HKU Bulletin January 2005 (Vol. 6 No. 2)

Dr Ricky Kwok Yu Kwong Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering D r Kwok has been working on parallel processing research, and on research problems related to mobi le computing, wireless networking, grid computing infrastructure technologies, and distributed algorithms. He has published widely on these areas of research in professional journals, and has also co- authored two books on advanced wireless communications and mobile Internet. His recent research endeavours have focused on ad hoc mobi le distr ibuted comput ing, high per formance wi reless networking, short-range wi reless communication technologies, reconfigurable and adaptive computing, and security issues in Grid computing. Dr Kwok says that doing research is like solving a difficult puzzle. First of all you have to set the problem in context, then you have to generate novel ideas, then you have to proceed by trial and error until you find a solution, and finally you have to communicate your findings so that they can be of use to others. Looking back at his career, he says he has been lucky enough to solve a number of small puzzles; but he still looks forward to the challenge of solving some more fundamental problems. ykwok@eee.hku.hk http://www.eee.hku .hk/staff_personal/ykkwok.htm 13 12 The Outstanding Young Researcher Award is given to researchers of promise who have attained excellence in their research performance within 10 years of receiving their PhD or equivalent. Dr Chan Wai Kin Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry D r Chan is interested in studying the chemical and physical properties of novel metal-containing polymers. Most of the plastic products commonly used in our daily lives are organic polymers, based on non-metallic elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Dr Chan discovered that when some organic pol ymers were incorporated wi th metal complexes, the resultant materials exhibited interesting optical and electronic properties, and have important applications in the latest generation of light emitting devices, solar cells, and chemical sensors. He has published more than 80 articles on his chosen field of research in various international journals. Dr Chan bel ieves that scienti f ic research is bound to become more interdisciplinary in nature, and that scientists will have to learn to work closely with their peers in several different fields rather than restricting themselves to a single area of interest. He has put this philosophy into practice, and is presently col laborating on a number of research projects wi th col leagues in other facul t ies and departments. He also welcomes the opportunity to meet students from other scient i f ic discipl ines in the course of thei r studies, and encourages their work. waichan@hku.hk http://chem.hku.h k/~chemhome/staff/wkchan/wkchan.htm Outstanding Young Researcher Award Outstanding Young Researcher Award EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH