News & Stories

Nearly 1,300 global investors, industry leaders and government and academia representatives from over a dozen countries converged at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for Unicorn Day – now one of the largest entrepreneurial events in Hong Kong’s higher education sector. Attendees explored partnerships and exchanged ideas to drive innovation. 

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)-led research team has adopted gyromagnetic double-zero-index metamaterials (GDZIMs) - a new optical extreme-parameter material – and developed a groundbreaking method to control light using GDZIMs. This discovery could revolutionize fields like optical communications, biomedical imaging, and nanotechnology, enabling advances in integrated photonic chips, high-fidelity optical communication, and quantum light sources. Published in Nature, the study was co-led by Prof. CHAN Che-Ting, Interim Director of the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study and Chair Professor in the Department of Physics, and Dr. ZHANG Ruoyang, Visiting Scholar in the Department of Physics at HKUST.

Self-driving cars will soon be able to “think” like human drivers under complex traffic environments, thanks to a groundbreaking cognitive encoding framework built by a multidisciplinary research team from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). This innovation significantly enhances the safety of autonomous vehicles (AVs), reducing overall traffic risk by 26.3% and cutting potential harm to high-risk road users such as pedestrians and cyclists by an impressive 51.7%. Even the AVs themselves benefited, with their risk levels lowered by 8.3%, paving the way for a new framework to advance the automation of vehicle safety.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced today that  its School of Engineering researchers have developed Mixture of Modality Experts (MOME), a groundbreaking large artificial intelligence (AI) model for non-invasive breast cancer diagnosis. Trained on the China’s largest multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) breast cancer dataset, MOME achieves expert-level accuracy in classifying tumor malignancy, comparable to that of radiologists with five+years of experience. This innovative solution is now undergoing extensive clinical validation across more than ten hospitals and partner institutions, including Shenzhen People’s Hospital, the Guangzhou First Municipal People's Hospital, and Yunnan Cancer Center, to validate its effectiveness and ensure real-world applicability. Harnesses China’s largest mpMRI Dataset

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research team led by Prof. SUN Jianwei and Prof. LIN Zhenyang from the Department of Chemistry has developed a catalytic enantioselective type II [5 + 2] cycloaddition method to address the challenges of synthesizing chiral bridged polycyclic structures, particularly those with a bridged seven-membered subunit. This innovative approach utilizes 3-oxidopyrylium ylides to create the desired complex shapes, paving the way for more applications in the rapid synthesis and diversification of other valuable complex molecules, including important natural products and drug molecules. Chiral bridged polycyclic structures, particularly those bearing a bridged seven-membered subunit, represent a complex and intriguing molecular architecture found in many natural and biologically significant compounds. However, synthesizing these structures has posed substantial challenges for chemists.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) showcased its groundbreaking advancements in medical technology and thought leadership at the 2025 Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH) today.  As the event’s exclusive Thematic Session and Health Innovation Partner, HKUST highlighted how technology and collaboration can create a more equitable and sustainable healthcare system for hundreds of participants, including policymakers, healthcare experts, industry leaders, start-ups and investors from around the globe.  

Two healthtech innovators nurtured by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) - PanopticAI Limited (PanopticAI) and SmartCare Technology Co Limited (SmartCare), have entered a landmark collaboration with Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong (Gleneagles). Witnessed by Prof. Nancy IP, President of HKUST; Dr. Prem Kumar NAIR, Group Chief Executive Officer of IHH Healthcare; and Dr. Patrick LAU, Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the tripartite collaboration agreement signing marks a strategic effort to deploy AI-powered smart clinic solutions at Gleneagles MediCentre, set to launch in late 2025. The partnership exemplifies the commitment of both HKUST and Gleneagles to translating research excellence into real-world applications with a view to facilitating healthcare advancements through the University’s robust entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Researchers at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a novel elastic alloy called Ti₇₈Nb₂₂, which achieves remarkable efficiency for solid-state heat pumping and exhibits a reversible temperature change (ΔT) ability that is 20 times greater than that of conventional metals when stretched or compressed, offering a promising green alternative to traditional vapor-compression heating and cooling technologies.