PolyU awarded funding from the Areas of Excellence Scheme of the Research Grants Council

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is pleased to be awarded funding from the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme 2020/21 (Ninth Round) of the Research Grants Council (RGC). The “Meta-optics, Meta-acoustics and Meta-devices” project, led by PolyU, is one of the four projects receiving funding from the RGC. The approved budget of this project is HK$70 million with HK$65 million to be funded by the RGC and the remaining amount to be contributed by PolyU and the respective collaborating universities.

The “Meta-optics, Meta-acoustics and Meta-devices” project, spearheaded by Professor TSAI Din-Ping, Chair Professor of Nanophotonics and Head of Department of Electronic and Information Engineering of PolyU, aims at developing novel meta-materials and meta-devices that can control and manipulate electromagnetic and acoustic waves for improving the quality of human daily life. These new meta-devices are to be designed and manufactured for novel applications in various areas such as imaging, sensing, energy, communications, biomedicine, industrial manufacturing, artificial intelligence technology and quantum technology.

Professor Tsai said, “We expect that this project will generate a new platform for intelligent artificial materials and devices which are of low energy consumption and compatible with advanced manufacturing in micro- and nano-electronics industrial techniques for wearable or portable innovations. The intellectual properties and innovations of the meta-devices will also be transferred to the industry and business sectors. We believe the new knowledge will strategically transform and upgrade Hong Kong’s hi-tech industries.”

Professor Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, said, “I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the University for the RGC’s strong support to our research. At PolyU, we are committed to leveraging our academic strength, research expertise and global network to transform research breakthroughs and innovations into real-world solutions and applications. Through our interdisciplinary research, we are dedicated to expanding human knowledge, addressing societal needs and making a positive impact on the world.”

PolyU will also participate in two other projects, namely “Aging, Skeletal Degeneration and Regeneration” and “2D Materials Research: Fundamentals Towards Emerging Technologies” led by The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong respectively.

The AoE Scheme was launched in 1998. The objective of the Scheme is to support the University Grants Committee-funded universities to build upon their existing strengths and develop them into areas of excellence. A total of 24 AoE projects from various disciplines have been funded in the past eight rounds of the Scheme. The total budget of all four selected projects in the ninth round of funding exceeds HK$304 million.

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