News & Stories

Commander Christopher Cassidy, astronaut with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), visited the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today. He told a captivated audience about the selection process to become an astronaut, life at NASA prior to mission assignment, the training involved and the mission itself. He also discussed his experience with the International Space Station. Commander Cassidy was born in 1970. In 1993, he graduated from the US Naval Academy with a BS degree in Mathematics. Thereafter he pursued his MS studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he graduated in 2000 with an MS in Ocean Engineering. In 2004 he was selected by NASA for astronaut training, which he completed in 2006. His first space mission was in 2009 and he has performed three space walks totaling over 18 hours. For media enquiries, please feel free to contact : Ross Lai

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) President Tony F Chan today took part in a student activity organized by Hall 7 to promote a healthy lifestyle within the university community through rope skipping. President Chan also signed a pledge to maintain fitness through regular exercise. He also took part in both the individual and group skipping activities. For media enquiries, please feel free to contact : Ross Lai Tel: 2358 6306 / 9103 2928 Email: rosslai@ust.hk   Donna Wong Tel: 2358 6317 Email: donnaw@ust.hk  

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will be conferring honorary doctorates on four eminent academics and community leaders in recognition of their illustrious contributions and achievements. Chief Executive of HKSAR Government and HKUST Chancellor, the Hon Donald Tsang, will officiate at the conferment ceremony on 13 November (Friday) at HKUST's 17th Congregation. The four recipients and the honorary degrees they will receive are: Dr CHAN Cho-Chak John - Doctor of Social Science honoris causa Prof Gregory C CHOW - Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa Prof Daniel C TSUI - Doctor of Science honoris causa Dr the Hon Joseph YAM Chi-Kwong - Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa Brief biography of the recipients Dr CHAN Cho-Chak John

為 進 一 步 加 強 2009 年 內 地 和 臺 灣 的 招 生 工 作 ， 香 港 科 技 大 學 （ 科 大 ） 將 首 次 舉 行 「 內 地 和 臺 灣 本 科 生 招 生 開 放 日 」 。   開 放 日 將 於 2009 年 1 月 31 日 （ 星 期 六 ） 在 科 大 位 於 香 港 清 水 灣 的 校 園 舉 行 。 科 大 將 邀 請 內 地 各 省 市 和 臺 灣 的 優 秀 高 中 生 和 家 長 親 臨 科 大 校 園 ， 實 地 與 各 學 院 的 教 授 和 同 學 交 流 ， 並 參 觀 校 內 設 施 。 此 外 ， 科 大 亦 會 詳 細 介 紹 2009 年 內 地 和 臺 灣 本 科 生 招 生 程 序 。 科 大 於 2000 年 首 次 在 深 圳 市 自 主 招 收 內 地 本 科 生 。 2003 年 起 ， 招 生 範 圍 陸 續 擴 大 ， 由 內 地 四 省 兩 市 擴 大 至 目 前 二 十 一 省 四 市 。 過 去 五 年 ， 科 大 在 各 省 市 共 招 收 了 近 800 名 內 地 本 科 生 ； 申 請 人 數 和 新 生 的 水 平 每 年 不 斷 提 升 ， 入 學 競 爭 非 常 激 烈 。 去 年 ， 科 大 更 將 招 生 範 圍 由 內 地 擴 至 臺 灣 ， 在 臺 灣 錄 取 了 三 名 非 常 優 秀 的 同 學 。 關 於 科 大 開 放 日 詳 情 ， 請 瀏 覽 http://msp.ust.hk/openday   For media enquiries, please feel free to contact : Ross Lai Tel: 2358 6306 / 9103 2928 Email: rosslai@ust.hk

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will be conferring honorary doctorates on five eminent academics and community leaders in recognition of their illustrious contributions and achievements. The conferment will take place on 14 November 2008 at HKUST’s 16th Congregation. The five recipients and the honorary degrees they will receive are: Dr CHAN Sui Kau – Doctor of Social Science honoris causa Prof Aaron J CIECHANOVER – Doctor of Science honoris causa Prof David J GROSS – Doctor of Science honoris causa Prof Shuji NAKAMURA – Doctor of Engineering honoris causa Prof Chia-Wei WOO – Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa Dr the Hon Sir Sze-Yuen Chung, Pro-Chancellor of HKUST, will officiate at the conferment ceremony. Brief biography of the five recipients

Prof Alan Heeger, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2000, today (Friday) unveiled to a packed lecture hall at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology the secrets of "plastic solar cells" with the world's highest energy efficiency rating for such cells made with organic materials. This was part of a series of Distinguished Lectures hosted by the University's Institute of Advanced Study. "I am excited to have led a research team that created a new low-cost 'tandem' organic solar cell with 6.5% efficiency, the highest record for solar cells made with organic materials. This technology is now under active development toward commercialization, and is expected to have significant contribution to meeting the energy needs of our planet in the future." said Professor Heeger.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has today (Wednesday) conferred Honorary Fellowship on four distinguished community leaders in recognition of their contributions to Hong Kong. The four are: Dr James William Hayes, Mr Hui Hok-Chee, Ir Dr Lo Wai-Kwok and Dr Tam Wai-Ho Samson. HKUST Pro-Chancellor Dr the Honorable Sir Sze-Yuen Chung, Council Chairman Dr the Honorable Marvin Cheung, and President Paul Chu officiated at the conferment ceremony.

Dr Minoru Etoh, Deputy Managing Director of NTT DoCoMo Research Laboratories and Vice President of NTT DoCoMo, a leading mobile communications company in the world, delivered a distinguished lecture today (Friday) on "Insights into Mobile Applications beyond 3G" at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). This was the first lecture given by Dr Etoh at a Hong Kong university. In his lecture, Dr Etoh shared with the audience the current progress of mobile multimedia applications in Japan's broadband cellular environment. He explored the potential expansion of wireless broadband to "fixed-line" internet applications, in addition to the capacity of music download and video clip delivery. Dr Etoh also identified how mobile specific aspects such as mobile multimedia area, mobile advertisement and e-commerce have enriched our daily life and gave his insights into the future development of mobile internet.