News & Stories

Professors YU Jianzhen and JI Yan from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have been selected for fellowship awards under the 2025/26 Research Grants Council (RGC)’s Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) and Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) respectively. Their research projects, which focus on atmospheric analytical chemistry and investigating AI-powered imperfect competition in financial markets, have secured over HK$13.6 million in grants.

Chemists at the School of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently made a significant breakthrough in photocatalysis by unveiling a “super” photoreductant, marking a major advancement in organic synthesis. Quantum dots (QDs) hold great promise as photocatalysts for promoting photoredox chemistry, however, their application in photocatalytic organic transformations has lagged behind that of small molecule photosensitizers due to the limited understanding of their photophysics. While various studies have explored the generation of hot electrons from QDs as a strategy to enhance photoreduction efficiencies, achieving effective hot-electron generation under mild conditions has posed a significant challenge.

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research team led by Prof. SUN Jianwei and Prof. LIN Zhenyang from the Department of Chemistry has developed a catalytic enantioselective type II [5 + 2] cycloaddition method to address the challenges of synthesizing chiral bridged polycyclic structures, particularly those with a bridged seven-membered subunit. This innovative approach utilizes 3-oxidopyrylium ylides to create the desired complex shapes, paving the way for more applications in the rapid synthesis and diversification of other valuable complex molecules, including important natural products and drug molecules. Chiral bridged polycyclic structures, particularly those bearing a bridged seven-membered subunit, represent a complex and intriguing molecular architecture found in many natural and biologically significant compounds. However, synthesizing these structures has posed substantial challenges for chemists.

Boracycles are important functional scaffolds, finding increasing applications in catalysis, synthesis, materials science, and pharmaceuticals. However, current studies predominantly focus on three-, five-, and six-membered boracycles, leaving four-membered boracycles largely unexplored. A research team led by Prof. QUAN Yangjian and Prof. LIN Zhenyang from the Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with Prof. LYU Hairong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has made a breakthrough in developing an efficient synthetic approach to four-membered boracycles. This advancement enables the facile synthesis of other previously inaccessible boracycles, which may lead to valuable applications.

The Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), hosted the 31st Symposium on Chemistry Postgraduate Research in Hong Kong on March 22, 2025, at its Clear Water Bay campus. Since its inception in 1994, the symposium has been a flagship annual event, bringing together postgraduate students, faculty members from all UGC-funded institutions, and industry partners to showcase cutting-edge chemistry research and foster academic and professional collaborations.

A research team led by Associate Professor Ding PAN from the Department of Physics and the Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with Prof. Yuan Yao from the Department of Mathematics, has made significant discoveries regarding the complex reaction mechanisms of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in supercritical water. These findings are crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms of CO₂ mineralization and sequestration in nature and engineering, as well as the deep carbon cycle within the Earth's interior.

Croucher Foundation held its Foundation Day Dinner and Awards Presentation Ceremony on 6 December to present the Croucher Senior Research Fellowships 2025 to three distinguished scholars from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), for their outstanding scientific research achievements. Professor Rosie Young, GBS, JP, Honorary Fellow, world-renowned physician was the Guest of Honour at the ceremony.  The list of awardees is as follows: Professor Jianwei Sun Professor, Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Professor Xiaoming Yuan Professor, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science,  The University of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) held its Congregation 2024 today (November 23). The occasion witnessed the conferment of Honorary Doctorates upon four prominent and distinguished leaders by HKUST Pro-Chancellor Dr. John CHAN Cho-Chak, in recognition of their remarkable accomplishments and contributions. Also joining the ceremony included HKUST Council Chairman Prof. Harry SHUM, HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP, and other members of the senior management team. This year’s recipients of the Honorary Doctorate, listed in alphabetical order of surnames, were:  Dr. Jensen HUANG, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA – Doctor of Engineering honoris causa Mr. Tony LEUNG Chiu-Wai, the Golden Lion-winning actor – Doctor of Humanities honoris causa