News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is proud to be the exclusive university partner of the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau for the Anita Conti Sustainable Innovation Fellowship, under the partnership framework of France-HKUST Innovation Hub. The Fellowship pays tribute to Anita Conti (1899-1997), also known as « la Dame de la Mer » (the Lady of the Sea ) and the first French woman oceanographer and a pioneer in marine ecology, as well as her scientific contribution and commitment to the protection of the oceans. It aims to inspire the next generations of researchers, innovators, and environmentalists to address the challenges of climate change and its impacts on our planet.

With strong support from the Deep Ocean Affairs Administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted a welcoming ceremony today for the inaugural visit of Chinese research vessel Shenhai Yihao (Deep Sea No. 1) and the manned submersible Jiaolong to Hong Kong, following the vessel’s successful expedition in the Western Pacific.  Co-led by HKUST, the expedition is part of the first international deep-sea metascience program, “Digital Deep-sea Typical Habitats (DEPTH),” backed by the mainland government, with the participation of scientists from various countries. 

A research team at HKUST has outlined the high-resolution structure of a little-known virus, improving our understanding of viral infection, which could pave the way for more accurate predictions of climate change.

Three research projects led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were today awarded a combined total of HK$167 million by the Research Grants Council (RGC)’s Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme and the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24. HKUST also leads the highest number of funded projects among all local universities, and has secured the largest single funding amount of HK$87.1 million for one of its projects. The three studies - covering climate change forecast and mitigation in the Greater Bay Area, landslide risk management, as well as regulation of digital assets in Hong Kong, will receive approximately HK$142 million from the RGC.

    In April to May 2019, the coral reefs near the French Polynesian island of Moorea in the central South Pacific Ocean suffered severe and prolonged thermal bleaching. The catastrophe occurred despite the absence of El Niño conditions that year, intriguing ocean scientists around the world. 

A research team led by Prof. GAN Jianping, director of the Center for Ocean Research Hong Kong and Macau (CORE) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), carried out field observations and conducted numerical simulations in the South China Sea (SCS) recently and revealed the never-before-seen characteristics of the three-dimensional ocean motion in the SCS through geophysical fluid dynamic theory. The complex ocean circulation system controls the energy conversion and water mass transport in the SCS, subsequently affects the biogeochemical processes, carbon budget, marine ecological environment health, regional climate change, and the sustainable economic and social development in surrounding countries and regions, which accounts for about 22% of the world's population.

The platform will greatly facilitate marine research work and offer valuable data to policy makers

It is a common perception that waters close to population would be more polluted than those offshore or at higher latitudes.  However, researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) found that the ratio between two common microalgae diatom and dinoflagellate (dino) – a common benchmark of water quality, has been nearly doubled in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), one of the world’s most urbanized subtropical coastal waters, over the past two decades.