HKUST Prof Chak K Chan Awarded Prestigious Scientific Honor
Prof Chak K Chan, Professor of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, was conferred the 2009 State Natural Science Award (SNSA), second class, in recognition of his achievements in the project “The characteristics of emission and complex pollution of atmospheric particulate matter and its precursors”.
The project is a collaborative effort between Prof Chak K Chan and Prof Kebin He, Prof Jiming Hao and their colleagues of Tsinghua University. Through laboratory and field experimental work, they studied the formation of atmospheric particulate pollution and the properties. Prof Chak K Chan specializes in the studies of the phase transformation and water uptake properties of atmospheric particles using single particle levitation technique. His work has made significant contributions to understanding the role of hygroscopic growth of particles and their effects on visibility degradation as well as cloud droplet formation, which is a critical issue in predicting climate change.
The SNSA is China's most prestigious award in the field of natural sciences. It aims to recognise academic excellence in basic and applied research in natural science. The highly competitive selection exercise involves a three-stage review by panels of experts and the award committee. In 2009, more than 120 entries competed for the State Natural Science Award (SNSA). Only one first-class SNSA award and 27 second-class awards were presented. Both Prof Chan and Prof Xiren Cao, Chair Professor in Electronic and Computer Engineering received this prestigious honor.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the Research Assessment Exercise 2014 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, and is ranked as the world’s best young university in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2019. Its graduates were ranked 16th worldwide and top in Greater China in Global University Employability Survey 2018.
