News & Stories

Prof Dekai Wu, a computational linguistics and musicology researcher in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Human Language Technology Center at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has been selected as one of the world's top researchers in the artificial intelligence and cognitive science fields of natural language processing, language engineering, and human language technology. Prof Wu was honored among the first 17 Founding Fellows of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL). The ACL is the world's largest, oldest and most prestigious international professional organization for research on making machines smart enough to learn and understand human languages, which drives the technology of leading edge companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook or IBM.

Six professors from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were recently elected 2012 Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), bringing the total number of IEEE Fellows at HKUST to 25 which is equivalent to 29% of the total number of IEEE fellows in Hong Kong. HKUST will have the highest number of newly elevated IEEE Fellows among universities and institutions in Asia.

Three professors from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have joined the ranks of the nation's best scientific minds. Prof Mingjie Zhang, Chair Professor of the Division of Life Sciences, together with Prof Tongyi Zhang and Prof Ping Cheng, Chair Professor and Professor Emeritus from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, were honored with election to membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for their outstanding scientific achievements. All three newly admitted Hong Kong scholars are HKUST faculty members. Membership in CAS is the highest academic title conferred by the Chinese government for achievements in science and technology research. The election of CAS members takes place biennially, with the total number of new members kept under 60 each time, following stringent nomination, appraisal and election processes. Membership is reserved for scientists in the disciplines of natural sciences, technology and engineering.

Four PhD students from the Schools of Science and Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) sweep all the 2011 Young Scientists Awards under the three categories of Physical / Mathematical Science, Life Science and Engineering Science this year. Established by Hong Kong Institution of Science for its 10th year, the Hong Kong Young Scientist Awards recognize and honor young scientists and engineers in Hong Kong who excel and exhibit great promise in their field of study and promote science and technology development in the region. This year's competition received a total of 65 applications. After rigorous review by individual panels formed by distinguished experts and scholars, Ms Chen Jiefei from the Department of Physics, Mr Alan Wong Siu-lun and Mr Wu Lin from the Division of Life Sciences, and Mr Li Dong from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering were declared winners of the Awards.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) held its first presentation of the School of Engineering PhD Research Excellence Award today to recognize the outstanding research achievements of its engineering PhD students and recent graduates. The award is granted to those who have made significant and influential contributions to knowledge in the discipline during their PhD studies at HKUST. The three award recipients are Dr Weiping Wang from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Dr Huanfeng Duan from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Dr Yu Zhang from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The Honorable Mention went to Dr Yinshi Li at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. All of them are 2011 PhD graduates.

Prof Nancy Ip, Dean of Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has been bestowed Knight of l'Ordre National du Mérite by Mr Arnaud Barthélémy, Consul-General of France in Hong Kong and Macau. Prof Ip is one of a handful of people who have received this decoration in Hong Kong. Knight of l'Ordre National du Mérite was established in 1963 by Charles de Gaulle who was then French President. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy decided to present Prof Ip the title and rank this year in recognition of her scientific contribution to the community, her constant efforts to establish collaborations among France, Hong Kong and Mainland China in the field of science and higher education, and her commitment to their further development.

The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program remains the world's No. 1 EMBA program, according to the Financial Times 2011 EMBA global rankings released today. This is the third year in a row that it has achieved top status. Jointly offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School) and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program has been in the top 3 since 2005 and was also ranked world's No. 1 in 2007, in addition to its current streak which began in 2009. The Financial Times 2011 EMBA global rankings tracked the performance of students who graduated in 2008 to take into account their career advancement three years after attaining the EMBA qualification. The success of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program is largely attributed to the impressive career track records of the graduates, their diversity and working experience.

According to the just released (2011) prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has continued to shine and has landed the No. 1 spot in Greater China. The exceptional achievements and impacts of HKUST Engineering School have been very widely recognized by not only the respected THE Rankings but also all other prestigious worldwide university rankings, including QS and ARWU. HKUST Engineering has been consistently ranked within the top 30 in the world in Engineering. Ranked 28th globally in Engineering and Technology, HKUST is ahead of Tsinghua University (31st), University of California, Davis (32nd), University of Hong Kong (37th), Purdue University (39th) and McGill University (47th). The top 3 universities are California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University, respectively.