News & Stories

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a cutting-edge AI-assisted 3D food printing solution that combines printing with infrared cooking, paving the way for safer, more efficient, and visually appealing food production. Traditional 3D food printing methods often require additional postprocessing steps, which can have unappealing food ingredients, imperfect shapes, and even potential microbial contamination. To address these challenges, the team from the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD) at HKUST has developed an AI-enhanced system that combines extrusion-based printing with simultaneous infrared heating for on-the-fly cooking of intricate starch-based foods. Using graphene heaters for cooking, they precisely controlled the cooking process, ensuring that starch-based food items retain their intended shape and quality.

A research team led by Prof. LIU Kai from the Division of Life Science and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has established an innovative intracranial pre-olivary pretectal nucleus (OPN) optic tract injury model (pre-OPN OTI), shedding light on crucial mechanisms of functional axonal rewiring following central nervous system injury.

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.

Tropical marine low clouds play a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate. However, whether they mitigate or exacerbate global warming has long remained a mystery. Now, researchers from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a groundbreaking method that significantly improves accuracy in climate predictions. This led to a major discovery – that tropical cloud feedback may have amplified the greenhouse effect by a staggering 71% more than previously known to scientists. The effects of tropical low clouds are difficult to investigate because they are influenced by a variety of factors. Commonly used low cloud controlling factors often struggle to separate the influence of local sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from that of temperatures in the free troposphere – the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, casting uncertainty in projections.

Scholars at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have unveiled an innovation that brings artificial intelligence (AI) closer to quantum computing – both physically and technologically. Led by Prof. SHAO Qiming, Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, the research team has developed a new computing scheme that works at extremely low temperatures. As a critical advancement in quantum computing, it can significantly reduce latency between artificial intelligence (AI) agents and quantum processors while boosting energy efficiency. The solution was made possible by utilizing a special technology known as magnetic topological insulator Hall-bar devices.

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed the world’s first kilowatt-scale elastocaloric cooling device. The device can stabilize indoor temperatures at a comfortable 21-22°C in just 15 minutes, even when outdoor temperatures reach between 30-31°C, marking a significant breakthrough toward the commercial application of elastocaloric solid-state cooling technology. The research findings have been published in the leading international science journal Nature, offering a promising solution to combat climate change and accelerate low-carbon transformation of the global cooling industry. 

A collaborative research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), and the National Center for Applied Mathematics Shenzhen (NCAMS) has introduced a nitrogen-centric framework that explains the light-absorbing effects of atmospheric organic aerosols. Published in Science, this groundbreaking study reveals that nitrogen-containing compounds play a dominant role in the absorption of sunlight by atmospheric organic aerosols worldwide. This discovery signifies a major step towards improving climate models and developing more targeted strategies to mitigate climate impact of airborne particles.