We celebrated the naming of Hong Kong’s first and only veterinary college, the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, in August. During the ceremony, University Grants Committee (UGC) Chairman Mr Carlson Tong Ka-shing said the UGC would be recommending to the Hong Kong government to accept CityU’s proposal to establish an undergraduate Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) programme (please click here).

We conferred the title of Honorary Fellow on three distinguished persons in recognition of their significant contributions to the development of, and service to, the University and the community: (from right) Mr Harry S. Banga, Miss Tong Hing-min, and Mr Wong Chun-hong. The Honorary Fellow Presentation Ceremony was held in October.

Professor Luk Kwai-man, Chair Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, has been elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK in recognition of his profound contributions to advancing the development of antennas. He is renowned for spearheading the development of innovative antennas that enable data transmission at speeds and efficiency not possible before (please click here).

We were honoured to receive a HK$120 million donation from Dr The Honourable Lee Shau-kee (pictured on right), GBM, Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited, to support the long-term development of the University. The donation, made through the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, will provide funding for endowed chair professorships and student scholarships that will promote academic advancement and student achievement.

The 12th Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award was awarded in May to Professor Lu Jian, Vice-President (Research and Technology) and Dean of Graduate Studies. The Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology (EST) Prizes, composed of the Guanghua EST Achievement Award and the Guanghua EST Award, are highly regarded for engineering and technology achievement in China.

More than HK$11 million in research funding has been secured for a project that enhances heat transfer on material surfaces. The funds will establish a multi-function analytical facility for surface studies across disciplines. Both projects were awarded under the Collaborative Research Fund Scheme (CRF) of the Research Grants Council. Professor Wang Zuankai (pictured on right) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering is leading a team of scientists in a bio-inspired surface engineering project for phase change heat transfer; and Professor Lee Chun-sing, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Chair Professor of Materials Chemistry, together with scientists from five other local universities, will use HK$5.7 million of the CRF grant to establish a multi-function surface analysis system with time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy.

In a world’s first, a team of CityU researchers led by Professor Sun Dong (seated left), Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has developed a magnetic 3D-printed microscopic robot that can carry cells to precise locations in live animals. The invention could revolutionise cell-based therapy, regenerative medicine and more precise treatment for diseases such as cancer. It was published in the June 2018 issue of journal Science Robotics.

The invention of a novel “ceramic ink” by a research team led by Professor Lu Jian, Vice-President (Research and Technology) and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has made possible the development of the world’s first-ever 4D printing for ceramics. This ground-breaking advancement in materials research could turn a new page in the structural application of ceramics, such as in the manufacture of electronic devices, the aerospace industry and space exploration.

A new system for testing food safety developed by an interdisciplinary research team at CityU can rapidly detect contaminants in food in 10 to 25 minutes with concentrations of less than 0.2ppm (parts per million). Dr Roy Vellaisamy (pictured centre),  Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is leading the project.

A research team led by Professor Li Ying of the Department of Biomedical Sciences has discovered a brain signalling molecule that can improve decision-making performance. The ground-breaking discovery involves the role of astrocytes in the decision-making dysfunction caused by chronic pain. They found that L-lactate, an important energy substrate, can improve decision-making performance.

Researchers have devised a new strategy for treating cancer with an efficiency rate as high as 80%. The promising new cancer-killing mechanism enables the production of highly pure extracellular vesicles from red blood cells in large quantities and at one-hundredth of the usual cost, according to Dr Le Minh (front row, 3rd from right), Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Two PhD candidates at CityU have been awarded prestigious Fulbright–RGC Hong Kong Research Scholar Awards by the US government in recognition of their promising work. Zhu Qinfeng from the Department of Media and Communication and Zhou Xiaoyu from the Department of Applied Social Sciences were presented with their awards by Mr Kurt W Tong, US Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau. The awards will sponsor their research in the US.

Student Residence Hall 8 has been named Yip Yuen Yuk Hing Hall in appreciation of the support and generous donation of Dr and Mrs Yip Kit-chuen, Chairman of G.E.W. International Corporation Limited and Shanghai GMP Electrical Appliances Co. Ltd. Dr Yip is a firm supporter of education development, and naming the hall after his wife, Ms Yuen Yuk-hing, is a token of Dr Yip’s unwavering commitment and love.

The City University of Hong Kong Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CityU VDL) was officially launched in July, marking a milestone in the development of veterinary medicine in Hong Kong and the region. The CityU VDL is one of the most comprehensive and advanced veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Asia, and an additional resource for identifying, tracking and addressing emerging animal diseases and public health issues. In addition to providing full service to the veterinary community of Hong Kong and the region, it will become an important training ground for the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme, contributing to veterinary pathology teaching and research.

This book offers both theoretical and practical examinations of the psycho-criminology of criminal justice in Asia, with particular emphasis on the Hong Kong and Singapore contexts. It is designed to present the current state of the field, addressing key topics in three major sub-areas: policing and legal systems, offender rehabilitation and treatment, and research and future directions. Written by senior academics with extensive experience in their respective fields, the publication covers topics such as psychologists’ involvement in aspects of forensic investigation, emotional reactions among police personnel to major incidents, the application of psychological approaches to developing rehabilitation and treatment modules that address offenders’ criminogenic needs, and legal issues related to the insanity defence, fitness to plead, the jury system, and procedural justice and legitimacy. 

From 1895 to 1915, Chinese translations of Dickens’s fiction first appeared as part of a growing interest in Western literature and culture among Chinese intellectuals. The author investigates the multifarious ways in which Dickens’s works were adapted, reconfigured and transformed for the Chinese readership against the turbulent political and social conditions in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Moving beyond the “Response to the West” model that often characterises East–West interactions, the author explores how Chinese intellectuals viewed Dickens’s novels as performing a particular social function; on occasion, they were used for the country’s social and political causes. Situating the early introduction of Dickens to China within the broader field of Victorian studies, the author challenges some of the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the recent “global” turn in Dickens scholarship and more broadly, Victorian studies.