IN FOCUS 4 Man of Many Parts • BEng (First Class Honors, second in year), University of Hong Kong • PhD, University of Cambridge, on “Variable Rate Adaptive Channel Coding in Mobile Cellular Systems” • IEEE Fellow • Changjiang Chair Professor, Zhejiang University • Director and Founder, Huawei-HKUST Joint Research Laboratory • Theoretical research: stochastic optimization for wireless systems, distributive algorithm design, Markov Decision Process (MDP) and stochastic calculus for delay-aware wireless resource control, robust MIMO/OFDMA/SDMA cross-layer optimization with imperfect and limited channel states, cooperative communications and cognitive radio systems, massive MIMO, compressive sensing with applications to wireless communications, combined control and information theory, combined electromagnetic and information theory, among others • Applied research: 4G LTE, LTE+, 5G cellular networks, next generation Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.22 cognitive radio • Side interests: digital baseband ASIC architecture and RTL design for wireless communications, digital hardware (FPGA/PCB/embedded controller) design and prototyping the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship, Rotaract Scholarship and Croucher Foundation Scholarship during his studies and making it possible for him to go. Prof Lau’s focus during his doctorate, which he completed in just two years, was wireless communication, a fast-emerging area in the mid-1990s. He followed this with four years at Bell Labs in the US, where he worked on projects for different business units as well as enjoying the freedom to work on his own research interests. “What I think I learned most from Bell was the way to analyze problems and how to carry that analytical mindset to different projects and problems. This meant I was no longer confined to working on problems in one narrow area any more, and inspired me a lot. Now I always encourage my students to work on multiple areas, not just one.” He joined HKUST in 2004 and went on to play a key role in the technology transfer with various companies such as Huawei. Later, he founded Huawei-HKUST Joint Research Laboratory, which supports research and development projects in wireless communications, networks, and new areas. At HKUST, he also has happy memories of working as the technology advisor for a team at the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), helping them to develop Wi-Fi products, and seeing it all spin off to become Altai Technologies, a company that now employs more than 200 engineers and sells its wares around the world. As a believer that discovery often happens by accident rather than design, Prof Lau keenly pursues curiosity-driven research to explore original avenues of thought, and sees interdisciplinary learning as a way to spark creativity even if it takes many years to become clear how. He is currently excited that the physics knowledge he gained through attending lectures unrelated to his thesis while at Cambridge now appears to have potential use in his wireless communication work. In another link with PhD days, Prof Lau has recently renewed his connection with the Croucher Foundation when he was awarded a prestigious senior research fellowship earlier this year. “When I received the award, I was able to extend my gratitude to the grandchildren of Mr Croucher and I felt very happy about this,” Prof Lau said. With forecasts of 1,000 times more demand by 2020, there are many challenges ahead in terms of capacity and energy efficiency for the wireless world. The intriguing possibilities heralded by machine-to-machine communication also open up fresh technological frontiers. To Prof Lau, such a world offers hope of a better future and a reason to continue looking for infrastructural improvements and advances in resource management. He recalls discussions over upgrading to third-generation wireless systems a decade earlier. “People asked why, as the current technology and applications didn’t seem to require it. But the amazing thing is, once you do upgrade, people will always find new applications to use up the capacity. And I’m always optimistic about the use of technology.”
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