HKUST Annual Report 2017-18

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 - 1 8 41 HKUST on advancing science and technology, smart tools, and facilitating the formation of policy in relation to future cities. Development of an 870g-ton, 250g, 2.2m diameter drum centrifuge facility is underway with the support of the Research Grants Council’s Collaborative Research Fund. The $11 million facility will complement the existing beam centrifuge facility and assist civil and environmental engineering research. IMPROVING LIVES Three computer science and engineering students developed a mobile app that can transform Chinese sentences into sign language. The final-year project translates Chinese sentences keyed into a mobile app into video sequences illustrating how to sign the words. The app brings communication with hearing-impaired people to a new level, and particularly benefits sign language learners who need to familiarize themselves with sign language syntax. Separately, three industrial engineering and decision analytics PhD students demonstrated their audio technology research, which enables parents with normal hearing to experience what their hearing-impaired children experience every day. The HKUST Energy Institute held its first Energy Day in April 2018, focused on clean energy of the future. Some 250 academics, government representatives and industry practitioners took part. Earlier in October 2017 the HKUST Robotics Institute held its inaugural Robotics Day, exploring the impact of robotics and automated technologies on industries and daily life. No.1 in Hong Kong, Times Higher Education & QS World University Rankings (Engineering and Technology)