HKUST Annual Report 2017-18

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 - 1 8 HKUST 23 E-FUELING THE FUTURE A novel energy storage system that incorporates electrically rechargeable liquid fuels, known as e-fuels, is set to address the challenges preventing widespread use of renewable energy. The project, led by Prof. ZHAO Tianshou (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), includes design of an e-fuel charger that electrochemically converts electricity into e-fuel, which in turn can be converted back into electricity using an e-fuel cell for end use. The charger can convert intermittent wind and solar power into e-fuels, which can be stored indefinitely without quality degradation and transported to wherever needed. The project was awarded HK$50 million under the Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s Theme-based Research Scheme. FITNESS LANDSCAPE OF HIV ENVELOPE PROTEIN An international multidisciplinary research team, led by Prof. Matthew McKAY and Prof. Raymond LOUIE (both Electronic and Computer Engineering), employed a computational framework and big data analysis to map out the “fitness” landscape of the crucial polyprotein gp160 in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) for the first time. Fitness refers to the ability of the virus to properly assemble, replicate, and propagate infection. The research processed 815 residues and 20,043 sequences from 1,918 HIV-infected individuals. The findings open up potential for rational design of a vaccine that may force the deadly virus to mutate into forms that destroy it. The framework could also be useful for mapping fitness landscapes for proteins of other highly mutable viruses, such as Hepatitis C.