CityU tech forums bring together Nobel Prize laureates, Chinese and overseas scholars to explore quantum physics and metabolism

Education | 30 Dec 2022

Organised by the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), the HK Tech Forum series provides a platform for discussing new strategies and approaches to major challenges in science and technology. Two forums were held earlier this month: one on quantum physics and complex systems, and the other on metabolism in health and disease.

Hosted by the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS) of the CityU, the Forum on Quantum Physics and Complex Systems was held during December 7-9. The fifth forum of this HK Tech Forum series provided an exceptional multidisciplinary, cross-pollination arena for world-leading scientists to discuss complex systems, including spin glasses, neural networks, proteins, and related problems.

“Quantum physics is a fundamental technology that can enrich our daily life. Development of new technologies hinge on our understanding of quantum interactions and increasingly complex materials,” said Prof Xun-Li Wang, HKIAS Executive Director and Co-Chair of the Forum on Quantum Physics and Complex Systems, at the opening ceremony.

“This forum brings together leading scholars from around the world, as well as young and active researchers, in tackling challenging issues from the perspective of quantum materials, complex systems, quantum information, and quantum beam applications.,” he added.

Extending his warm welcome to the participants, Prof Way Kuo, President of the CityU, remarked: “The HK Tech Forum covers a wide range of topics. In addition to quantum physics and complex systems, it also covers chemistry of 2D materials, data science and AI, reliability and safety of intelligent systems, advanced matter and materials, carbon neutrality and sustainability environment, as well as metabolism in health and disease.”

“The objective of this forum is to promote strong collaboration between Hong Kong scholars in applying a multidisciplinary approach to tackling long-standing scientific puzzles and challenging technology issues… and encourage more profound and deeper research in quantum physics and complex systems,” he added.

In his greeting message, Prof Anton Zeilinger, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria, and the Nobel Prize laureate in Physics 2022, said that he was glad that this kind of conference had been organised, particularly now that Hong Kong was accelerating research on quantum physics and complex systems.

“Hong Kong is starting and accelerating research on quantum systems in greater depth. Universities are doing this by looking into the microscopic domains of quantum and materials phenomena. They are investigating not just the fundamentals, but also practical applications of this science, which is a very promising avenue,” he said.

Prof Giorgio Parisi, from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, is the Nobel Prize laureate in Physics in 2021 and he was recognised for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.

At the forum, he gave a featured talk on “Replica Symmetry Breaking and Applications”, in which he explained his work on spin glasses, in particular the replica symmetry-breaking solution he devised in order to calculate the partition function of these magnetic analogues of glass.

Some other eminent scholars who also gave keynote talks during the forum on quantum physics include Prof Chen Hesheng, an Academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS, China; Prof Jia Jinfeng of the Southern University of Science and Technology, China; Prof Sidney R. Nagel of the University of Chicago, US; Prof Franco Nori of the Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, Center for Quantum Computing, RIKEN, Japan and the University of Michigan, US; and Prof Christian Schroer of Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Germany.

The Forum on Metabolism in Health and Disease was held from December 15 to 16. This sixth forum in the HK Tech Forum series focused on revealing how various signalling pathways in the metabolism of oxygen, glucose, lipids, proteins and other nutrients offer a better understanding of human physiology and diseases.

Prof Michael Yang Mengsu, Vice-President (Research & Technology) and the Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Prof Huang Yu, Head of BMS and the Jeanie Hu Professor of Biomedical Sciences were the Co-Chairs of this forum.

The first day of the metabolism forum began with a featured talk by Prof Gregg Semenza, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2019 and Professor in the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, the US. His topic was “Regulation of Metabolism by Hypoxia-Inducible Factors”, in which the mechanisms and consequences of homeostatic responses mediated by the hypoxia-inducible factors that modulate tumour metabolism were discussed.

In his talk, Prof Semenza elaborated on how cells respond to low oxygen levels have the potential to result in treatments for a variety of illnesses. The discovery, along with Semenza’s additional work clarifying the molecular mechanisms of oxygen regulation in cells, has far-reaching implications in understanding the impacts of low oxygen levels in blood disorders, blinding eye diseases, cancer, diabetes, coronary artery disease and other conditions.

Some other world-leading scholars who were invited to give keynote talks on metabolism related issues include Prof Li Peng, President of Zhengzhou University, China and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof Rao Zihe of Tsinghua University, China and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof Song Baoliang, Vice President of Wuhan University, China and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof Xiao Rui Ping, Chair Professor of Peking University; and Prof Yan Nieng, Founding President of Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research & Translation, China.

The CityU has a well-earned reputation as an innovative hub for research and professional education, addressing global issues and empowering positive change. As a CityU-branded event, the HK Tech Forum fosters knowledge sharing, collaboration and problem-solving, in addition to highlighting the strengths of the University’s strategic direction.

A total of six forums of the HK Tech Forum series have been held in the second half of 2022, and there are plans to expand into 2023 and beyond, according to the CityU.

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CityU HK Tech Forum series:
https://www.cityu.edu.hk/hktechforum/



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