News & Stories
2026
News
HKUST Study Reveals Why Tropical Cyclones Rainfall Surges Before Landfall
A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has analyzed 40 years of data covering around 1,500 tropical cyclones and discovered that average rain rates surge by more than 20% in the 60 hours before landfall. The study is also the first to clearly identify the physical mechanisms behind this increase, showing that rising humidity over coastal areas and enhanced land-sea frictional contrasts strengthen convection, intensifying rainfall ahead of landfall. The results provide valuable insights for improving coastal disaster preparedness and early‑warning systems.
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HKUST Develops First AI Toolkit “GrainBot” to Automate Quantitative Microstructure Analysis
A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed GrainBot, an AI-enabled toolkit that automatically extracts and quantifies multiple microstructural features from microscopy images. Designed to meet the growing need for data-driven and autonomous research workflows in materials science, the tool provides a systematic method for converting complex image information into quantitative data, thereby accelerating the discovery and development of next-generation materials.
Stories
HKUST Alumni Commons Opens with a Joyous Feast of Togetherness
Our alumni community joined “The opening ceremony of the Alumni Commons and A Feast of Togetherness – Poon Choi Party.” on January 17, 2026 (Saturday) on the Clear Water Bay campus at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). The event was co-organized with the HKUST Alumni Association and the HKUST Convocation.The HKUST Alumni Commons is the first dedicated on-campus space where alumni can renew friendships, spark new ideas, and foster lasting bonds across generations. With more than 100,000 alumni worldwide, this dedicated location is set to become an iconic presence on campus.
News
HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP Welcomes 2026-27 Budget
Prof. Nancy IP, President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), warmly welcomes the 2026-27 Budget delivered today by the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She said, "2026 marks the outset of the nation's '15th Five-Year Plan'. The Budget sets out important initiatives to enable Hong Kong to proactively align with national strategies, integrate into the country's overall development, and drive long-term, high quality development for both the nation and Hong Kong."
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HKUST Achieves First Certified Breakthrough in Fully Solvent‑Free Perovskite Solar Cell Technology
Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have made a major breakthrough in producing perovskite solar cells. They developed a multi-source co-evaporation recipe that markedly enhances the crystal quality of vacuum-deposited perovskite films. The advance brings all vacuum-deposited single-junction perovskite cells as well as perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells closer to scalable production. This breakthrough has been reported in Nature Materials, in a paper entitled “Crystal-facet-directed all-vacuum-deposited perovskite solar cells”.
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Four HKUST Scholars Elected as ACM Fellows 2025 for Outstanding Research Achievements in Computer Science
Four scholars from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have been honored as Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s largest professional organization in computer science. ACM has named 71 new Fellows globally this year, and among the 12 Fellows based in Asia, four are from HKUST.HKUST’s honourees include Prof. Tim Kwang-Ting CHENG, Vice-President for Research and Development, Chair Professor of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Prof. Jiaya JIA, Chair Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Director of the Von Neumann Institute; Prof. Ke YI, Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering; and Prof. Hui XIONG, Associate Vice-President (Knowledge Transfer) and Chair Professor of the Thrust of Artificial Intelligence at HKUST (Guangzhou).
Stories
HKUST and Yiyu Network advance cultural technology innovation and industry-academia-research collaboration
On February 5, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Yiyu Network formalized a donation agreement, marking the beginning of an enduring partnership dedicated to frontier research and talent nurturing.HKUST senior leadership and faculty members in attendance included Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement; Prof. XU Kun, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Mathematics; and Prof. CHEN Kani, Professor in both the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics. Student representatives and senior leaders from Yiyu Network were also present.
News
HKUST Nobel Symposium: Globally-esteemed Scientists Illuminate New Frontiers in Science
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) successfully hosted the Nobel Symposium, which engaged over 450 students, faculty members, and public guests. Held as part of the celebrations for HKUST's 35th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of IAS, this academic event, themed "Horizons Unbound: Exploring the Ultimate Frontiers of Science," showcased insights from some of the most influential scientific minds globally.Through inspiring discussions, the speakers examined science's transformative power in shaping humanity's future. The symposium provided a platform for these leaders to collaborate with HKUST faculty, students, alumni, and researchers in exploring the furthest frontiers of science, further reinforcing the university’s commitment to serving as a hub for knowledge exchange and talent development.The four keynote speakers include:Prof. Paul C. W. CHU