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Chair Professor Sun Defeng, Head of Department of Applied Mathematics conferred RGC Senior Research Fellowship 2022/23

On 8 July 2022, the Research Grant Council (RGC) announced the application results of the RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) 2022/23.  This year, RGC received a total of 32 nominations for SRFS and selected 10 nominees for awards in 2022/23. Professor Sun Defeng, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics, is selected as one of the 10 SRFS awardees after a rigorous assessment process. Prof. Sun will be conferred the title "RGC Senior Research Fellow" and receiving a fellowship grant from RGC for five years to support his research project titled ‘Nonlinear conic programming: Theory, algorithms and software’.  Joined PolyU in 2017, Professor Sun is Chair Professor of Applied Optimization and Operations Research and assumed Headship of the Department of Applied Mathematics in 2019. He received his bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Nanjing University in 1989 and 1992 respectively, and PhD from Institute of Applied Mathematics from Chinese Academy of Science in 1995 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the University of New South Wales, Australia. Before joining PolyU, Professor Sun served as Professor at Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore, Deputy Director (Research) at the NUS Risk Management Institute and Program Director for its Master of Financial Engineering program. Professor Sun was ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists by Stanford University in 2021, and conferred as the Inaugural Fellows of the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (CSIAM) and Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) respectively in 2020. In 2018, Professor Sun and his collaborators Professor Kim-Chuan Toh and Dr. Liuqin Yang, was the first Asian team awarded with the prestigious prize in computational optimization Beale--Orchard-Hays Prize for Excellence in Computational Mathematical Programming for their outstanding work on SDPNAL+, which describes a new method for semidefinite programming with nonnegative constraints. RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme To build up a pool of local research talent to sustain Hong Kong’s competitiveness and propel the development of our higher education sector, the Research Grants Council (RGC) introduced three new regular fellowship schemes in 2019/20 academic year, namely RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDFS), RGC Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) and RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS), which will benefit post-doctoral fellows as well as researchers at associate professor and professor ranks respectively. It aims to support exceptionally outstanding academics at their mid-career at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong.  In each round of this yearly exercise, SRFS will support 10 awardees at full Professor rank at a UGC-funded university encompassing all academic disciplines.   ~ End ~

20 Jul, 2022

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AMA Outstanding Alumnus Professor Lin Zhouchen received PolyU Graduate School Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award

Warmest congratulations to our alumnus Professor Lin Zhouchen on receiving the first PolyU Graduate School Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award as a recognition of his distinctive accomplishments and impactful contributions to research. He also received the Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Applied Mathematics 2022 (Scholarly Achievement) in early 2022. Professor Lin is a Professor in School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University. He leads the ZERO Laboratory and the Center for Machine Learning, Institute of Artificial Intelligence at Peking University. He obtained a MPhil degree from PolyU in 1997 and a PhD degree from Peking University in 2000. His research areas include machine learning, numerical optimization, computer vision, and image processing. Professor Lin has published over 230 peer-reviewed papers on top journals and conferences, and three books. His Google Scholar citation number is over 23,000 with an H-index of 65. He has been area chairs of CVPR, ICCV, NIPS/NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, and IJCAI for many times, and is currently a Program Co-Chair of ICPR 2022 and a Senior Area Chair of ICML 2022. He was an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence and is currently an associate editor of the International Journal of Computer Vision and Optimization Methods and Software. Professor Lin was awarded as a Distinguished Young Scholars by the Natural Science Foundation of China in 2016, and received the First Prize of CCF Natural Science Award in 2020.  He is a fellow of IEEE, IAPR, and CSIG. Please visit the webpage below for details of the PolyU Graduate School Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award   

6 Jul, 2022

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AMA Teaching Team received FAST Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2022

Our warmest congratulations to AMA colleagues who received Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2022 for their remarkable contributions on Teaching. Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2022 –  Teaching (Team Award) Dr Joseph Lee, Associate Professor Mr Adam Leung, Instructor Mr Frankie Tsoi, Instructor  

10 Jun, 2022

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Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Applied Mathematics 2022

Launched in 1996, PolyU’s Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award aims to give public recognition to outstanding graduates of PolyU for their professional achievements and significant contributions to the community and their alma mater. As the year 2022 marks its 85th Anniversary, PolyU launches Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department 2022 which is organized by the Department to recognize the diverse accomplishments of distinguished alumni graduated from the respective Department. There are four award categories, namely “Professional Achievement”, “Entrepreneurial Achievement”, “Scholarly Achievement” and “Community Service Achievement” for The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department 2022. The nomination and selection of Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Applied Mathematics are completed in December 2021. We are pleased to announce and congratulate the following awardees of Outstanding Alumni Award for each category:  Scholarly Achievement  Professor Lin Zhouchen Master of Philosophy, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU / 1997 Professor Lin Zhouchen is a Professor in School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University. He leads the ZERO Laboratory and the Center for Machine Learning, Institute of Artificial Intelligence at Peking University. Professor Lin obtained a MPhil degree from PolyU in 1997 and a PhD degree from Peking University in 2000. His research areas include machine learning, numerical optimization, computer vision, and image processing. He has published over 230 peer-reviewed papers on top journals and conferences, and three books. His Google Scholar citation number is over 23,000 with an H-index of 65. He has been area chairs of CVPR, ICCV, NIPS/NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, and IJCAI for many times, and is currently a Program Co-Chair of ICPR 2022 and a Senior Area Chair of ICML 2022. He was an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence and is currently an associate editor of the International Journal of Computer Vision and Optimization Methods and Software. Professor Lin was awarded as a Distinguished Young Scholars by the Natural Science Foundation of China in 2016, and received the First Prize of CCF Natural Science Award in 2020.  He is a fellow of IEEE, IAPR, and CSIG. Community Service Achievement Mr. Lin Pui Keung, Joseph Higher Diploma in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, Department of Mathematical Studies, PolyU / 1986 Mr. Joseph Lin obtained a High Diploma from Department of Mathematical Studies (Former of Department of Applied Mathematics) in 1986 and pursued further study to obtain professional knowledge and skills. He is currently a Business Development Leader for Corporate Affairs of Greater China, Cisco Systems, and responsible for developing Corporate Social Responsibility partnership and collaboration projects with governments, education institutes, NGOs, and industry partners. He is devoted to promoting STEM education in Greater China. He develops and leads a flagship CSR program, Cisco Networking Academy, for over 20 years to drive STEM education and ICT talent development in Secondary and Tertiary sectors. Collaborated with over 300 education institutes, this program has impacted over 1 million students since 2000. Mr. Lin was steering committee member of ‘Girls Go Tech Program’ by The Women Foundation (TWF), Chairman of HK Cisco Innovation Challenge, and volunteers in other NGO youth activities. Mr. Lin shared the best practice in CSR to senior Government officials in China through the 21C Leadership Program. He received The Partnership of Excellence Award from the Ministry of Education, China (2017-2019). Starting from 2016, Mr. Lin has been one of the External members of AMA’s Departmental Advisory Committee and advised the University on the scope and nature of its academic programmes based on his expertise and experience. He also acts as mentor for university students in PolyU, HKU and HKUST.  Professional Achievement (Young Alumni) Miss Lee Ka Yi Bachelor of Science in Investment Science, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU / 2016 Ka Yi begun formal training in squash at Hong Kong Sports Institute and have become a professional athlete since 2014. She is one of a group of Hong Kong squash players sitting in the top 50 in the World Rankings and has been representing Hong Kong to participate in various local and overseas squash competitions. In 2018, Ka Yi and her team won Hong Kong's first-ever Women's Squash Team Gold in the Asian Games 2018 and a bronze medal at the WSF Women's World Team Championship 2018.  She also won Championships in 2019 China International Squash Elite Competition, and the 14th East Asian Squash Team Championships 2019 in Tokyo and first runner up at the 20th Asian Team Championship 2021. As a member of PolyU Squash Team, Ka Yi was a Champion of The University Sports Federation of Hong Kong USFHK Women Squash Championship in 2012-2016. In recognition of her outstanding achievements in international squash competitions, Ka Yi was awarded the Medal of Honour by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Please visit the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award 2022 webpage for more information about nomination and selection.   **** END ****

12 Apr, 2022

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Chair Professor Chen Xiaojun received RGC Collaborative Research Fund 2021/22

Our warmest congratulations to Chair Professor Chen Xiaojun who receives RGC Collaborative Research Fund (Research Equipment Grant) in 2021/22. Professor Chen is the Project Coordinator (PC) of the proposal titled “High Performance Deep Learning Clusters for Big Data Analytics”, one of the five funded PolyU projects in this year Exercise. Co-PIs are from COMP, LSGI, AF, SO of PolyU and CUHK and HKBU. The Research Grant Council (RGC) would support the project with a total funding of HKD 3,099,659. In this Exercise, PolyU submitted 50 CRF preliminary proposals with PolyU staff as PC. After a long and rigorous selection procedure, 5 proposals (including 3 Research Equipment Grant and 2 Research Project Grant) were supported by RGC with a total amount of awarded funding of $24.109 million. About RGC CRF The main objective of the Collaborative Research Project Grant is to encourage research groups in UGC-funded universities to engage in collaborative research across disciplines and across universities with a view to enhancing the research output of universities in terms of the level of attainment, quantity, dimensions and speed. It provides funding for staff, equipment and general expenses related to the supported projects. In assessing proposals, the RGC puts emphasis on capacity building and the potential of a proposal to develop into an area of strength. For more information about the CRF, please visit https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/crf/ For the full list of funded projects in 2021/22 CRF Exercise, please visit https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/crf/funded%20research/21-22.html       END

7 Jan, 2022

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AMA staff received FAST Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2021

31 Dec, 2021

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Dr Fridolin Ting and AMA QEF team win Two Distinguished Awards at the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Reimagine Education Awards 2021

Congratulations to our Senior Teaching Fellow Dr Fridolin Ting and AMA team of Quality Education Fund (QEF) projects for winning two distinguished awards at Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Reimagine Education 2021, in recognition of their innovative teaching and learning methods. Co-organised by QS and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Reimagine Education Awards are regarded as the “Oscars” of education, rewarding innovative approaches that enhance students’ learning outcomes and employability. Among 1,350 contestants from 84 countries and regions, there are only 48 projects winning medals including one Silver and one Bronze award for AMA's QEF projects, and one Gold award for the project led by Professor Daniel Shek, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme) of PolyU:   Gold Award in Nurturing Wellbeing & Purpose category Project title: Leadership and Intrapersonal Development Programme Project leader: Professor Daniel Shek, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme), PolyU Project summary: The programme builds up important positive attributes and competencies among university students, enabling them to pursue continual self-improvement, enhance their wellbeing, and contribute to society, through a suite of four subjects, namely Tomorrow’s Leaders, Service Leadership, Promotion of Children and Adolescent Development, and Service Leadership through Serving Children and Families with Special Needs, with both formal and informal learning processes.   Silver Award in Science of Learning category Project title: Innovative PALMS Drawing Pedagogies and Apps to Increase Active Learning in Mathematics and Science Project leader: Dr Fridolin Ting, Senior Teaching Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU Project summary: According to extensive evidenced-based research, active learning strategies significantly improve Science and Mathematics students' achievement, understanding and application of concepts. In addition, writing and drawing are integral parts of learning and teaching in the Sciences and Mathematics, to convey abstract concepts and ideas. This project aims to increase active learning in Science and Mathematics education through innovative pedagogies, mobile writing and drawing applications.   Bronze Award in K12 category Project title: Developing Active Learning Pedagogies and Mobile Applications in High School Mathematics Education Project leader: Dr Fridolin Ting, Senior Teaching Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU Project summary: The project combines active learning pedagogies and novel writing and drawing apps that are optimal for active learning and conveying abstract concepts and ideas for Mathematics students. Thirty-five secondary school mathematics teachers and principals have been involved in the project.   A full list of reimagine application award winners this year: https://content.qs.com/re21/Reimagine_Education_Winner_List_20211215.pdf   *** END ***

22 Dec, 2021

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PolyU ranked 54th in 2022 Best Global Universities for Mathematics by U.S. News & World Report

5 Nov, 2021

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Chair Professor Sun Defeng collaborates with Noah's Ark Lab for the development of an efficient industrial level optimization package

華為供應鏈問題由於其超大規模(千萬級的變數和約束,數百萬的整數變數)、數值範圍大(數學模型中最大係數和最小係數之間差距超過)、約束矩陣低秩病態(約束矩陣的條件數超過)、靈活魯棒的增量求解等問題,一直給包括Gurobi,CPLEX,XPRESS在內的各個數學規劃求解器帶來很大的計算挑戰。針對華為供應鏈的特殊場景,諾亞方舟實驗室(Noah's Ark Lab)團隊聯合來自香港理工大學孫德鋒老師(Professor Sun Defeng) 團隊和上海交通大學Apex實驗室張偉楠老師團隊共同實現了自研求解器的設計和加速,現已落地華為供應鏈多個場景,支援日常生產需要。 總體框架 以多工廠排產引擎(變數和約束均在2000萬以上,全流程需要完成90輪線性規劃問題的求解,包括數據預處理和後處理,需要260分鐘以內輸出報表,供業務使用)為例,諾亞自研求解器主要包括了模型化簡,線性規劃求解,連續求解,混合整數規劃求解和數據後處理5個部分。其中,連續求解的模組源自華為供應鏈的特殊業務訴求,其主要作用是根據第一輪線性規劃的解為一部分變量添加單邊懲罰目標,從而提升批量生產的滿足率。 技術重點 首先,根據華為供應鏈問題的特點,我們在線性規劃求解部分主要改進了對偶單純形法(dual Simplex)。考慮到約束矩陣的性質,我們設計了更高效的數據結構加速出入基的列更新計算。同時,我們改進了尋找初始基的方法,並添加了多種啟發式方法,在一定程度上防止了約束矩陣退化現象中頻繁無效出入基的現象。由於約束矩陣天然的病態性和數值差異,我們發現在完成實際問題的大規模計算過程中,Fill-in現象會遠比公開的Benchmark嚴重,這個現象會導致矩陣在計算過程中變得更加稠密從而降低計算性能。因此,我們利用AVX-512指令集,重新設計了數據結構,加速底層線性方程組的計算。   在連續求解的部分,由於添加的變數約束佔比不超過10%,因此這一部分我們選擇了原單純形法(primal Simplex)。同時,我們發現變量狀態(例如:upper bound, lower bound, superbasic等)的影響超過了變量取值的影響,據此我們設計了若干啟發式方法來加速狀態的修正,這種修正會降低求解過程中phase I的時間,從而加速全流程求解。事實上,即使是最快的商務軟件在連續求解的過程中計算也不滿足魯棒性,時常由於數值問題影響全流程計算的穩定性,但諾亞自研求解器由於更多啟發式演算法的設計,在日常運營中的穩定性超過當前最好的商務軟件。 在混合整數求解部分,我們採用了branch-and-cut的方法,充分利用cut separation的信息減少branching的決策失誤率。在這裡,分別採用了啟發式和learning的方法,實現了cut selection,加速全流程的求解。 運營效果 諾亞自研求解器已經服務于華為供應鏈多個項目,以多工廠排產任務為例,諾亞自研求解器已經在2020年9月18日上線,協助支撐引擎安全運營。 資料來源: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xbzIlj4Togx2MDSAkgCs8g   — 完 —

1 Nov, 2021

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Prof Sun  his team received the award from Dr Huiling Zhen the representative of Huawei Technologies

Chair Professor Sun Defeng received the Distinguished Collaborator Award from Hong Kong Research Center, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

Congratulations to Chair Professor Sun Defeng, Head of Department of Applied Mathematics at PolyU for winning the Distinguished Collaborator Award from Hong Kong Research Center, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. for his contribution on a collaborative research project named ‘Solving Large Scale Linear Programming Models for Production Planning (面向排產的大規模線性規劃求解器)’. Professor Sun and his research team received the award from Dr Zhen Huiling, the representative of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (2nd from the left), on 29 October 2021 (Friday). The project focused on the core technical problem of the multi-factory production planning problem, which can be regarded as a relaxed linear programming problem of the large-scale mixed-integer programming problem. Based on the specific structure and data characteristics of the specific problems, in this project, Professor Sun and his research team constructed a more stable and robust algorithm for providing effective initial solutions and efficient presolving method. The team designed a software package that outperforms the current commercial software package for linear programming. The research outcome has greatly enhanced the efficiency of the supply chain management and planning. Focusing on research of the development of efficient optimization algorithms for solving large-scale complex optimization problems, statistical regression models and machine learning problems, Professor Sun devised a world-recognized second-order sparsity based solution methodology separating useful data from useless data and uncovering minute information on a large scale.  This innovative technology has been used both academically and in real-world applications. Professor Sun currently serves as an Associate Editor of SIAM Journal on Optimization, Mathematical Programming, Journal of the Operations Research Society of China, Journal of Computational Mathematics and Science China Mathematics, and Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications. He has been an Advisory Committee Member of Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research since 2014, and is invited as a plenary speaker at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE21) held in March 2021. Professor Sun is an elected Fellow of both the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (CSIAM).   - END -

22 Oct, 2021

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