HKUST Chemistry Professor Receives Khwarizmi International Award

Prof Ben Zhong Tang, Stephen Kam Chuen Cheong Professor of Science and Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry at HKUST, has been selected as a laureate of the 27th Khwarizmi International Award (KIA) by the Iranian Organization for Science and Technology. Prof Tang received the Khwarizmi International Award, Second Class, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and its high-tech applications in the areas of optoelectronic devices, chemical sensors, and biological probes.

Established in 1987, the award scheme was named in memory of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, an Iranian mathematician and astronomer. KIA honors are awarded annually to researchers in Iran and around the world to acknowledge achievements and contributions in basic sciences, chemical technologies, engineering, medical sciences, aerospace, information technology, and nanotechnology, among others. Prof Tang is the only Chinese scholar among the five foreign KIA Laureates this year. The other awardees come from the UK, Germany, Australia and Hungary.

Prof Tang and his research team have focused their research on design and creation of advanced materials with novel molecular structures and unique functional properties, achieving a major breakthrough in AIE study. The luminescent materials developed by Prof Tang can be put to use in a wide range of applications, such as high-performance OLEDs, cancer screening, and environmental monitoring.

HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan congratulated Prof Tang on becoming a KIA laureate: "The award is recognition of Prof Tang's outstanding achievements and the on-going research advances at HKUST. The University will continue to strive for research breakthroughs and innovations that can contribute to the society and benefit the community."

Prof Tang said he was delighted with the recognition, and grateful for the support of the University and his students and associates as well as research collaborators. He also expressed gratitude for funding from the Hong Kong and Mainland China governments.

Prof Tang graduated from the Department of Polymer Science & Engineering at South China University of Technology and obtained his PhD from Kyoto University. He received a State Natural Science Award (Second Class) in 2007 and was elected to membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009. The project "Basic Scientific Problems of Aggregation-Induced Emission" led by Prof Tang was incorporated into the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) in 2012.

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Ella Au Yeung
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