Announcement

Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning of Lingnan University in Hong Kong has been elected Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering (HKAE) for the year 2024. The Induction Ceremony of the 11 new Fellows of the HKAE was held on 20 January 2025. Prof Yao has the distinction of being the third Lingnan scholar to receive this honour, following Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, and Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research), Acting Dean of the School of Data Science, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence.

A science diplomat with extensive global experience in strategic management of science relationships across governments, non-government organisations, industry and academia, has been appointed Director for the International Science Council Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific led by the Australian Academy of Science.

• The legacy of Duke-NUS’ founding donor, the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat, continues with a transformative S$5.5 million gift towards research. • The HEAD Foundation steps up with a S$200,000 scholarship, underpinning Duke-NUS’ commitment to developing medical expertise.

- Takes the lead in global academic research into solar power - Leads the Korea Photovoltaic Society for one year starting in January 2025

Seed grants have been awarded to six applicants with high quality and well-outlined proposals to organize workshops promoting science advice at an institutional or national level in their respective countries in 2025.

Experts from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, team up with their Indian counterparts to make IIT Hyderabad’s stunning new campus a reality

Hiroshima University, in partnership with four Japanese institutions and five global collaborators, has launched the “Global Research Initiative on Wireless Terahertz (GROW-THz).” Backed by the JST ASPIRE program with ¥500 million in funding over five years, this project aims to advance next-generation ultra-high-speed wireless communication technologies, strengthen international research networks, and foster intellectual mobility, including the long-term overseas placement of doctoral students for up to one year.

Trusted, independent data analytics organisation Clarivate has included Lingnan University's Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning, and Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research), Acting Dean of the School of Data Science, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, on their latest list of Highly Cited Researchers 2024. The two scholars’ multiple frequently referenced papers ranking in the top 1 per cent by citations for their fields and publication year over the past decade have made a significant and wide-ranging impact.

Hokkaido University and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. signed a partnership agreement in June 2022 to address various social issues in Hokkaido and lead the creation of a sustainable society. As part of this collaboration, Hokkaido Air System Co., Ltd. will equip one of its aircraft with an external camera to commence the world's first regular flight-based red tide monitoring starting in the summer of 2025.

Osaka University and NEC Corporation will showcase a research result at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24) scheduled to be held from November 17 to 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The experiment to be conducted will transfer huge research data between servers using a 100 Gbps line between Japan and the United States. One file of huge research data stored in the storage of one server is transferred to the other server at high speed. In the preliminary evaluation, we have confirmed that the transfer of 1TB of data can be completed in 87 seconds (effective 92.0Gbps) over a short distance. This experiment will confirm the performance of the long-distance transfer between Japan and the U.S.

Professor Teatulohi (Lohi) Matainaho, a world leading researcher in traditional medicine and drug discovery in malaria, cancer, HIV and Tuberculosis and on Papua New Guinea’s biodiversity and formulation of science policies, has been elected as the inaugural President of the Pacific Academy of Sciences.

A new portal linking Japanese genetic variant information with protein sequence and structure date has been launched by Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj) and Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo). The portal simplifies the mapping of genetic variants to 3D protein structures and includes tools for visualization and analysis. It aims to advance medicine and drug discovery, particularly in precision medicine.

More than 20 Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) faculty, representing more than a quarter of the University’s total tenure track faculty, have been ranked among the top 2% of the most-cited scientists worldwide in 2023.

Twenty-nine Lingnan University scholars are listed among the World’s Top 2% Scientists published in 2024 by US Stanford University. The annual rankings highlight leading scientists across a wide range of fields, based on their career-long citation impact or single-year citation impact in 2023. The recognition underscores the research excellence and academic strengths of Lingnan scholars, and the significant contributions they have made to both academia and society.

Lingnan University will confer two honorary fellowships on 3 October 2024 to recognise outstanding professional achievements and valuable contributions to the community and the education sector. The recipients are Ms Chiang Lai-ping, Agnes and Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che.

A research team led by Osaka University has developed Japan's first biomolecular sequencer prototype, crucial for gene-based cancer diagnosis and treatment. After 16 years of research, the team, led by Professors Taniguchi and Ohshiro, collaborated with H.U. Group Research Institute and Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation to overcome technical challenges. The team plans to enhance the device with AI for accurate diagnostics and to advance peptide drug discovery.

Learned society and publisher Applied Microbiology International (AMI) has announced a new partnership with science communicators SelectScience. The two organisations will be working together on SelectScience’s upcoming CLINICAL24 campaign and beyond.

International academic website Research.com commends Lingnan University in their latest edition of 2024 Best Scientists. Seventeen leading scholars from Lingnan University are ranked among the national best scientists in their respective disciplines, including Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing; Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning; Prof Bradley Richard Barnes, Interim Associate Vice-President (Global Affairs) cum Director of Global Education; Prof Siu Oi-ling, Lam Woo & Co Ltd Chair Professor of Applied Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychology; and Prof Dean Tjosvold, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Management.

Lingnan University has admitted three elite student-athletes through the Direct Entry Stream for Top Athletes (DESTA) for the 2024/25 academic year. The successful candidates cyclist Ng Sum-lui, Wushu Sanda athlete Li Ka-yee, and ice hockey player Patten Lai have achieved outstanding results in their respective sports. Since the scheme was launch in the 2022/23 academic year, Lingnan University has accepted a total of eight elite athletes.

Fujitsu and Osaka University accelerate progress toward practical quantum computing by significantly increasing computing scale through error impact reduction in quantum computing architecture

This alliance by the student bodies of Singapore’s three medical schools continues to unify and represent the voice of the local medical student community through regular dialogue, engagement and collaboration with external stakeholders, including the Singapore Medical Association and Ministry of Health.

A violinist, an athlete, engineers and architecture graduates highlight the diversity and drive of Duke-NUS Medical School’s 18th cohort of medical students.

Applied Microbiology International has announced that it has recruited 11 new Global Ambassadors from around the world.

- Recipient Associate Professor Lena Ho spearheads groundbreaking research to develop first- in-class therapeutics to target inflammatory diseases; Collaboration between 65LAB and Duke-NUS aims to advance promising innovation from academic institutions with potential to build new therapeutic companies from Singapore; S$1.85 million funding comprises US$1.5 million from 65LAB and US$350,000 from Duke- NUS' newly established incubator, LIVE Ventures

On July 18, the British Academy announced its list of 84 newly elected Fellows for 2024, including 30 International Fellows. Academia Sinica Academician David Der-wei Wang and Distinguished Research Fellow Dr. Joseph Cho Wai Chan were honored as International Fellows, recognizing their significant research contributions.

Duke-NUS Medical School today launched LIVE Ventures, a S$20 million incubation programme designed to catalyse the commercialisation of innovative academic research. Focused on translating scientific breakthroughs into clinical applications, LIVE Ventures will provide Duke-NUS scientists conducting high-impact research with essential commercialisation expertise and resources and partner with both public and private sector entities to co-fund these projects.

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) announced its 2024 Members and Associate Members on July 9, 2024. James Liao, President of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, was elected as an "Associate Member." Liao was one of the 20 scientists outside Europe to receive this prestigious recognition this year.

Lingnan University in Hong Kong has achieved encouraging results in the latest Research Grants Council (RGC) funding round for the General Research Fund (GRF), Early Career Scheme (ECS), and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS). Lingnan’s research performance is widely acknowledged with a total of HK$24.4 million granted for 39 projects, the highest sum over the years and a 17 per cent increase over last year’s HK$20.8 million. Seven of these projects will receive more than or close to HK$1 million.

Lingnan University recently held an agreement signing ceremony on campus to mark the donation of HK$100 million by the Hopson Education Charitable Funds Limited towards establishing a university development fund and supporting Lingnan University to cultivate research-oriented talents.

WSA's Office of Research in Clinical Amplification (ORCA) Asia will be a research laboratory dedicated to conducting audiological research for the Asian population.