The recipient of the HKUST School of Engineering Distinguished Research Excellence Award 2013 Prof Chung-Yee Lee delivered a fascinating keynote on 5 Dec to an audience of over 120, including faculty members, students, industry representatives, and members of the academic community.

Prof Lee, Chair Professor of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management and Cheong Ying Chan Professor of Engineering, shared his insights on “Ocean Container Transport Logistics: Challenges and Opportunities”. An eminent scholar and a distinguished leader, Prof Lee has made significant research contributions in production scheduling and semiconductor manufacturing, business process management, and logistics management. His accomplishments also include the first global shop floor scheduling system for the semiconductor industry and cross-border research. He has been ranked 6th worldwide in the h-index, which measures research impact, and 9th in total publications.

The annual Distinguished Research Excellence Award honors an engineering faculty member with exceptional research achievements and significant impact locally and globally. The keynote forms part of the award and is an honor in itself. Dean of Engineering Prof Khaled Ben Letaief welcomed the audience before the keynote. He attributed the School’s notable global standing to the distinction of the faculty and students.

In his talk, Prof Chung-Yee Lee reviewed the current status and trends of ocean container transport. Logistics is a pillar industry in Hong Kong and provides high value-added services. Hong Kong has been a leading regional hub for decades, but is facing severe competition from nearby cities. In reinforcing Hong Kong’s core competence and identifying its new directions, Prof Lee said: “Hong Kong shall shift its focus from physical flows more toward financial flow and information flow, yet still keep the logistics service as the foundation for other flows and services. The logistics foundation will serve to promote Hong Kong as an international financial and service hub.” He also discussed how operations research and management science can help in ocean container logistics, by using case studies as well as the progress of a theme-based research project that his team had been working on.

A video of the Faculty Excellence Interview Series on Prof Chung-Yee Lee had its first showing at the keynote. Produced by the School, the series provides a new channel for the general public to learn about our faculty’s cutting-edge research in addressing global challenges and the significant impact generated.

A tea reception following the keynote was held at the Engineering Commons. The gathering proved to be a joyous occasion for all.