Structure of the Electrochemical Eye (EC-Eye) developed at HKUST. PDMS eye socket Liquid metal nerve bers NW array retina was taught in school before earning full marks in physics in the country’s national Joint Entrance Examination and becoming one of the few students from Shaanxi to gain a place at esteemed Fudan University in Shanghai. A er majoring in Physical Electronics, a rare interdisciplinary program at Fudan, he went on to a PhD in Interdisciplinary Materials Science at the University of California (UC), Irvine, before becoming a postdoctoral fellow in UC Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. At Berkeley, he not only refined his research skills but broadened his attitude to the purpose of such exploration. “My supervisor encouraged us to be creative and to generate social impact. He o en asked, ‘What di erence can we make?’ This had a tremendous influence on me.” The proactive, hands-on outlook combined with discussion that Prof. Fan subsequently adopted has brought striking results for members of his own research team. The first Prof. Fan (left, standing) and team members (clockwise from center) Dr. Gu Leilei, Swapnadeep Poddar, and Long Zhenghao. After initial submission to Nature, the team spent almost a year, conducting further experiments and ne-tuning before the paper was accepted. author of the artificial eye publication was Dr. GU Leilei, a postdoctoral fellow and one of the earliest to work on the professor’s “crazy idea”. “Prof. Fan has completely changed my perspectives toward research,” he explained. “I was more theoretical then, and now I have learned to combine a practical, formula-based approach with daring imagination.” Such dynamic thinking is in line with Prof. Fan’s belief that “nothing is impossible”. “Always ask, ‘How do we go from here to cutting-edge research?’ Be driven and curious, be imaginative, and be humble and collaborative... Always challenge the result unless you have conducted experiments to verify it.” The viewpoint has also helped Prof. Fan rapidly build a high-powered academic career, securing more than HK$ million in research grants from Hong Kong and Mainland China, publishing over research papers in top journals, and winning multiple accolades. But to him, this is only part of the success story he has set his heart on accomplishing. “I treasure it more when our technologies generate impact on society, when my students land good positions in top universities or become entrepreneurs, and when our research results are cited,” he said. “Making a di erence – this brings long-term satisfaction.” Prof. Fan Zhiyong’s many recognitions include: Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, Founding Member, Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences, Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, HKUST School of Engineering Research Excellence Award, President Award and Innovation Award, HKUST One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition, HKUST School of Engineering Young Investigator Award, Visible presence An artistic image of the arti cial eye. 11 IN FOCUS
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