About the Hong Kong Laureate Forum
Welcome to the June 2023 issue of the
newsletter of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum!
The "Beckoning the Inaugural Hong Kong
Laureate Forum" press conference was
successfully held on 6 June, thus marking
the official launch of the inaugural Forum.
Prof Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation,
Technology, and Industry, HKSAR Government,
together with Prof Timothy Tong, BBS, JP,
Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong
Laureate Forum (the HKLF), Dr Colin Lam,
SBS, Director of the Lee Shau Kee Foundation
and Prof Kenneth Young, Chair of The Shaw
Prize Council, were the officiating guests
and all delivered succinct but engaging
speeches. Ms Priyatha Menon of Cathay
Pacific, the official airline sponsor, Ms
Cheris Lee of MTR Corporation and Mr Andy
Wong of InvestHK, collaborating
organisations of the HKLF, delved into the
various aspects of scientific research
related to business development in Hong Kong
in the ensuing sharing session. We would
like to take this opportunity to express our
heartfelt gratitude again to our principal
sponsor, the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, and
our major partner, the Shaw Prize
Foundation, for their unwavering support. We
would also like to thank the Hong Kong SAR
Government, in particular Innovation,
Technology and Industry Bureau and Invest
Hong Kong, as well as Cathay Pacific, and
MTR Corporation, for their staunch support.
Apart from providing business class tickets
to our Shaw Laureates, our home carrier,
Cathay Pacific is also offering participants
of the Forum an exclusive opportunity to
enjoy great savings on flights to Hong Kong!
To watch the highlights of the "Beckoning the
Inaugural Hong Kong Laureate Forum", please
visit our YouTube channel. As
part of the programme of the press
conference, the HKLF organsied a media tour
involving local universities for
representatives of non-local press joining
the event. If you would like to find out
more about the media tour, please read the
next article.
The inaugural Hong Kong Laureate Forum, with
its theme "Meeting of Inspirational Minds",
will take place on 13-18 November 2023 at
the Hong Kong Science Park. The Forum will
have over 20 Shaw Laureates around the world
from the three disciplines, namely
Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and
Mathematical Sciences, gathering in person
in Hong Kong. They will share their research
and wisdom with more than 200 young
scientists from over 30 different countries
and regions through seminars, talks and
discussions. Certain sessions of the Forum
will also be live-streamed so that academics
and young people around the world can
participate in the Forum, albeit virtually.
Please visit our website to have
a look at the programme overview.
Apart from feverishly preparing for the
Forum, we have also started "The HKLF
Science Explorer Award Scheme 2023/2024 for
Secondary Students" for the second
consecutive year to encourage secondary
students to participate in science-related
events and activities with a view to broaden
their horizons and get inspired. The first
event of the award scheme, held on 24 June,
was a "Shaw Laureate Public Lecture: The
Active Social Lives of Black Holes". The
lecture was delivered in-person by Prof
Roger Blandford, recipient of the Shaw Prize
in Astronomy in 2020, in the Hong Kong Space
Museum. He gave a presentation on major
breakthroughs and key remaining questions
concerning our fundamental understanding of
astrophysical black holes. The participating
secondary students raised questions
enthusiastically and no doubt, they have
learnt a great deal about astrophysics from
the lecture. To learn more about the award
scheme, please visit our website.
Our work on promoting exchanges in science in
the community never stops. In April, the
HKLF signed a Collaborative Framework
Agreement with The Hong Kong Academy for
Gifted Education (HKAGE) to establish a
strategic partnership to work together in
the promotion of STEAM education. The aim is
to enhance the interest of gifted students
in science and technology, with a view to
cultivate future local research talents.
Besides inviting the Programme Steering
Committee Advisor of the HKLF, Prof Chu
Ming-chung, Choh-Ming Li Professor of
Physics of The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, to be the guest of the presentation
session of the Astronomy Course conducted by
HKAGE in April, the HKLF also co-organised a
science dialogue session with HKAGE on 17
June. The event started by Prof Chu
Ming-chung sharing his journey in
researching astronomical matters with three
gifted students, who had performed the best
in the Astronomy Course, followed by a
guided tour around the physics laboratories
at CUHK. The young visitors were fascinated
by the various equipment and their functions
on show. The dialogue session ended with
sharing by Prof Chu, Dr Jimmy Wong,
Executive Director of the Academy and Mrs Do
Pang Wai Yee, Secretary General of the HKLF
on their take on the importance of science
and encouraging the gifted students to
pursue their passion. We look forward to
co-organising more activities with HKAGE so
as to help to unleash gifted students'
potential in science.
Apart from promoting science to the younger
generation, another issue close to our heart
is that of climate change. We are keen to
back activities that focus on the matter and
we are proud to be a supporting organisation
for the Asia Solar Energy for Climate Change
Conference (ASECCC) to be organised by
CarbonCare InnoLab Limited, which will be
held virtually from 23 to 25 August. The
Conference will gather experts from diverse
sectors in the Asia Pacific region to
promote solar energy innovation and address
the issue of climate change, with the aim of
driving progress towards a more sustainable
future. Please click here for the details
of ASECCC.
Last but not least, the HKLF celebrated its
4th anniversary on 14 May. We would like to
take this opportunity to express our sincere
gratitude for the continued support from our
friends of different sectors. We look
forward to continuing the collaboration with
the community to promote education and
exchanges in various disciplines in science
and technology in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Laureate Forum – Media Tour
The HKLF organised a 4-day 3-night (from 5-8
June) media tour for representatives of an
array of non-local press, who were invited
to join the "Beckoning the Inaugural Hong
Kong Laureate Forum" press conference, to
visit the cutting-edge scientific research
facilities at top ranking local
universities. They also spoke to the
scientists conducting research at the
facilities and learnt about the latest
development of scientific research in Hong
Kong. The HKLF also provided the invited
press with detailed information of the
inaugural Forum, with a view to bringing
this Asia's prestigious science event to a
wider audience.
The group included representatives from media
organisations, with or without local
offices, from outside Hong Kong. From the
Mainland China, we have journalists from
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc., as well
as others from South Korea, Thailand and
Vietnam. Many members of the press were
thrilled to have the opportunity to visit
universities in Hong Kong in person. Through
such visits to various scientific research
facilities and interviewing the scientists,
we are confident that the prowess of Hong
Kong’s scientific research would reach the
audiences in different places.
The HKLF would like to thank the
universities' support, preparation and
hospitality, which made the media tour a
great success. The HKLF would also like to
thank the scientists who hosted the sessions
and gave detailed presentations on their
scientific research and respective
facilities. They include:
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- CUHK InnoHK
Centre: Microbiota I-Center – Prof
Francis Chan, Prof Siew Ng and their
research team
- CUHK InnoHK
Centre: Multi-Scale Medical Robotics
Center – Prof Samuel Au, Prof Philip
Chiu and their research team
- State Key
Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology – Prof
Lam Hon Ming and his research team
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- National Rail
Transit Electrification and Automation
Engineering Technology Research Center
(Hong Kong Branch) – Prof Ni Yi Qing and
his research team
- Research Centre
for Deep Space Explorations – Prof Yung
Kai Leung and his research team
The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology
- Biological
CryoEM Center – Dr Zhang Yingyi and her
research team
- Nanosystem
Fabrication Facility – Prof Kevin Chen
and his research team
- State Key
Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience –
Prof Amy Fu and her research team
- The
Aerodynamics and Acoustics Facility –
Prof Zhou Peng and his research team
The University of Hong Kong
- State Key
Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry – Prof
C M Che and his research team
- Tam Wing Fan
Innovation Wing – Dr Kit Chui and his
research team
We look forward to taking more press and
participating young scientists during the
Forum in November to visit other scientific
research facilities at local universities,
with an aim of showcasing the latest
scientific research projects in Hong Kong.
Cluster-Based Aircraft Fuel Estimation Model
for Effective and Efficient Fuel Budgeting
on New Routes
Abstract: Fuel burn accounts for up to
25% of an aircraft's total operating cost
and has become one of the most important
decision factors in the airline industry.
Hence, prudent fuel estimation is essential
for airlines to ensure smooth operation in
the upcoming financial year. Challenges
arise when airlines need to estimate the
total fuel consumption of new sectors where
data are not available. This necessitates
the derivation of a robust parametric model
that can represent the characteristics of
the new route even in the absence of
relevant data. To address this issue, we
propose a two-step approach to derive a
model that can accurately estimate the
aircraft fuel needed. The developed approach
involves both unsupervised learning and a
regression model. For the unsupervised
learning step, hierarchical density-based
spatial clustering of applications with
noise (HDBSCAN) is used to cluster the
principal component analysis (PCA)-reduced
data. This step can automatically separate
flight sectors based on their underlying
characteristics, as revealed by their
principal components, upon filtering the
noise in the data. Afterward, multivariate
linear regression (MLR) is used to derive
the equations for each cluster. The
PCA-based clustered model is shown to be
superior to using a global model for a
single aircraft type. This approach yields
fuel estimation with less than 5% root mean
square error for existing routes within each
cluster. More importantly, the proposed
method can accurately estimate the total
fuel of a new route with less than 2%
aggregate error, thereby addressing one of
the current limitations in the airline fuel
estimation study.
1. Introduction
Aviation big data analytics has grown as an
emerging research field in recent years.
Data-driven models, or machine learning
techniques, have become commonly used in
various industries due to the advancement in
data collection and storage, and the
aviation industry is no exception. These
techniques can help extract meaningful
patterns and knowledge from any given set of
data. The results of previous research in
aviation with these techniques have been
presented in air traffic management,
aircraft accident investigation, abnormality
in flight operation, aircraft performance in
airlines, etc.
One aircraft performance concern in airlines
is fuel burn since fuel cost accounts for
17-25% of an airline's total operating
expenses. Having a reliable and accurate
fuel estimation model is, therefore,
imperative for airlines because fuel
budgeting determines airlines' profitability
in the following year. Fuel budgeting
depends on the amount of fuel consumed and
the expected fuel price. We understand that
fuel price volatility is a crucial factor in
fuel budgeting. However, fuel price
prediction is out of this study's scope, and
we assume the airlines have appropriate
strategies and policies to tackle fuel price
volatility. In this study, we focus on
estimating the amount of fuel
considered for fuel budgeting purposes,
which we will refer to as fuel burn
estimation hereafter. To minimise
losses due to poor fuel planning, achieving
a high level of accuracy in total fuel
prediction is imperative.
Authors:
Prof Rhea P. Liem, Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
Mr Jefry Yanto, PhD Student, Department of
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The
Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology
Dog's Nose in Your Everyday Devices: Next
Generation Gas Sensors Enabled by Porous
Materials Chemistry
A dog's nose is regarded as one of the most
powerful sensors that exist. Trained canines
are even able to detect various clinical
conditions, such as spikes in blood sugar
and cholesterol levels, by sniffing the
affected person. For routine clinical
examinations, we would need a more practical
and cost-effective way to "sniff". For my
PhD project, my research was centered on
developing a new method of integrating a
'dog's nose'-like system in our everyday
device, using a material called
metal-organic frameworks.
The most commonly known electronic nose is
the breathalyser. As drivers subjected to
these tests breathe into the equipment, a
sensor embedded onto the breathalyser
measures the amount of alcohol in their
system by correlating the concentration in
their breath. The chemical interaction of
the alcohol molecules and the active sensor
material in the breathalyser is then
transformed into an electronic signal,
allowing the investigating officer to read
off the result. Alcohol in our breath is
relatively easy to detect because the
chemistry is specific, and the alcohol
concentration is fairly high (even without
having an excess drink or two). But our
breath is comprised of complex mixtures of
gas molecules in very low concentrations.
And fabricating state-of-the-art electronic
noses to detect specific molecules at lower
concentrations (ppm-level, about a drop of
water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool) is
a challenge. Fortunately, there is a
solution for this limitation which is
enabled by chemistry and materials science.
Very sensitive electronic noses of the
future can now be fabricated with a material
called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
Author:
Dr Alexander John Cruz, Technology
Integration Leader - Climate Technology
Solutions, Baker Hughes
From Influenza to COVID-19: Is annual
SARS-CoV-2 vaccination necessary?
After three years of living with masks and
travel restrictions, most COVID-related
restriction policies were lifted in March,
2023. While the mood of citizens in Hong
Kong is boosted, there are rising number of
COVID and influenza cases. Scientists round
the globe have been surveilling the
evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and there are
reports of constant mutation of the virus,
together with report of declining antibody
level in the blood, one question, thus, was
raised: Should we get annual SARS-CoV-2
vaccine booster?
Vaccination is a procedure which mimic
natural infection with substances
constructed from pathogens, which can be the
original pathogen in less harmful state
(inactivated), part of the pathogen (protein
subunits), or novel platforms such as the
mRNA vaccines. After natural infection or
vaccination, our immune system develops
memory cells which are specific to the
pathogen and respond quickly when we
encounter the same pathogen. A faster immune
response can suppress the replication of
pathogens and reduce the damage done to our
body. Moreover, if the number of pathogens
is suppressed, there is lower risk of
transmission to others. Therefore,
vaccination can reduce rate of infection and
severity of illness caused by infectious
disease.
Author:
Mr Khong Ka Wa
MBBS 6, the University of Hong Kong
Not One Less: Fencepost Errors
You have from 1 pm to 4 pm to work on
homework assignments for subjects #1 to #4.
If you complete one assignment per hour you
should get them all done on time. Yes or no?
Now how about if you have from 1 May to 4 May
to complete them? Can you get away with
completing one assignment per day?
These kinds of problems lead to more
questions. Why are hours and days counted
differently? Where should we start counting
from anyway? Applying what we learn in
school is never as simple as it seems – even
with something as simple as counting.
To set things straight, let's go back to
preschool. We learned to count starting from
one, two, three … and we also learned that
this counting process lets us know how many
things there are – pencils, houses, or days.
To save time we can just let the labels do
the counting for us: The days of the month
in June are labelled 1 to 30, so there are
30 days.
When we get to subtraction, the teacher holds
up six pencils and takes four of them away
one by one to demonstrate that 6 – 4 = 2.
Subtraction is an arithmetic operation,
meaning an action ("operation") is applied
to change the number of objects: In this
case, the act of taking a pencil away. Now
we are considering a slightly different
concept, the span between two numbers. This
isn't the same as the numbers themselves!
Once we are introduced to the number line,
we get to represent the subtraction 6 – 4 =
2 as four arrows bumping down from 6 to 2:
It's clear that this refers to the four
"spans" between 2 and 6. But the operation
actually "touches" five numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5,
6.
Author: Peace Foo, Student Editor, Science
Focus, The Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology
Design: Samantha Ng, Graphic Designer,
Science Focus, The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
Translation: Daniel Lau, Managing Editor,
Science Focus, The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
