A team of three Mechanical Engineering PhD students, Steven Chin To KWOK, Tom Chubin OU and Jiaqi WANG, won the 3rd Prize Award in the 2012 International Contest of Applications in Nano/Micro Technology (iCAN'12) in Beijing at July 6-9.

A total of 19 teams from 21 countries and regions, including United States, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, attended the competition this year. HKUST team's project "Brainwave Detection for Safe Driving" aims to develop a low-cost wireless brainwave sensor system to avoid traffic accidents caused by careless driving such as drowsiness, drinking and talking on mobile phones. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, there are 1.2 million people killed in traffic accidents each year.

The team's supervisor Prof Yi-Kuen Lee of Mechanical Engineering praised the students for their good work. 'The students did an excellent job in forming a team to apply what they have learned in my microsystem course to a truly innovative solution to traffic accidents,' he said.

Organized by the Ministry of Education of China, iCAN'12 welcomed the youths from all over the world. It aimed at promoting the innovative spirits of youths, to construct a collaboration platform, and to increase applications of nano-micro technology.