Professor Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Dr Tan Tieniu, Vice-Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR, led a delegation to City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and its joint laboratories on 9 November.

During the visit, Professor Bai presented an honorary certificate to CityU in recognition of its Joint Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanomechanics as one of the “outstanding joint laboratories” in an evaluation of the laboratories jointly established by CAS and academic institutions in Hong Kong in 2018.　

In addition, CityU’s Joint Laboratory on Neutron Scattering Science and Technology was included on the list of newly added joint laboratories and ranked 1st among five new joint laboratories that fulfilled the requirements of the evaluation.

The Director of the Joint Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanomechanics is Professor Lu Jian, Vice-President (Research and Technology) and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and the Director of the Joint Laboratory on Neutron Scattering Science and Technology is Professor Wang Xunli, Chair Professor of Physics and Head of the Department of Physics.

Among the 30 joint laboratories taking part in the evaluation, four were selected in the “Outstanding” category. Professor Bai said they would each receive sponsorship of RMB1.6 million each year for a total of RMB8 million over five years, according to CAS’s Sponsorship Scheme for Joint Laboratories.

 

He commended CityU’s excellent achievements in research on engineering and materials science and he said he hoped that CityU and CAS would further collaborate on the advancement of scientific research in China.　

Professor Way Kuo, CityU President, welcomed the delegates of CAS and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR to the University’s joint laboratories. He said that CityU emphasised collaboration with academic institutions on the mainland. With the establishment of the USTC–CityU Joint Advanced Research Centre in Suzhou and research institutes in Shenzhen and Chengdu, he said he hoped that CityU’s joint laboratories could help to boost academic research in Hong Kong and the mainland.

In addition, CityU’s Joint Laboratory for Robotics and Joint Laboratory for Functional Materials and Devices were evaluated and selected in the “Qualified” category. The directors of the two laboratories are Professor Li Wen Jung, Chair Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor Lee Chun-sing, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Chair Professor of Materials Chemistry.