HKU Bulletin May 2012 (Vol. 13 No. 2)

Outstanding Young Researcher Award Exceptional academic staff aged under 40 and ranked Associate Professor or below are recognised with this award. Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award Supervisors who guide their students to research excellence receive $25,000 to further their research and a Type B research postgraduate studentship. Dr Choi Hoi-wai Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Unwavering perseverance and determination are the pillars of Dr Choi’s research. In today’s environmentally-conscious world he sees it as only sensible to be developing electrical appliances that use less energy and one of the main aims of his current research is to develop solid-state lighting based on semi- conductor light-emitting devices that will promise substantial energy savings. “My passion for research into light-emitting devices originated from my passion for lasers,” states Dr Choi. He passes his own enthusiasm on to his students, countering the more mundane aspects of detailed research with an unflagging optimism and innovative problem-solving. “He always has a novel idea to tackle difficulties and challenges,” says PhD student Li Kwai-hei. At HKU’s Semiconductor Lighting and Display Laboratory, which Dr Choi established, he leads a team of researchers investigating frontier research topics including optical micro-cavities, nanophotonics, micro-displays and laser micromachining. “While conducting research is undoubtedly a pain-staking process,” says Dr Choi, “it is also a discovery into the unknown. Research is about innovation, passion and perseverance and about finding solutions nobody has ever thought of rather than an extension of existing solutions.” Dr Roberta Pang Wen-chi Department of Surgery If you’re looking for a nine-to-five job, don’t go into research – that is Dr Pang’s advice to new research students. “You have to expect very long work hours and sometimes those hours might not result in anything.” Sometime they do however, and Dr Pang has experienced considerable success in her research area – cancer, particularly of the liver and colon. She published the first study to identify a population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) with metastatic properties from human cancer, which could accurately predict the development of metastasis in colorectal cancer patients. She has also established close collaborations with several major pharmaceutical companies to design pre- clinical studies testing novel compounds for the treatment of cancer. A lot of research is teamwork and Dr Pang counts herself “very lucky to have very good students and very good research assistants to support my work. We as a team work together to come up with very good ideas and very good research.” She hopes that her research on CSCs will help improve the diagnosis and management of cancer patients, and may contribute to efforts to ultimately conquer cancer. Dr Benjamin John Cowling School of Public Health The epidemiology of influenza and other respiratory viruses is at the heart of Dr Cowling’s research. He and his research team have scrutinised how easily influenza viruses can spread in households, and the efficacy of measures to reduce transmission such as face-masks and improved hygiene. “I’m interested in studying infectious diseases because they are all around us all the time,” he explains. “Things like influenza can appear very quickly.” “It’s terrible to think that these diseases can strike so suddenly and so severely, and that’s what fascinates me about researching infections.” His recent research has focused on the effectiveness of influenza vaccines in children, and the complex transmission dynamics of the different respiratory viruses that continually circulate in Hong Kong. “Infectious diseases are changing all the time, and we need to work hard to keep up with them,” says Dr Cowling, “and we are now trying hard to find more ways that we can reduce their impact and do more to reduce the spread of different kinds of diseases.” Dr Stephen James Matthews School of Humanities (Linguistics) It has been said that music is a language. Dr Matthews, a violinist, has adapted that analogy to his work with students. “Supervising students is actually like playing second violin. You’re playing the supporting role and trying to get the best out of each student according to their talents and interests,” he says. Dr Matthews encourages his students to pursue unexplored topics and keeps an open door so they feel welcome to use his resources and discuss their research ideas at any time. The discussions can be wide-ranging and one student, Elaine, who graduated with an MPhil in 2006, found this very helpful in developing her thesis. “We always talked about music in our lives and meaning, and that led me to think about the relationship between music and language. I’m really thankful for these discussions because they helped me in writing my paper on Cantonese lyrics and music,” she says. Dr Matthews also extends his advice beyond academic work, to encourage students when they are struggling. “Students often want to give up for different reasons but so far I’ve always managed to persuade them not to give up, that they can do it,” he says. Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai Department of Social Work and Social Administration While Hong Kong is renowned for its devotion to economic development and maintaining high GDP growth, Professor Yip believes that too often human development is neglected. “It is time to ensure the gains from economic development benefit the whole community,” he says. “Our job is to find a research gap so we can make a difference to our community and make a better world.” Over the years much of his research has been into solving social problems and suicide prevention, areas you might expect students to shy away from. Yet, armed with a strong passion for the community and fine analytical skills, Professor Yip successfully attracts students to join him in his many research projects. He feels that a supervisor’s job is to hold the keys to open up new ideas for students and spark in them an enthusiasm for undertaking research. Professor Yip maintains that all students are different: “It is not a case of one size fits all. We need to bring out the best in each of them so they can develop into independent researchers who will be a benefit to the community.” Current PhD student Zhang Yi welcomes Professor Yip’s individual approach to students, saying: “He gave me space to explore the research and the social issues myself.” May 2012 37 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin Teaching and Research Awards