Chengdu Research Institute
A new phase for CityU in the promotion of applied research, professional education and incubation on the mainland began with a foundation stone-laying ceremony for the CityU Chengdu Research Institute (CityUCRI) in Shuangliu County in Chengdu on 24 May. CityUCRI is our first research institute in western China. It will focus on the integration of incubation, education and research, and it will strive to contribute to industry incubation, technology innovation, professional education and student exchanges for Hong Kong and Chengdu.

New appointment
Mr Wilson Lam Kin will be joining the University as Director (Student Residence Office) on 18 June. Mr Lam, who has an MBA from the Open University of Hong Kong, is well versed in hostel and student housing management in both the tertiary education and public sectors. He has been working at Hong Kong Polytechnic University since 2000 where he has been Section Head (Hall Management) in the Student Affairs Office. In addition, Mr Lam is active in community work, serving on a number of advisory committees for non-profit making bodies.

Re-appointments
Mr Sunny Lee Wai-kwong has been re-appointed as Vice-President (Administration) based on the recommendation of the Special Re-appointment Committee for Vice-President (Administration).

Professor Wang Xunli has been re-appointed as the Head of the Department of Physics and Materials Science. This is a three-year appointment, from 1 August 2015 to 31 August 2018.

CSE Gala
The research capability of faculty and students of the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) will be showcased at the CSE Discovery and Innovation Gala 2015 from 24 to 25 June. This two-day event organised by CSE's Co-operative Education Centre aims to open up further opportunities for collaboration, industrial investment and donations through a demonstration of final-year student projects and faculty research projects.

Distinguished lectures
The first of two City University Distinguished Lectures this month will focus on the role of statistics in the "primary" and "secondary" analysis of DNA sequencing data. The lecture is titled "Statistics and Sequencing Technology" and will be delivered by Professor Wong Wing-hung, Stephen R. Pierce Family Goldman Sachs Professor in Science and Human Health, Stanford University, and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. The lecture will take place on 22 June.

In addition, Professor Wang Enge, Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will deliver a Distinguished Lecture titled "Ice surface: Insights from recent study " on 26 June. For more details, click here.

Sustainability on campus
The "Sustainability Dialogue Series" serves as a platform to encourage open dialogue and collaboration among participants including faculty, staff and students across different disciplines on sustainability issues at the CityU campus, in the community and the Asia Pacific region. On 11 June the theme "Roof Gardening" will encourage participants to share views on its challenges and possibilities with reference to the current practices in the wider communities. For more information, click here.

Jungle art showcase
First they trekked through the arid Californian deserts in 2012; then the voyage to Antarctica in 2013–14. The next installment in the Extreme Environments programme from the School of Creative Media sees the creation of artworks developed from an expedition to the Tu Lan cave system in Vietnam earlier this year. The art will be showcased at an exhibition "Fade to Black" from 3 to 13 June.  See here for a teaser of the artworks. The Extreme Environments programme focuses on translating environmental data into new media artworks.

Sustainability poster exhibition
A joint summer course on Sustainable Development in Hong Kong co-organised by CityU and Arizona State University is now entering its second year. Students will present some possible solutions and policy recommendations on the sustainability challenge in Hong Kong at a poster exhibition on 19 June at the concourse at 4/F, Blue Zone, Academic 1.

Admission interviews
The College of Business will hold BBA admission interviews for around 10,000 HKDSE applicants from 8 to 15 June. The interview process comprises a 50-minute information talk, a 35-minute individual presentation and a group interview. It provides a chance for each applicant to present him- or herself as a unique individual. The interviews also enable prospective students to meet their future professors and be well-informed about our BBA programme before they modify their JUPAS programme choices.

Kudos
Jin Weihong, a PhD student supervised by Professor Paul Chu Kim-ho, Chair Professor of Materials Engineering, received the Young Scientist Award from the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) during the E-MRS meeting in Lille, France, in recognition of her outstanding paper titled "Improvement of biomaterials properties using plasma-based technology".