RGC Public Lecture  - "STEM"

First Session: Societal needs for innovation in environmental health technology  (by HKUST)

The HKUST team has taken the challenge to develop innovative and benign technology to improve the living environment and enhance the health and safety of the individual and the community. The HKUST team invented advanced technologies employing smart materials that responds intelligently to environmental cues to mitigate pollutions and microbial contamination. Examples include a family of smart antimicrobials that disinfect the air, water, and surfaces of harmful bacteria and viruses to prevent infections. Technologies that target odor find uses in the Hong Kong drainage network to deodorise and improve air quality, while anti-biofouling coatings for water pipes protect pipes from corrosion, prevents microbial contamination, and improve energy efficiency. The HKUST team adopts a holistic approach considering technology innovation, stakeholder benefits, and societal impact in these researches.

Second Session: Luminescent Metal Complexes for Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Devices (OLEDs)  (by HKU)

OLED is a promising emerging technology for flat panel displays and has found applications in smartphones, HDTVs and VR devices nowadays. HKU’s proprietary OLED materials have provided great opportunities for regional and global businesses to create a new mainstay industry in Mainland China. HKU has exclusively licensed patents on Pt(II) emitters to major global OLED display manufacturers, as well as attracted industrial capital to realize the commercial use of such inventions in display technology. HKU’s pioneering work on Au (III) emitters has led to a joint laboratory with one of China’s largest enterprises to develop printable OLED materials.