For Immediate Release 9 March 1995
LEADERS OF MICROMACHINE REVOLUTION TALK AT HKUST
Motors no bigger than the cross-section of a human hair promise to change our lives as dramatically as the invention of the integrated circuit and the subsequent computer revolution have done.
That is the opinion of Professors Chih-Ming Ho and Yu-Chong Tai, two of the world’s leading researchers in the field of Micro Electra Mechanical Systems, or MEMS.
They will be sharing their vast knowledge of this rapidly expanding field in five afternoon seminars organised by the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The introductory session is on Friday, 10 March 1995.
Professor Tai is developing, among many other projects, a prototype micromotor for a computer disk drive designed to have one gigabyte of capacity &thin an envelope the size of a credit card. He expects the product will be available to consumers in 1997.
Professor Ho is leading Tai and other researchers in building a “smart wing” system for the US military that would reduce the turbulent and gas-guzzling drag on aircraft wings. The system is made up of thousands of pinhead-size silicon flaps which are computer activated to control airflow.
“This is the first time anyone has demonstrated that a macromachine can be controlled by a micromachine,” Professor Ho told The Sunday Times last November when Ho’s team announced their findings.
“I am evangelizing micromachining as everybody uses machines,” says Professor Tai, an electrical engineer at Caltech. Tai was on the team which developed the world’s first micromotor less than 10 years ago.
The seminars are open to everyone. Details are as follows: Seminar I: 2-5p.m., 10 March 1995, Room 3027 (Lift No. 1) Seminar II: 2-5p.m., 13 March 1995, Room 3027 (Lift No. 1) Seminar III: 2-5p.m., 14 March 1995, Room 3027 (Lift No. 1) Seminar IV: 2-5p.m., 15 March 1995, Room 3027 (Lift No. 1) Seminar V: 2-5p.m., 16 March 1995, Room 3027 (Lift No. 1)
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ote to Editors . .
Please direct enquiries to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 2358 8650 or the Office of Public Affairs at 2358 6305 / 2358 8555.
