PhD Research Excellence Recognized in SENG Awards

Ms Yating Wan, PhD student from the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, and Dr Zhenglong Xu, 2016 PhD graduate from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, have been named the recipients of the School of Engineering PhD Research Excellence Awards 2016-17.

Yating’s research work deals with the integration of long wavelength quantum dot micro-lasers on silicon substrates, which makes it possible to put lasers on microprocessors to boost their capabilities and allow them to run at much lower power. She has published nine high-quality papers (five as first author and four as co-author) in internationally reputable journals. She has 30 citations and an h-index of three in Google Scholar index. She has also presented her research work at three international conferences.

She is going to be a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Zhenglong’s research interest mainly focuses on advanced materials for sustainable energy storage devices including Li-ion batteries and Li-S batteries. His work during his PhD studies was centered on the development of nanostructured silicon/carbon composites as anodes for Li-ion batteries. He has gained substantial experience in nanostructural design, synthesis and characterization, especially in the techniques of electrospinning and in-situ transmission electron microscopy. He has also comprehensively investigated the relationship between electrochemical properties, morphologies and chemical structures and lithiation mechanisms of Si/C, sulfur/C composites. These results have been published in many prestigious journals such as Advanced Energy Materials. He has seven journal papers published and another two papers under review, one US filed patent, along with 17 co-authored journal papers. He has 344 citations in Google Scholar index.

Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

To show the appreciation of the students' outstanding performance, School of Engineering will present the prize to them at a ceremony on April 21, 2017. They will also give a sharing to current research postgraduate students on their personal experience of research life at HKUST.

The School has established the PhD Research Excellence Awards scheme since 2011. The awards recognize the outstanding achievements of PhD students and recent graduates who have made influential contributions to their discipline during PhD studies at HKUST. Selection criteria include originality and innovativeness of research output, impact of research output on society and industry, academic qualification, and communication and presentation skills.

Related Link(s)

About the PhD Research Excellence Award

A Grateful High Flyer Who Gives Thanks to HKUST in All Sincerity (HKUST PG Newsletter, Feb 2018)