ISSUE 32 HKUST ENGINEERING SPRING 2020 Novel Solutions to Fight COVID-19 Technology to the Rescue
CONTENTS SPRING 2020 I NO.32 HKUST Engineering In Focus Magazine sengpr@ust.hk (852) 2358 5917 https://seng.ust.hk/node/2914 Published by: Communications and External Affairs School of Engineering The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Editors: Diana Liu, Dorothy Yip Contributing Editor: Sally Course Designer: Kingsley Lau hkustengineering hkustengineering seng.ust.hk Guangzhou campus Faculty recruitment begins for innovative HKUST institution 4 7 Branching out Novel sensors and smart tree management 10 Seeing the future Development of world’s rst D arti cial eye 8 Diverse thinking Associate Dean Albert Chung on inspiring students to look beyond the technical 25 The problem-solver PhD electronic engineer nds her own way to the top 12 Tackling COVID- School of Engineering academics deliver multiple technologies to counter the virus 27 From research to industry Alumnus builds platform to boost technology transfer
Crises to opportunities rom Hong Kong’s social unrest to the global COVID- crisis, the academic year has been unprecedented for higher education in the city. To look a er our students, the School of Engineering moved swi ly to extend earlier moves toward blended learning – a mix of face-to-face instruction and online or digital course components – to successfully deliver a full complement of interactive online teaching during the virus-a ected Spring semester. We proactively trained faculty in online methodologies and interaction while keeping to class schedules as originally planned, and were rewarded with notable results, including feedback surveys that showed that the majority of students have been satisfied with such virtual practices. Indeed, I now see a fascinating window of opportunity where mindsets on both the teaching and learning sides become ready and willing to embrace new engineering education approaches, having experienced for themselves how e ective these methods can be. I am also immensely proud of the immediate response and willingness of the School’s faculty and alumni to adapt and roll out novel research-based applications that have contributed to prevention and mitigation of the pandemic in Hong Kong and beyond. As our Cover Story shows, the School has produced not one but a host of innovative technologies in areas ranging from mass temperature screening and early vaccine target identification to self-driving delivery vehicles in locked-down areas and computer modeling demonstrating the significance of populations’ widespread use of face masks. Such scope is evidence of the wide-reaching and relevant research being pursued at the School, the impact it can generate, and the essential role of engineering in managing complex crises. This time we have faced an implacable disease. Tomorrow, it could be climate change or IT security issues that require immediate action. What it also demonstrates is the need for investment in research over the long term in order to be prepared for emergencies. For the technologies that our faculty members have been able to deploy were not created in an instant but are the result of years of careful, continuous discovery and development. Alongside our response to the pandemic, the School has been deeply involved in planning and advancement of HKUST’s visionary Guangzhou campus, scheduled to open in . Rather than discipline-specific schools and departments, HKUST(GZ) will be structured around a pioneering hub concept, namely the areas of function, information, systems, and society. These hubs will be driven by multidisciplinary thinking and collaboration, technology transfer, and impact, with engineering fields having a strong presence in all four. Teaming this cutting-edge approach in a complementary way with the University’s already established global research leadership and recent online interactive teaching and learning insights, the future certainly looks exciting for HKUST engineering. Prof. Tim CHENG Kwang-Ting Dean of Engineering 03 IN FOCUS Dean’s View F
faculty sought for Guangzhou campus Faculty recruitment for Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) (HKUST(GZ)), the University’s new campus is now underway. Some top minds are being sought from around the world over the next six years to take forward phase one of the pioneering research and education concepts and environment planned. Over scholars in the US and Europe tuned in to a University webinar in April in which HKUST senior management introduced the visionary development blueprint for HKUST(GZ). The campus will be located in Qingsheng, Nansha, near Guangzhou, with the rst phase scheduled to open in mid- . More faculty are due to be recruited as the campus continues to develop. Unlike a traditional university divided into separate academic elds and departments, HKUST(GZ) will operate under four interconnected, multidisciplinary hubs (function, information, systems, society), each with research thrust areas focusing on key emerging areas, for example, robotics & autonomous systems, data science & analytics, and internet of things. The goal is to address the growing need for today’s complex global challenges, such as climate change and renewable energy, to be solved through multi- eld input, interaction, and synergy and to facilitate the transfer of academic research to society. The two campuses will be complementary to each other, with no duplication of programs and students awarded degree certi cates from both. The purpose-built design of HKUST(GZ), created by internationally renowned architectural rm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, will reflect this cutting-edge approach, marrying technology with sustainability. The School of Engineering is playing a key role in the new campus, with two of the four hubs under the acting deanship of two of its long-serving senior academics: Prof. Ricky LEE (systems) and Prof. Fugee TSUNG (information). 04 IN FOCUS In the News An artist’s impression of HKUST’s new Guangzhou campus that seeks to lead the way in research and education concepts and sustainable design. The School of Engineering’s Student Innovation for Global Health Technology (SIGHT) program has become the rst project to be supported by a HK$ million donation from the Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, an organization founded by Lawrence Chan and his family that is focused on assisting education and the underprivileged in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The donation has been used to establish the Seal of Love Foundation Student Innovative Service Fund at HKUST. The objective of the endowment fund is to empower students to apply innovative thinking and technology know-how to solve global health problems around the world, particularly in communities with limited resources, and to deliver social impact through tangible solutions. SIGHT is an undergraduate innovation platform, launched in to inspire students from di erent majors and backgrounds to devise creative and a ordable solutions to global health problems. Inventions deployed to date, in collaboration with other organizations, include diagnostic so ware for diabetic retinopathy in Indonesia and a HK$ m donation to boost students’ ° vision
Arti cial intelligence global leaders which tracks and ranks scholars based on citation counts from leading publications. The system tracked and analyzed research results for , scholars worldwide over a decade from , covering , papers and including top conferences and journals. The School of Engineering (SENG) has seen nine faculty members and several alumni included among the world’s leading researchers in arti cial intelligence (AI) in the AI Most Influential Scholar Annual List, released by Tsinghua University. The AI recognizes top-cited AI research scholars globally over the years from - and covers sub- elds. Researchers in the top of each sub- eld are named “most influential scholar” while those from - are accorded an “honorable mention”. Two SENG academics feature in the world’s top in two separate sub- elds. Prof. YANG Qiang, Chair Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, was ranked No. in the Association for the Advancement of Arti cial Intelligence Conference/International Joint Conference on Arti cial Intelligence (AAAI/IJCAI) section and No. in information retrieval and recommendation. Prof. QU Huamin, Computer Science and Engineering, ranked No. in visualization. Faculty awardees are listed^ in the table. At least four PhD alumni from the Departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Electronic & Computer Engineering were also included in the sub- elds of internet of things and AAAI/IJCAI. The results were announced by Tsinghua-Chinese Academy of Engineering’s Joint Research Center for Knowledge and Intelligence and Tsinghua’s Institute for Arti cial Intelligence. The list is automatically determined by computer algorithms through Tsinghua’s AMiner data system, 05 IN FOCUS keyboard for students with special educational needs in Hong Kong. SIGHT forms one of ve wide-ranging units under the School of Engineering that promote students’ all-round development through activities beyond the regular curriculum and cover areas from internship to global and community engagement. HKUST senior management and Seal of Love Charitable Foundation members at the naming ceremony. A section of the University’s Academic Building has been named the “Seal of Love Charitable Foundation Wing” in appreciation of the Foundation’s generous support. Department of Computer Science & Engineering Prof. James KWOK AAAI/IJCAI Prof. QU Huamin Visualization Prof. YANG Qiang AAAI/IJCAI Prof. YANG Qiang Information Retrieval and Recommendation Prof. ZHANG Tong* Machine Learning Prof. ZHANG Zhengyou† Multimedia Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering Prof. Khaled BEN LETAIEF Internet of Things Prof. Vincent LAU Internet of Things Prof. SHEN Shaojie Robotics Prof. ZHANG Jun† Internet of Things ^ alphabetical order * joint appointment with Department of Mathematics † adjunct faculty
06 IN FOCUS In the News Silicon photonic integrated circuit breakthrough A signi cant global optoelectronic advance by a School of Engineering research team has brought the prospect of major improvements to the infrastructure of high-speed network communications in data centers one step closer. The breakthrough could potentially lead to faster, cheaper services as well as novel applications once practically applied and integrated. The researchers, led by Chair Professor Kei May LAU, Fang Professor of Engineering, and postdoctoral fellow Dr. HAN Yu, both Electronic and Computer Engineering, have developed the world’s rst bu erless telecommunication wavelength ( . micro-meter) III-V semiconductor lasers grown directly on industry-standard -nanometer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The innovation heralds a way forward for achieving the long-sought and challenging goal of fully integrated silicon (Si)-based photonic integrated circuits with truly on-chip laser sources. As e ciencies in conventional pure electron- based data systems might not be able to keep pace with the huge growth of data tra c as internet-based services and digitalization continue to expand exponentially, the HKUST development could enable photonic integrated circuits that are capable of much greater speed, power e ciency, and cost-e ectiveness, as well as facilitate new functionalities and applications. Prof. Lau’s group, based in HKUST’s Photonics Technology Center, has spent over years exploring how to integrate III-V materials and functionalities on mainstream silicon wafers. Through continuous innovation and optimization to improve the performance of III-V lasers grown on Si, the team has moved the research forward toward industry requirements. The research ndings were published online in Optica earlier this year. Young entrepreneurs recognized Prof. Kei May Lau’s development could lead to much faster and more power-ef cient photonic integrated circuits. Schematic of III-V laser array directly grown on silicon photonic 220-nanometer silicon-on-insulator platform. Two School of Engineering alumni have separately gained places on the Forbes Under Asia list of young entrepreneurs and changemakers. The list comprises young leaders under years of age, chosen from , nominations in di erent categories. EventXtra’s Angus LUK Kai-Chit ( BEng in Computer Science) was included in the enterprise technology category. He co-founded the event management so ware company with WONG Cheuk-Sum ( BEng in Computer Science). Winston WONG ( BEng in Computer Engineering) was listed in the nance and venture capital category for co-founding Qupital, a trade nance platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. The alumni were selected a er vetting by a panel of judges comprising accomplished entrepreneurs in each category. Criteria for the list included demonstrated leadership and potential of success in their industry, with innovation and disruption also taken into account in nal decision-making. Both start-ups are members of the Cyberport Incubation Programme in Hong Kong. Angus Luk (top picture) and Winston Wong were chosen from 3,500 nominations to join this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list of changemakers.
07 IN FOCUS ective tree management is a long-term public concern in Hong Kong. Thousands of trees are located across the city’s densely populated urban areas and country parks, including old and valuable trees that are government registered. All are subject to damage caused by rainstorms, typhoons, and diseases, among others, and could pose a risk to people’s safety. To assist the quest for sustainability and protection, Prof. WANG Yu-Hsing, Civil & Environmental Engineering and Data-Enabled Scalable Research Laboratory (DESR Lab), is creating smart and innovative ways to monitor a tree’s tilt and associated stability. A major goal is to provide information about arboreal resilience and tenacity in response to bad weather conditions – anticipated to be increasingly frequent due to climate change. Starting out from a student project using sensing technology on slopes in , Prof. Wang and his team are now designing and making their fourth-generation tree sensor, which will harvest energy from solar panels and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out data analytics. “What we ultimately aim to achieve is to let AI provide a more solid diagnosis for tree health,” Prof. Wang said. “Even if a tree is seemingly unhealthy, our sensor can continue monitoring it in order to allow it to recover instead of removing it at once.” The benefits of such sensors include easing the workload of the city’s hundreds of arborists, who could be trained how to operate the whole sensing system and whose feedback would also help fine-tune the device. With funding secured from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in early , Prof. Wang’s team began work on a sensor that used a low-power, long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) for transmitting data in real time and at the same time would be energy-efficient. Big data analytics and timely interventions could then be carried out. During this research period, the team devised di erent generations of sensors, eventually managing to quadruple the data transmission range. The researchers’ work then had a considerable boost in terms of data collection in summer when the Hong Kong Observatory forecast the arrival of Typhoon Mangkhut, the strongest typhoon in the city’s history. Ahead of time, the team installed sensors on trees at Tai Tong in Tai Lam Country Park and on some urban trees. Mangkhut le Hong Kong with around , fallen trees but the team gained significant first-hand scientific data to analyze how and why some trees fell. In late , Prof. Wang and the DESR Lab joined HKUST’s Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab initiative, which supports sustainable cross-disciplinary HKUST projects that can be implemented on campus. He and the team are now continuing to develop their cutting-edge tree sensing system, Internet of Tree Things. E Branching out into smart conservation Prof. Wang Yu-Hsing (seventh from left) and team members from his Data-Enabled Scalable Research Laboratory. Tree sensors installed on Peltophorum tonkinense at the HKUST campus to monitor tilt and stability (main picture), and (above) a close-up of the technology.
ith a love of meeting and talking to people, especially students, Prof. Albert CHUNG has recently been appointed to the perfect role: Associate Dean of Engineering (Undergraduate Studies), driving forward admissions, quality assurance, exchange programs, and the curriculum at the School of Engineering (SENG). Always ready to seek out student interaction, be it through interviewing potential non-local recruits, or feedback on current courses, he can learn and gain valuable insights on how to keep the School’s education at the cutting edge. Prof. Chung is a great believer in the bene ts of diversity – the School already draws its intake from countries and regions – and prior to the onset of COVID- he had a busy travel schedule planned to inspire top young minds from around the region to join SENG. He is looking out for students with a passion for their chosen engineering eld, seeing such enthusiasm as a core element in a readiness to share knowledge across disciplinary boundaries to spark wider vision, fresh thinking, and innovation. He would also like to build even more exchange partnerships beyond the current countries and regions that enable around % of SENG students to study and see beyond Hong Kong, viewing it as essential for engineering students to understand life beyond the technical and local. “Engineering must work hand in hand with other disciplines,” he said. “For instance, an engineer can build a bridge, but in choosing the location, other considerations must be taken into account.” He himself is a great example of a multidisciplinary mindset, specializing in the burgeoning area of medical image analysis and holding joint appointments in the Departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Chemical & Biological Engineering. Following undergraduate studies in computer engineering at the University of Hong Kong, broadened by a keen interest in sports and student associations, he spent a year in industry at Procter & Gamble before undertaking an MPhil in Computer Science at HKUST in . Prof. Chung had been inspired to go to HKUST, established in and at the time still regarded as a new university, during his undergraduate days, a er being impressed by a hall of residence dinner talk by HKUST Founding President Prof. WOO Chia-Wei on improving the student experience. The bene ts of all-round vision were reinforced at the University of Oxford, where he relished the human interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration during his DPhil in Engineering Science, supported by a prestigious Croucher Foundation Scholarship. He started at HKUST as an assistant professor in and became a full professor in . Prof. Chung has also spent years serving as a residence master. He sees HKUST’s resources, approach and student diversity as creating a thriving environment in which to grow and is keen to add to such an atmosphere. “Know your direction and walk toward it bit by bit every day” is one of his guiding principles to achieving goals. Talking can help too. Faculty Insight Boosting diversity, broadening vision Young engineers with a passion for their subject and understanding beyond the technical are the key to the future, says Associate Dean Prof. Alber t Chung 08 IN FOCUS W Prof. Albert Chung (center) enjoys meeting and gaining insights from students.
09 IN FOCUS earning comprises two competing elements: outside guidance and self-exploration (AI learns with or without supervision, which is not a coincidence). Conventional engineering education puts more emphasis on the first aspect, while so-called innovative teaching methods such as flipped classrooms, where learners first study materials themselves and use time in class to practice or discuss the subject, seek a better balance by giving students more freedom to explore. In my opinion, the top priority of engineering education should be the provision of a platform for students to understand the changing world, and themselves, to unlock their potential and build up their core strengths. The key to building such a platform is not only to teach discipline knowledge and skills (guidance) through lectures but more importantly to give students a chance to experience failure and success, and to reflect on both in order to identify and build up their individual strengths. Educators may think themselves highly important, but ultimately students learn from their experience, not teaching (AI also learns from data, again not a coincidence). As a teacher, I thus regard myself as a designer whose product facilitates learning. “Educators may think themselves highly important, but ultimately students learn from their experience” At HKUST, especially in the School of Engineering, we have been proactively developing a diversified student learning experience, including blended learning strategies such as the aforementioned flipped classrooms, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and project-based learning, among others. Another example is the new Division of Integrative Systems and Design, an endeavor to advance learning through active teaching pedagogies and transdisciplinary learning. Although it is difficult to quantify the e ectiveness of any learning method, I believe we are on the right track to create a more diverse learning experience, providing opportunities for students to learn how to learn under di erent circumstances. The COVID- pandemic has a ected everyone’s life, including teaching and learning practices in universities. We all understand that converting every type of learning activity to online teaching is impossible and a more serious issue for engineering schools, where many project and lab-based courses need to be carried out. Fortunately, with enterprising e orts on both the teaching and learning sides, our School has been able to move on while maintaining its established quality. Looking forward, engineering education will face more challenges, which may not be bad news because that is exactly what our students will face in their careers: a fast-changing world. In recognizing this need for on-going evolution of learning, hopefully the training at HKUST will provide our students with the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve mental balance in novel situations. Assisting students to know themselves Prof. SONG Shenghui is Associate Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. He is a past winner of HKUST’s University-wide Michael G. Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching, School of Engineering Distinguished Teaching Award, and a recipient of the student-organized Best Ten Lecturers of HKUST multiple times. He is also an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Education. century engineers st L Faculty Column By Prof. Song Shenghui
Al shell sclera & W lm contact Ionic liquid humour Indium adhesion layer Aperture Lens As the publication notes, the spherical human eyeball gives us an exceptionally wide field of view, high resolution, along with other qualities. Such a field of vision is extremely useful, Prof. Fan said, but difficult to replicate due to its curved surface. “Artificial eyes, currently used in hospitals and enabled by flat-surfaced integrated circuit chips, can only imitate part of the human retina, providing blurred vision. In , I came up with the idea to use nanowires and external electronic circuitry to enable high-density sensors on a curved surface. The resulting biomimetic eye prototype has times more sensors on the entire artificial retina than the human eye.” This technology, with its ability to deliver high-resolution imaging and sensitivity to a large range of light intensities as well, can be integrated into medical robots to take care of patients. It could also cater to the visually impaired when the researchers locate suitable bio-compatible materials, Prof. Fan said. The leading researcher joined HKUST in and has since focused on nanoelectronic design, nanofabrication, and nanomaterials, including development of self-cleaning and anti-reflection micro/nanostructured films, a study of nanostructured gas sensing materials and devices for environmental monitoring, as well as his recent artificial eye prototype. “I was attracted by HKUST’s global ranking, as well as its flat hierarchy and academic freedom. And, a er the first glimpse of the sea view here, I decided that this was the place to be,” he said. Born in remote Qinghai province in Mainland China, Prof. Fan’s family moved to a small county in Shaanxi province before he was eight. There, he engaged in weekly visits to his uncle’s bookshelves to read popular books on science, gradually gravitating toward self-learning ahead of what rof. FAN Zhiyong, Electronic and Computer Engineering, has always drawn inspiration from the cosmos and science fiction. As a preschooler, he created paper models of spacecra and vehicles a er seeing a poster with Planet Earth, spaceships, and astronauts on his kindergarten wall. Now in his s, he has recently celebrated his th anniversary at HKUST by achieving a high-profile publication in Nature, a leading global science journal, with his research team. The article is based on Prof. Fan’s far-sighted idea for improving the capabilities of artificial eyes a er watching Star Trek, I, Robot, and other out-of-this-world series. “I thought about making a ‘super human eye’ to be used both in humanoid robots and for the visually challenged,” he said. “My students thought it was yet another crazy idea of the professor.” Instead, it turned out to a visionary advance, leading to the Nature article, “A Biomimetic Eye with a Hemispherical Perovskite Nanowire Array Retina”, published in May . Since the article appeared, authored by his research team and collaborators from the University of California, Berkeley, he has been inundated with emails about the invention: the world’s first spherical artificial eye with three-dimensional retina, also referred to as the Electrochemical Eye. Prof. Fan Zhiyong’s science ction- inspired research into biomimetic vision points the way to robotics advances and fresh hope for the visually impaired, in addition to a prestigious Nature article P Prof. Fan Zhiyong and the scenic campus that helped to draw him to HKUST. 10 IN FOCUS Mid-career Spotlight An eye on the future
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
. online education . vaccine candidates . disinfection . AI modeling and systems .driverless lockdown delivery vans . maskwearing . quarantine tracking . fever screening Cover Story 12 IN FOCUS
School of Engineering researchers rapidly responded to the SARS-CoV- crisis, rolling out a host of innovations in the rst six months of to address the health and social impact of the novel coronavirus. Such work, based on years of leading-edge research, has encompassed faculty, alumni, and students, and involved partnerships with industry, government bodies, philanthropic organizations, schools, and social welfare groups. Advances in engineering education have also taken place. The following pages highlight some of the signi cant solutions we have contributed to assist the local, national, and global community in combatting COVID- . 13 IN FOCUS Tackling COVID-
A School of Engineering student ambassador (front) and University staff member (back) lend a hand with disinfecting Carmel Pak U Secondary School in Tai Po. arlier this year, when many people in Hong Kong were working, studying, or simply staying at home due to the COVID- outbreak, a number of dedicated cleansing crews were out and about in many of the empty schools and community centers, preparing for when the usual inhabitants of these buildings could return. Their task? Large-scale and thorough long-term disinfection with a novel, non-toxic, and super-e ective type of smart antimicrobial sanitizer, invented at the School of Engineering. By early March , assisted by an industrial partnership with Chiaphua Industries Ltd., disinfection of more than day-care centers, elderly homes, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as well as shopping malls, school buses, churches, and sports training facilities had taken place. The HKUST campus had also been sprayed. Since April , sponsorship by the Lee Hysan Foundation, a private family philanthropic organization that supports meaningful initiatives in sectors including education, health and social welfare in Hong Kong, has taken the technology further into the community by supporting the disinfection of over , caged home units and sub-divided flats that are o en crowded with multiple occupants. The creative mind behind the original technology is Prof. YEUNG King-Lun, Chemical & Biological Engineering and Environment & Sustainability, who has spent more than years devising and optimizing the antimicrobial coating. Spurred initially by the challenges presented during the SARS outbreak in and the need to be prepared should such a crisis present itself again, what started as a novel coating to decontaminate surfaces, such as li buttons and counter tops, has gone on to generate products to combat diseases caused by the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in air and water as well. From the outset, Prof. Yeung has employed safe-by-design principles to ensure the materials used are non-toxic for both people and the environment. A close collaborator on the project is the founding and former Director of HKUST’s Health, Safety and Environment O ce Prof. Joseph KWAN. Prof. Yeung’s Multilevel Antimicrobial Polymer (MAP- ) coating is e ective in inactivating up to . % of highly infectious viruses such as measles, mumps and rubella, and . % of the surrogate feline calicivirus (FCV) – a gold standard for disinfection e ciency and more resistant than coronaviruses such as the one responsible for the COVID- epidemic. In addition, the coating provides long-lasting “smart” protection and surface disinfection against microbial contamination for up to days by self-cleaning and self-disinfecting when touched or contaminated. Prof. Yeung has described this as “closing the loop on surface disinfection”. Odorless and transparent, the versatile coating can be used on metals, concrete, wood, glass, and plastics, as well as fabrics, leathers, and textiles. According to the Technical Standard for Disinfection issued by the National Health Commission in Mainland China, the coating has E Safe and sanitized Cover Story 14 IN FOCUS
Members of the clean team: (from right), Prof. Yeung King-Lun, Prof. Han Wei, alumnus Donald Lai, Prof. Joseph Kwan, and Mr. Hamilton Hung, Chiaphua Industries Ltd. proven to be non-toxic and is safe for skin and the environment. This means MAP- can be turned into products including hand sanitizers, paints and coatings, lter materials for air and water puri cation, along with clothing and surgical masks. Chiaphua, a multinational industrial and consumer product manufacturer, is now producing the antimicrobial coating under the name Germagic Thyme , incorporating polyethylenimine and thyme essential oil. Germagic is the rst major spin-o from a joint laboratory established by HKUST and Chiaphua in . The HKUST-CIL Joint Laboratory of Innovative Environmental Health Technologies is directed by Prof. Yeung, with the aim of accelerating the transfer of ideas and research to create products that bene t industry and society. A retail version of Germagic has already been launched. The School’s Engineering Student Ambassadors, who outreach to potential students and the public, have played their part, helping to spray schools. Three of Prof. Yeung’s previous MPhil students have also been involved as employees of Chiaphua. Donald LAI Yue-Tak’s key duties include explaining the technical aspects and functionality of the products to internal team members and external clients, purchasing raw materials, and supervising mass production. Winsor LEE Jong-Hong still spends time at the HKUST lab, while LUO Yutang is employed at the Germagic air lter plant in Shenzhen. The alumni engage in product testing in response to clients’ speci c disinfection requirements and to comply with di erent international regulations. Local, national, and international media coverage has been extensive, with more than news articles and broadcasts since February . Prof. Yeung is not stopping there. The Hong Kong government has awarded funding to the Yeung team for two Innovation and Technology Fund Public Sector Trial Scheme (ITF PSTS)-COVID- projects involving Haven of Hope Christian Service, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and United Muslim Association of Hong Kong. A further community initiative with Lee Hysan Foundation involves HKUST and two local high schools working to design and fabricate prototypes of novel high-intensity, narrow wavelength (HiNW) light-based disinfection robots for use in homes for the elderly and community NGOs. “Being able to deploy the antimicrobial technology to assist both local endeavors and communities beyond Hong Kong to safeguard people’s health means the years of research and testing have really been consequential,” Prof. Yeung said. “It shows how thinking outside the box to de ne the essential attributes of such a technology combined with engineering can really make a di erence.” 15 IN FOCUS MAP-1 way to disinfection Using a special blend of antimicrobial polymers, the MAP- coating e ectively kills up to . % of bacteria and viruses through contact killing and anti-adhesion technology. The technology involves the creation of surface moieties that actively disrupt the microbial envelope and biomolecules, rendering the microorganisms “non-viable” (inactive) on contact. The coating also prevents microbial adhesion on the surface, thus keeping it clean frommicrobial contaminants. Prof. Yeung and his team have worked with the Hong Kong government’s Water Supplies Department and the Drainage Services Department to eld test MAP- in coating materials for water pipes and sewage drainages to prevent microbial contamination and infrastructure corrosion. Earlier in , Chiaphua Industries Ltd. donated up to HK$ . million worth of antimicrobial air lters – air-puri cation technology developed by Prof. Yeung’s team in – to various hospitals in Mainland China, including Wuhan’s emergency Huoshenshan Hospital.
Cover Story 16 IN FOCUS The system (left screen) has been deployed at Hong Kong border control points and government facilities. The Smart Fever Screening System can accurately detect a person’s temperature even when their face is partly hidden. Fever screening system safeguards public health s the COVID- crisis started to unfold, Prof. Richard SO, Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics, immediately drew together a multidisciplinary team to devise technology to help prevent its spread in Hong Kong. Prof. So, whose research interests lie in bioinspired signal processing and auditory and visual perception, and his School of Engineering co-researchers, with expertise in machine learning, bioengineering, and parallel networking, came up with a solution in just six days. They devised a novel screening system to identify people with a fever, a signi cant symptom of COVID- and other infectious diseases, especially those moving within larger groups of travelers or passers-by. With the support of the Hong Kong government’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, in January , of the team’s Smart Fever Screening Systems were delivered for deployment at major border points, such as Hong Kong International Airport and Lo Wu, and later used in government facilities. The screening system was also introduced at the HKUST campus. While thermal imaging detectors have been widely used at border points for screening inbound travelers since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak hit Hong Kong, control point o cers have had to monitor two screens with separate thermal and color CCTV images to detect a sick person, all within the few seconds it takes for them to walk by. Using arti cial intelligence, real-time tracking, and decision analytics, the HKUST system more e ciently combines these two sets of images on to the same screen, with an unwell person bracketed in red and an alert triggered on detection. The new system is built on research for a completed big data platform for smart transportation, supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund and Thales Group in , Prof. So said. Through deep learning and the science of anthropometry, the fever screening system can track a face, even if three-quarters concealed. Temperature detection is more accurate as it relies on computer algorithms instead of human judgement. The system also has the capability to screen to people at the same time from a distance of up to meters. As the tracking focuses on the face, detection results are unlikely to be a ected by any heat-emitting objects that a person is carrying. In addition, the system can learn over time to become smarter and even more accurate. Researchers involved in creating the technology include Prof. Bertram SHI and Prof. Albert WONG, both Electronic and Computer Engineering, and Prof. CHEN Qifeng, Computer Science and Engineering. Other potential locations for using the system include hospitals, schools, elderly homes, and libraries. A
17 IN FOCUS Prof. Liu Ming and his rst autonomous vehicle at HKUST campus. Green light for self-driving delivery vehicles during lockdowns utonomous vehicles designed by Prof. LIU Ming, Electronic and Computer Engineering and Director of the Intelligent Autonomous Driving Center at HKUST, took to the road on a crucial mission in di erent areas of Mainland China during the COVID- crisis by delivering food to residents in locked-down locations. Prof. Liu, who is also the founder of start-up Shenzhen Unity Drive Innovation Technology (UDI), provided several driverless vehicles to the cities of Zibo in Shandong province, Suzhou, and Shenzhen, to boost virus containment measures. UDI initially donated two low-speed unmanned vehicles to Zibo, where Prof. Liu was born. The vehicles, termed “running robots” by Prof. Liu, created a contactless alternative to regular deliveries, reducing the risk of person-to-person infection. Starting in February , they transported fruit, vegetables, and other supplies to severely a ected areas, driving themselves with the help of multiple sensors, including cameras and lidars (employing laser-ranging sensors to measure distances). The driverless vans carried about kg of supplies in the cargo compartment and were set to travel at between km and km (they can now reach km) per hour, enabling each van to make deliveries four times a day. Goods were rst loaded on to the vehicle, then the destinations selected via a mobile app. Later, the company also provided free unmanned vehicles to Pingshan district in Shenzhen. The vans distributed meals to a quarantined village, delivered materials to Shenzhen hospitals, sprayed disinfectant on streets, and broadcast messages to the community. “When news of the coronavirus broke, we were con dent that autonomous vehicles could play a positive role,” Prof. Liu said. Since joining HKUST in , Prof. Liu’s research has focused on the deployment of deep learning and deep reinforcement learning in mobile robotics, such as drones, unmanned vehicles, or boats. His research groups were among the rst in the world to implement deep reinforcement learning on actual robots. Prof. Liu’s company was founded in to provide intelligent products for robotics, autonomous systems, smart logistics and transportation, among others. The crisis proved an unexpected and invaluable learning opportunity. “We gained priceless rst-hand operating data and real-world experience,” he said. Extensive media coverage also raised public awareness of the bene ts of autonomous vehicles and the many ways they could be useful. UDI is now in discussion on solutions for several well-known companies. It has more than employees in Shenzhen and a production base for both manned and unmanned vehicles in Shandong, supported by a near billion RMB investment from the local government. UDI has established the world’s rst mass-production line specialized in autonomous vehicles there, along with an additional , -square-meter test site. On May , UDI launched a new program for city-scale autonomous vehicle applications in Zibo. Prior to the COVID- crisis, Prof. Liu’s vehicles had been tested on the industrial campuses of Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, telecommunications giant Huawei, and logistics rm SF Express. A Making deliveries to help locked-down communities. View a video of Prof. Liu Ming’s self-driving delivery vehicle at work, plus technical drawings in IEEE Spectrum See the Zibo autonomous vehicle program launch
Quarantine tracking seeks to mitigate outbreak n order to enforce Hong Kong’s home quarantine order, simply using a GPS signal is not e ective because such a signal is o en weakened or blocked by the city’s numerous high-rises. Many buildings are also connected directly to shopping malls, without any signi cant GPS detection, creating a loophole for con nees to leave their designated areas. However, Prof. Gary CHAN, Computer Science and Engineering, had just the answer: a cutting-edge geo-fencing technology which detects whether a con nee is inside or outside a prede ned area by fusing, understanding, and learning various existing signals in the area. Prof. Chan has conducted research and development on fusion-based signal learning technologies for many years. One application is indoor positioning, with his research team devising and deploying, via his company Compathnion Technology Ltd., a smart location nder to assist visitors in shopping malls or hospitals navigate their way around. He now saw how the signal fusion concept could be further developed, adapted, and applied as a user-friendly, e cient, and cost-e ective way for quarantine monitoring. Prof. Chan’s team of researchers and engineers got to work, coming up with an automated geo-fencing technology they called “Signature Home”. Geo-fencing involves setting up a virtual perimeter for a physical area. The idea was then deployed by Compathnion as a mobile app called StayHomeSafe. Paired with an electronic Bluetooth wristband worn by the person quarantined, the app could detect whether the quarantine order was being complied with, and alert the authorities if not. The Signature Home technology is based on the concept that the collective signal values within a certain area are unique to that place, forming its “signature”. It works as follows: Following the March introduction of a -day mandatory quarantine period for Hong Kong people or visitors coming into the city, the Hong Kong government adopted the StayHomeSafe app for enforcement purposes. Such geo-fencing technology also achieves high user privacy because the system does not track nor know a user’s exact position, according to Prof. Chan. It only detects whether a person is inside or outside his/her home. To further enhance location privacy, the system can be designed to only inform the authorities when the person is detected outside their designated area. Mr. Arthur CHAN ( BEng in Computer Science), Director and CEO of Compathnion, added that the geo-fencing technology meant the app “can more e ectively safeguard public health”. I Cover Story 18 IN FOCUS The technology collects the various signals in a speci c home environment – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, for example – and uses them as the home’s signature. If the collected signal values at a certain time deviate from the signature, it is likely the person has le the designated area. By using machine learning and data analytics techniques, the technology can also intelligently adapt to the evolving home environment to achieve accurate monitoring. Prof. Gary Chan’s mobile app, paired with an electronic Bluetooth wristband, was adopted by the Hong Kong government for quarantine tracking of inbound air travelers from March 2020.
Prof. De Kai demonstrates the interactive visualization of the simulation. Prof. De Kai and his multidisciplinary team’s simulation results on universal mask-wearing have signi cant implications for policy decision-makers and the public globally. The preventative role of mask-wearing s COVID- lockdowns began to ease in many countries and regions in spring , an international interdisciplinary team co-convened by Prof. De Kai, Computer Science and Engineering, released a timely study with signi cant implications for decision- makers and the general public globally on the importance of adopting mask-wearing as a preventative measure. The collaborative team found that universal mask-wearing does play a major role in suppressing the spread or a second wave of the virus. Simulation results indicated if % to % of the public adopted masking on about day a er an outbreak, before lockdown measures were li ed, the number of new COVID- infections could be slowed signi cantly. This in turn would help to avoid a second wave of cases. However, if only half the population wore masks or there was a delay (for example, to day ), then signi cant slowing of the virus spread became unlikely. Along with Prof. De Kai, an arti cial intelligence expert, the researchers comprised an economist, computational molecular biologist, medical doctor/PhD, and behavioral scientist from France, Estonia, the UK, and Finland. The team produced two theoretical models to predict the impact of mask-wearing over time. The rst extended the standard epidemiological SEIR model* to forecast the e ects of mass mask-wearing. The second introduced an AI-inspired agent-based model, which simulates infections occurring from contact between individuals in physical space. When mask e ectiveness was also taken into account, the e ects were the same, even with inexpensive non-medical or homemade masks with only % e ectiveness. Modeling results were validated and compared against empirical data from regions that at that time had best managed COVID- outbreaks, such as Hong Kong and 19 IN FOCUS Taiwan, where wearing masks in public was culturally acceptable or government policies advised people to do so. This comparison showed a near perfect correlation between early universal masking and successful suppression of COVID- case growth rates and/or the rates of reduction from peak daily case growth. In contrast, areas that did not implement such measures have needed to maintain a strict societal lockdown. “Locking down our noses and mouths is far preferable to locking down our full bodies inside our homes,” Prof. De Kai said. “The cost of masks, including educating populations how to properly make and wear masks, is negligible in comparison to the large economic and human costs of increased infection rates.” The study, “Universal Masking Is Urgent in the COVID- Pandemic: SEIR and Agent-based Models, Empirical Validation, Policy Recommendations” was published as an e-print on arXiv, a leading open-access online archive, in April . Its ndings were subsequently incorporated into a white paper by the team entitled “Universal Masking to Restart Society and Save Lives”. The research has also been extensively reported online and in the mass media worldwide, including Forbes and Vanity Fair, as well as locally. * A model in which the population is grouped into S for susceptible, E for exposed, I for infectious, and R for recovered or deceased. A Visit http://dek.ai/masks all to explore all the universal masking project’s public resources, including articles, videos, and online interactive simulator Watch Prof. De Kai explain his mask-wearing research further on http://dek.ai/maskvideo Find out more
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