HKUST is revolutionising display and optoelectronic technologies

Can you imagine being able to use your smartphone continuously for nine days after a single charge, with its power consumption reduced by 80 per cent? How about a liquid crystal display (LCD) which is many times better than what you can see today?  If you work at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), such leaps of the imagination are an everyday occurrence.

“We make every effort to revolutionise green display and optoelectronic technologies, and work hard to turn impossibilities into possibilities,” says Hoi Sing Kwok, the Dr William MW Mong chair professor of nanotechnology, and chair professor of electronic and computer engineering at HKUST.

An expert in display technologies, energy, and photonics, Kwok was appointed the director of the state key laboratory on advanced displays and optoelectronic technologies (SKL) at HKUST when it was established in September 2013.  The SKL was formed in collaboration with the mainland’s Sun Yat-sen University, following approval from the central government’s Ministry of Science and Technology.  The aim is to develop energy-saving displays and world-changing optoelectronic applications.

The SKL also provides training programmes and short courses for Chinese enterprises, and holds seminars and international conferences with institutions for technology exchange.

Ching Wan Tang, IAS Bank of East Asia professor at the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study, and the chair professor at the department of electronic and computer engineering, department of chemistry and department of physics, is another key member of the SKL. The duo has helped over 100 PhD students to push the frontiers of technological research, and thereby produce the most advanced and comprehensive research and development results in Hong Kong and the mainland. Over 90 patents have been achieved so far.