute of Technology (Chemistry)
Asst Research Scienti泣，1nstitute for Nonlinear
Scienc巴，Univ巴rsityof California, San Diego
Ultrafast cbemical dynamics; nonlin巴ar las巴I
spectroscoples;巳l巴ctro-optical d巴vic巴S.
1991 PbD
1993-96
R巴search Inter巴sts
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC
ENGINEERING Mansun J. CHAN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE BoLI
(
I凍文新博士)University of Californi且，B巴rkeley (Semicon
dllctor D巳vices)
Nanom巴tricdevice physics; S01 technology fOI high-speed circllits; cl巳vicemocl巴ling(BSIM3); alltomated clevice characterization systems. PhD Research 1nt巴I巴 sts 1995 (李披博士) Univ巴rsityof Massachllsetts, AmJlerst (CompL卜 t巴r Engin巴ering)
Aclvisory Engineer, IBM Corp. (Networking Sys
tems)
ATM networks; wirel巳sscommllnications; all optical networks; intern巴tworking; syst巴m mocl巴ling ，analysis, ancl simlllation
PhD
Research 1nt巴rests
1993
1993-95
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENG INEERING
g) 如 士 F 博 n v 「
心
、慶
- -U 孫 5( ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OFINDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING &
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
Benjamin Ping-Chang YEN
(顏秉常博士)
Tsinghlla University, Beijing (Solicl Mechanics)
Professor of Mechani口，Tsinghlla Univ巴rSI句，
Beijing
Mechanics of phase transformations in solicls;
mlcrom巴 chanics constitlltive mocleling ancl
nllcrostrllctur巴 d巴signof advanced material日，
PhD
R巴5巴arch Int巴rests
1989 1994-Columbia University (Indllstrial Engineering and
Operations Research)
Manllfactming information systems; clesign of
d巴scriptionlangllage for prodllction scheclllling;
Interactlv巴optimizationof scheclllling systems.
PhD Res巴arcb1nterests 1995 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING Der巴kKwok-Wing CHAN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Jingshen Wu (吳景深博士) (陳國榮博士)
University of British Co111111bia (Accollnting)
1nstructor, University of British Colllmbia Economic analysis of alldit marke俗， 巴qllilib
rium moclels of r巴glllationof allditors; informa
tlOn econOllllCS
1995
1994
Research Interests
PhD University of Syclney (Materials Science ancl
Engineering)
Research Associat巴 AllstralianResearch Coun -cil ancl University of Syclney
Polymer bl巴ncl technology; plastics I巴cycling;
tbermoplastics/LCP in situ composites
PhD
R巴S巴arch 1nt巴rests
1994
1994-96
1995 PhD
1992-95
Res巳archInt巴rests
1994 1995 PhD Research Interests 1988 PhD 1987-94 R巴searchIntel 巴sts 1993 PhD 1993-95 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTlNG Andrew T. YJM (嚴于龍博士)
Yale University (Econoll1ics of Organization)
Lecturer, University of Hong Kong
Manag巴ll1entcontrol systems; lIse of accollnting
inforll1ation; inc巴 ntlv 巴 contractll1g; strateglc
behavior of allditors.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
INFORMATlON & SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
Christopher K. CARTER
(連基仕博士)
University of N巴wSouth Wales (Mathell1atics)
Lecturer屯，University of N巴wSouth Wales
Bayesian statistics; Markov chain Mont巴 Carlo;
tlme senes; nonparam巳tnc1 巴gl 巴sSlO n.
VISITlNG ASSIST ANT PROFESSOR
OF INFORMA TlON & SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT Pai-chun 孔1A
(馬培均博士)
New York University (Inforll1ation Syst巴Il1s)
Asst Professor, University of D巳lawar巴
Conc巴 pt visllalization; inforll1ation r巳trieval;
workflow managell1ent; negotiation ancl dec
i-sion support systems; enterprise mocl巳 ling.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
MARKETlNG
A. V. MUTHU的USHNAN
Univ巴rsityof Floricla (Marketing)
Asst Professor, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ巴rSlty
Consllmer cl巴cision making
1995 PhD Res巴arch Int巴rests 1993 PhD 1994-95 Research Interests f,liUl 1995 PI由 Research Int巴rests 1996 PhD Research Interests
w
ASSIST ANT PROFESSOR OF FINANCE
Cheol PARK
(扑晶博士)
University of Chicago (Economics)
Corporat巴 financ己;contract theory
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
INFORMA TlON & SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
Karl R巴inerLANG
(凌家偉博士)
University of Tex肘，AlIstin (Manag巴111巴ntSci
-巴nce)
Asst Profess凹，FreeUniv巴rsityof Berlin
Decision SllppOrt systell1s; qualitative reason
ing; automated model building; workflow
man-agement syst巴 ms.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
MANAGEMENT OF
ORGANISA TlONS
Madan PrLLUTLA
(費樂林博士)
University of British Colllmbia (Organizational
Behavior)
Bargaining and negotiation; trllst and
repllta-tion-bllilding by individuals and organizations;
issues of fairness and justice
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES
Siu-woo CHEUNG
(張兆和博士)
University of Washington (Anthropology)
Ethnicities ancl ethnohistories in sOllthern ancl
southwest巴rnChina; subject-icl巴ntity
constitu-tion ancl representation; tourism ancl cultural
politics.
~
LECTURER IN HUMANITIES Lru Tik-sang (廖迪生博士) LECTURER IN HUMANITIES Virgil K. Y. Ho (何傑堯博士)University of Pittsburgh (Anthropology) Fall1ily and kinship; Chinese poplllar religion and shall1anisll1; ethnicity; ecological and visual anthropology.
1995 PhD
Research Inter巴sts University of Oxford (History)
Research Fellow, University of Goth巴nburg，
Sweden
Sociocultural history of 1l10dern SOllth China;
sociocllltllral changes in contemporary GlIallgdong cOllntrysicle
1995 DPhil 1989-94 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES Xinyang WANG (王心揚博士)
ASSIST ANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIES
Zongli Lu (呂宗力博士)
Yale University (History)
As叫s討tP叭r叫of兒巴S泌s叩l 01\Wa的叫5叫hin時1泡g釗仰IωonStat紀eUniv忱附附F吧引耐E釗叮r內.百叫s
Chin巴s巴c1 iaspora hi的story; cOll1parative i ll1 m 卜
gration studies; US-China relations
1988 PhD 1991-95 Research Interests e a 、 I J n Eno sD 1 時 -m w 叫 HAUH LHau 巾心 ￠ Mm 叫呵呵、且 1 ， .. 叫叩開 仁 nl i do 仙 缸 ，心泌的 刮 目 lfl
川
WU
恥
m If--的 OωmA OV J S E 司"， -tHH VA 的 Ut M 也 wm州
以 汗， UU 叫 E E l--J ll w 八 αh mum 冶 l 巴 HA 巴 LH W 訓 mm h 白 h 叫 ‘ ULCP 1995 PhD 1990-95 Research Interests ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Jesus FELlPE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMANITIESMan-Ho Simon WONG
University of Pennsylvania (R巴gionalScience) Applied time series econometrics; prodllctivity analysis and technological progress; East and SOlltheast Asian development.
1995 PhD
Research Interests
(黃敏浩博士)
University ofToronto (Chinese Philosophy) Chinese BlIddhism; Ming Confllcianism; Tao
-Ism.
1996 PhD
Research Interests
ASSIST ANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
HONG Yu Hung
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Carsten A. HOLZ
(康宇雄博士)
Massachllsetts Institllte of Technology (Urban
Stlldies)
Res巴 arch凹， Lincoln Institllt巳 ofLancl Policy,
Cambriclg巴， Mass.
Hong Kong land and environmental policies;
property-rights isslles in land ancl environme n-tal ll1anagement; theories of urban ancl regional
dev巴 lopmen t. PhD R巴search Intel巴sts 1996 1995-96 (禮嘉博士)
Cornell University (Economics)
China's economy; d巴velopmenteconomics;
ap-pliecl macroeconomics and monetary eco
nom-ICS.
1995 PhD
Research Interests
d
『守自由自
4
ι
。
Published by Office of Public Affai同 Forinformalion: lel 1852) 2358-6302 or fax 1852) 2358-0537 SPRING 1996
