Prof Yik-Man Chiang obtained his BSc (1987) and PhD (1991) in Mathematics from the University of London. Prior to joining HKUST in 1993, he was Lecturer at the University of Bolton, UK from 1991-1992 and Chief Research Assistant at the University of Joensuu, Finland in 1992.

Prof Chiang’s current research activities are related to complex function theory, ordinary differential equations in the complex plane, orthogonal polynomials and difference equations. He is a past member of the Mathematics Subject Committee, Curriculum Development Council, the then Education and Manpower Bureau of the HK Government; and has co-organized with the Curriculum Development Council various workshops on teacher training over the past years. He was also one of the panelists at the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards in 2006.

Prof Nelson Cue has been the Director of the HKUST College of LifeLong Learning since its inception in 2000. Born in the Philippines of Chinese ancestry, he obtained a BSc degree from Feati University before earning a PhD in Physics from the University of Washington in 1967. After serving on the Physics Faculty at the State University of New York, Albany for more than twenty years, Prof Cue moved to Hong Kong and became the Founding Head of the Physics Department at HKUST in 1990. Later he served for three and a half years as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for the Postgraduate Program before resuming his teaching duty in 2002. He was Chair Professor of the Physics Department before his retirement in 2007.

Prof Cue's main research interests include nanostructured materials, surface probe microscopy and, more recently, technology transfer. In the late 1990s, he led the development of the first universal wireless classroom learning tool called the Personal Response System (PRS) that is now patented in the US and adopted for campus-wide usage in tertiary institutions in HK, UK and North America. He is also one the few academics who has been engaged in the startup of more than one company under the HKUST Entrepreneurship Program.

Prof Cue’s current involvements include 1) promotion of interactive classroom learning in the developing areas; 2) the applications of Human Epidermal Growth Factor (hEGF) produced by the so-called Bacteria Excretion System (BES) for curing diabetic foot ulcers, bedsores and other hard-to-heal wounds; 3) the use of the BES to produce the 3 enzymes needed to obtain biofuel from biomass that include wood trailing, waste papers, packing materials, salt water plants, and plants that stop the growth of deserts.

Prof Edmond Ko received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. He held visiting and guest faculty appointments at the University of California, Berkeley (1987-88), California Institute of Technology (1996) and Tianjin University (since 2002). Prior to joining HKUST, Prof Ko served as Vice-President (Undergraduate Education), Dean of Students, and Professor (Chair) of Chemistry at City University of Hong Kong, and as the Vice Provost for Education and Professor of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Besides being the co-author of over 100 publications and co-inventor of a U.S. patent in the area of surface science and catalysis, Prof Ko is an accomplished educator and has received many teaching awards. In addition, he has nine years of academic administrative experience, with the first two at Carnegie Mellon and the last seven at the City University of Hong Kong. As the key person charged to improve education at these two institutions, he has directed activities in student recruitment and admissions, student development, student residence, curriculum design, quality assurance, and faculty development. He is particularly interested in developing an outcome-based approach to enhance student learning.

Serving as Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council and a member of the University Grants Committee, Education Commission, and Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications of the HKSAR Government, Prof Ko is deeply involved in the formulation and implementation of education policies in Hong Kong at all levels. Since returning to Hong Kong in 1998, he has published 7 books and numerous articles on a wide range of educational issues in both English and Chinese. Having lived half of his life in the US, he is also keenly aware of the important of effective cross-cultural communication. He has created many cross-cultural learning experiences for students at HKUST and City University of Hong Kong, including conducting workshops on intercultural communication himself.

Mr Patrick Lui joined the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) over 16 years ago and is now a senior staff member at SLAC, a major U.S. national laboratory for high energy physics, astrophysics, and X-ray physics at Stanford University. He obtained his A.B. (Physics) and M.S. (Engineering Science) degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. degree in Physics from Columbia University. He is a founding member and a governor of Savantas Policy Institute, Hong Kong.

Mr Lui’s current work interests and focus involve 1) management of the huge amount of data and information expected to be produced in future interdisciplinary research based on X-ray physics; 2) the optimized control of electron accelerators based on novel, artificial-intelligence-based techniques; 3) knowledge engineering of technological “gadgets” that are crucial components in experimental physics but have disappeared from contemporary university curricula; 4) new methods of handling and imaging of biological molecules; and 5) table-top-sized devices that can accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light and/or produce coherent X-ray light. He also manages a wide range of laboratory inventions that may be of societal benefit in protein molecule imaging, drug discovery, nanotechnology, precision cancer radiotherapy, radioisotope detection, and alternative energy sources such as hydrogen fuel cells.

After having spent four years at a major U.S. company working on energy and electrical-power generation technologies, Mr Lui gained a healthy respect for the many complex issues related to human energy and power generation. His keen interest in global climate change and energy issues further developed when Stanford University founded the ten-year Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) in 2002. With a research funding of US$225 million provided by four major multinational corporations, GCEP seeks new energy technologies that are efficient, environmentally benign, and cost-effective when deployed on a large scale.

Prof Tai-Kai Ng received his BSc degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1981, and completed his PhD degree at Northwestern University in 1987. He joined the Physics Department of HKUST in 1991 and was appointed Associate Dean of Science in 2004. In August 2008, he was appointed Head of the Physics Department.

In 1993, Prof Ng received an Honorable Mention in the 1993 Achievement in Asia Award of the Overseas Chinese Physics Association, for his contribution to the understanding of the non-equilibrium mesoscopic Kondo effect. He became a Fellow of the American Physical Society since 2000 and was awarded the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship at 2002. Prof Ng also participates actively in Hong Kong's secondary and primary school science education. He was a (Hong Kong) representative in the joint Hong Kong-Mainland expert working groups on Science Education and is a Member of CDC Committee on Science Education, Curriculum Development Council.

Prof Ng's main research interests include theoretical condensed matter physics and statistical physics, including magnetic superconductors, mesoscopic systems and quantum transport, strongly correlated metals, theory of quantum spin systems and High-Tc superconductors. He is a member of the (Hong Kong) training team for the International Physics Olympiad competition and is interested in developing active science learning activities for primary and secondary school students.

Dr Leonard West obtained a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. He went on to finish an M.A. in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2000. In 2007, Dr West received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University.

Before joining the Language Center of HKUST in 2008, Dr West was Senior Lecturer at the HKUST College of LifeLong Learning, where he taught the English and Study Skills course for Warwick's Higher Education Foundation Program. As Instructor at the Language Center, he presently teaches the Business Case Analysis course which is conducted in cooperation with the Department of Management. By challenging students intellectually and linguistically, this course aims at the development of language and communication skills, critical reading and thinking abilities, as well as the skills required to analyze business cases. In another course Business Communication, Dr West prepares students for life in a company by teaching presentation and thinking skills, helping them understand the principles of and practise the skills for effective communication in the workplace.

Dr West has extensive teaching experiences in Asia, covering China, South Korea and Japan. Before joining HKUST in 2006, he was Visiting Professor at the Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea from 2001 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was Visiting Lecturer at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies in Japan, where he taught courses in academic writing, presentation, and oral English communication strategies.

Prof Wan-Keung Wong obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia in 1986. His research interests include bacterial genetics; cloning and expression of genes in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae; excretion of proteins from E. coli; development of E. coli systems for extracellular production of valuable proteins; production and reconstitution of recombinant cellulases for use in energy generation and cellulosic waste management; investigation and application of Bacillus subtilis as a recombinant host for heterologous gene expression.

Using recombinant DNA technology, Prof Wong successfully developed a cost-effective way to mass produce human epidermal growth factor (hEGF). The process has been published in numerous international journals and patents; and the technology has since been commercialized and incorporated in the manufacturing of skincare products now available on the market. He has also joined hands with the consultant of United Christian Hospital in the study of the treatment for diabetic foot ulcer, one of the major reasons for amputation.

Prof Wong’s research achievements have brought him five patents. He works closely with the local industry through research contracts and consulting work. Prior to joining HKUST in 1990, he worked for Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc, focusing on the development of efficient microbial expression systems.