Jointly established by PolyU and the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science (AMSS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Joint Laboratory of Applied Mathematics was recently awarded the “CAS-Croucher Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories 2022” with a total grant of HKD3 million. PolyU and AMSS will each provide a matching fund of HKD375,000, equivalent to HKD750,000, for the awarded project which will develop optimisation tools for medical image analytics, digital economics, and smart cities.

The project is led by the two Directors, Prof Chen Xiaojun, Chair Professor of Applied Mathematics of PolyU and Prof Yuan Yaxiang, Academician of CAS, AMSS. Entitled “Nonlinear Optimisation Theory, Algorithms and Applications”, the project aims to conduct a comprehensive mathematical investigation of nonlinear optimisation theory and build solid mathematical foundations for essential applications in data science, engineering and economics.

The project, which leverages the strengths of PolyU and the CAS research institutes, will develop advanced and cutting-edge deep learning software using new optimisation theory and algorithms to overcome the difficulties of the existing software in terms of speed, accuracy, robustness and complexity. Efficient optimisation models and tools using artificial neural network-based machine learning algorithms will also be developed for medical image analytics, digital economy and smart cities.