Medicine Dr Chu Hin Department of Microbiology Science Dr Jenny Lee Hiu-ching Department of Physics Dr Dai Lixin Department of Physics Dr Liu Junzhi Department of Chemistry Dr Zheng Chaogu School of Biological Sciences Dr Louise Amy Ashton School of Biological Sciences Engineering Dr Huang Zhiyi Department of Computer Science Dr Wang Zhongrui Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dr Li Can Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Established HKU researchers received a number of international awards during the year, while young up-and-coming academics were recognised in prestigious national funding exercises. HONOURS FOR OUR SCHOLARS Young academics are garnering national recognition for their groundbreaking work. Chief among them are Professor Yao Wang, Chair of Physics, and Professor Huang Mingxin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who were both winners of the 2021 Xplorer Prize, which honours the top 50 scientists under 45 in China. Professor Yao is also leading a recently awarded HK$80 million Area of Excellence (AoE) grant for research on two-dimensional materials, and was named among the world’s highly cited researchers in his field in consecutive years from 2018 to 2021 by Clarivate. Professor Huang has made breakthroughs in developing advanced steels and alloys, and lightweight materials for automotive applications. Nine young HKU scientists were awarded under China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund 2021, the most among institutions in Hong Kong and Macau. An award of RMB1.6 million (HK$1.92 million) over a maximum of three years is given to each recipient – male scientists must be aged under 38 and female scientists aged under 40. HKU’s recipients included: Medical research Professor Malik Peiris, Chair of Virology, was jointly awarded major international prizes twice during the year. He and Professor Guan Yi, Daniel CK Yu Professor in Virology and Chair of Emerging Viral Diseases, received the 2021 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, the first HKUMed laureates of this prestigious award, for their significant contributions to the control of zoonotic influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Meanwhile, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Chair of Infectious Diseases and Professor Peiris were jointly awarded China’s ‘Nobel’ prize, the 2021 Future Science Prize in life sciences, which recognises outstanding scholars in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. They were honoured for their discoveries related to SARS and its zoonotic origin, which have helped combat COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases. Chemistry Professor Vivian Yam Wing-wah, Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy and Chair of Chemistry, received the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Award – the 2022 Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry, in recognition of her exceptional accomplishments in fundamental research in photochemistry. She was cited for her work in inorganic / organometallic photochemistry through innovative design of chromophoric / luminescent metal complexes and their supramolecular assemblies for advancing OLED, sensing and solar energy research. The award is presented biennially to researchers who have made outstanding contributions in fundamental photochemistry. Physics HKU’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Xiang Zhang, Chair of Physics and Engineering, was honoured by the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) with the 2021 SPIE Mozi Award for his pioneering work in optical physics research. He has made seminal, fundamental contributions on metamaterials, super-imaging lenses, nano lasers and 2D materials, and made an experimental demonstration of the first optical super lens, which opened a new field of study. Engineering Professor Li Yuguo, Chair Professor of Building Environment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was recipient of the Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award 2021 of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in recognition of his research on the environmental transmission of diseases, stretching back nearly two decades. Recently, Professor Li applied his expertise to show how ventilation played a role in more than 15 major COVID-19 outbreaks in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. Professor Alfonso HW Ngan, Kingboard Professor in Materials Engineering and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was the only Asian named International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering this year. Professor Ngan is a worldleading expert on the microstructural basis of material strength, particularly for micro-sized materials, and he leads a nanomechanics characterisation laboratory at HKU. GLOBALLY ACCLAIMED RISING STARS Professor Malik Peiris Professor Guan Yi Professor Yuen Kwok-yung Professor Vivian YamWing-wah Professor Xiang Zhang Professor Li Yuguo Professor Alfonso HW Ngan Professor Huang Mingxin Professor Yao Wang Research and Innovation HKU ANNUAL REPORT 2021 28 | 29
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