Professor Andrew C. Yao, Distinguished Professor-at-Large of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, was conferred honorary doctorate by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University at its 20th Congregation on 25 October 2014.

Professor Yao is a renowned computer scientist and educator of pre-eminent international standing, and also the first Chinese scientist to receive the prestigious Turing Award of the Association for Computing Machinery, the highest honour in computer science. A world-leading computer scientist, Professor Yao has received numerous honours and awards. Before the Turing Award, he had won two prestigious awards: the George Polya Prize and the first Donald E. Knuth Prize. Professor Yao is a member of the US Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of Academia Sinica in Taipei. He was elected a foreign fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Professor Yao was born in Shanghai, China. He completed his undergraduate education in physics at Taiwan University and furthered his studies at Harvard University. After he was awarded a PhD degree in physics from Harvard University in 1972, he decided to switch to computer science, foreseeing the unprecedented changes that computer science would bring to the global community. In 1975, he received his second PhD, in computer science, from the University of Illinois. After teaching and researching at MIT (1975-1976), Stanford University (1976-1981, 1982-1986) and UC Berkeley (1981-1982), he joined Princeton University in 1986 as the William and Edna Macaleer Professor of Engineering and Applied Science. He is currently the Director of Institute of Theoretical Computer Science and Communications, CUHK

Congratulations to our student Wong Kwan Hang who represented Hong Kong at the Incheon Asian Para Games in October 2014. Wong Kwan Hang has won a gold medal along with his team members Vivian Lau and Leung Yuk Wing in the Boccia Mixed Pairs BC4 event.

Established in 1994, the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering (MAE) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Over the years, the academics of the Department have been striving for the highest standards in teaching and research. They have been making strenuous efforts to develop innovative technology to improve people’s lives. The challenges of the 21st century for engineering have demanded that the MAE Department diversify and focus on new research areas in biomedical instrumentation and systems, microelectromechanical systems, micro/nanotechnology, as well as launch a new undergraduate programme – Energy Engineering. Among the over 1,000 graduates the MAE Department has nurtured, many have now distinguished themselves in the profession. Recently, two members of the Department, Prof. Wang Jun and Prof. Wong Tak Sing have each received a prestigious award for their remarkable achievement.

Prof. Wang Jun Received IEEE Neural Networks Pioneer Award

Prof. Wang Jun, Professor of the MAE Department, received the ‘Neural Networks Pioneer Award’ at the biennial IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) World Congress on Computational Intelligence from the IEEE President-elect for his outstanding achievements on neurodynamic optimization. Started in 1991, the ‘Neural Networks Pioneer Award’ is considered as the highest honour recognizing outstanding contributions of prominent scientists in the field of neural networks. Professor Wang is the second Chinese and third Asian to receive this honor.

Professor Wang has been working on the theory and applications of neural networks since the late 1980s. He has made significant contributions in neurodynamic optimization and its applications by developing a complete framework for theoretical analysis and model design which can be applied in scientific computing, data and signal processing, intelligent robots, intelligent control, network flow optimization, and associative memories. Professor Wang received the Research Excellence Award from CUHK in 2008-2009, the Natural Science Award (first class) from Shanghai Municipal Government in 2009, the Outstanding Achievement Award from Asia Pacific Neural Network Assembly, and the First-class award in Natural Sciences from the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2011. He is an IEEE Fellow and currently serving as the editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics.

Distinguished alumnus named one of the world's top 35 innovators by MIT Technology Review

Prof. Wong Tak Sing, a distinguished alumnus from the MAE Department, has recently been selected as one of the world's top 35 innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review. Previous awardees included Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook; Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google; and Jonathan Ive, the chief designer of Apple. Professor Wong is currently an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. He received a bachelor's degree from the MAE Department, CUHK (formally known as the Department of Automation and Computer-aided Engineering) in 2003 and a PhD degree from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2009. He was a Croucher Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Professor Wong is recognized for his achievement in ‘inventing one of today’s most intriguing and potentially useful new materials’ called SLIPS, for ‘slippery liquid–infused porous surface’. It repels any type of liquid, from oil to water to blood, and prevents bacteria from contaminating the human body. In addition to the great potential medical application, the materials could also be used to coat a ship to prevent barnacles from sticking to the surface.

Professor Wong said, ‘I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous support from my former mentors and colleagues at CUHK, UCLA, and Harvard, as well as my current research group at The Pennsylvania State University. I also want to thank my parents and older siblings who have been my role models, and taught me the importance of hard-work and perseverance in life. The encouragement from my parents to pursue my career based on my interests has been instrumental. I hope my example will inspire the younger generations in Hong Kong to pursue a career based on their interests.’

Professor Wong's research focuses on micro/nanoengineering, interfacial phenomena, and biologically inspired engineering with applications in materials science, water, health, and energy. Professor Wong is also among the 20 distinguished alumni selected by the MAE Department, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, in recognition of his contributions to the academia.

Prof. CHIU Siu Wai, School of Life Sciences and Prof. CHENG Chun Hung, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, CUHK have jointly developed an innovative ‘Tree Guard Monitoring System’, with a sponsorship from the Chung Chi College. The automatic monitoring system allows round-the-clock surveillance against possible tree theft, as well as risk of collapse for tilt and sick trees. The system can be adopted by country parks, property managements as well as garden managements.

As early as the Song Dynasty, farmers in Hong Kong planted Incense trees for producing and exporting fragrant products. The precious Incense trees have been in high demand, especially among the illegal traffickers in the mainland. The endangered and vulnerable Incense trees are conserved by The State Council of China as a national protection wild plant (second class). In Hong Kong, thefts of Incense trees, as well as the Buddhist Pine, another precious species known as the ‘Fung Shui’ tree, have been very frequent recently. The incidents have prompted Prof. CHIU Siu Wai and Prof. CHENG Chun Hung, with a team of CUHK students and staff (including Mr. Stanley LO and Mr. Sam HUNG from the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management), to develop the novel ‘Tree Guard Monitoring System’ to protect the plants, as well as to monitor the collapse risk of hazardous trees.

The ‘Tree Guard Monitoring System’ consists of multiple sensors, such as sonic, temperature, humidity and tilt sensors, which are integrated into a hardware device with wireless communication capabilities for continuous monitoring. When the device is mounted on the tree, alerts will be sent to the control room when abnormal activities on the trees, such as sawing and hammering are identified. The same principles can be applied to monitoring tilt and sick trees.

The natural environment is complicated and ever changing. For instance, a storm may destroy the devices, and minor movement may trigger the alarm system. Therefore it is a great challenge for the researchers to develop a robust system with the least chance of false alarms. Nonetheless, Mr. Lo and Mr. Hung insisted on carrying on the research and development of the system.

Prof. CHENG Chun Hung explains, ‘The “Tree Guard Monitoring System” utilizes various wireless technologies to form a scalable wireless mesh network for transmitting sensor data to the control center. The wireless communication network can be scaled up for wider coverage in two dimensions: 1) expansion within a tree group with low-bandwidth, low-energy wireless communication; and 2) extending the coverage in multiple tree groups with Wi-Fi network communication, which should be readily available in many private premises and government facilities.’

Prof. CHIU Siu Wai said, ‘The system can provide useful real-time data for the tree management teams to devise proactive and reactive measures for safeguarding trees. In future, we also hope to set an early warning mechanism for trees with collapse risk, so that preventive measures can be carried out as early as possible to avoid accidents and casualties.’

Albeit difficult, Professor Chiu and Prof. Cheng still deemed it worthwhile to develop the system for protecting the trees and people’s lives. CUHK has been actively undertaking tree management research and offering recommendations to the authorities. In October 2010, Prof. CHIU Siu Wai urged the government to formulate a sustainable tree strategy and establish a tree health database in Hong Kong to improve the effectiveness of tree management. She has developed two novel tree management skills—‘paint coating’ and ‘micro-drill sampling’, which can help prevent trees from dying due to pest infestations, prevent Incense trees from producing resin, as well as detect hidden tree diseases and structural defect at an early stage. Professor Chiu has held five different ‘Tree pests and treatment workshops’, in which various experts introduced common tree diseases, controlling strategies for sick trees, and shared tree management experience. Participants could learn and practise on-site during the workshop.