First Round Exercise

• Information Technology
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$51M
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2000 - 2005
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Prof Roland Chin)
  
  

  Building on the proven strengths of world-class researchers and the excellent facilities of each university in information technology, the project aims to put Hong Kong on the world map as one of the key players in information technology, thereby contributing to the transformation of Hong Kong into an information technology society with a strong value-added economy. This collaborative effort of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong will achieve its mission through the promotion of information technology education; the conduct of high impact research and development projects including networking technology, multi-media technology and Internet applications; and the transfer of relevant technology to the commercial world.

• Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$36.2M
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2000 - 2006
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Richard Wong)
  
  

  HIEBS aims to become the leading international center for the study of economic policy and business strategy focusing on the dynamic role of Hong Kong in China and the Asia Pacific Region, as well as in the world. It also conducts independent and pioneering research studies, to advance the frontiers of both theoretical and applied knowledge in this area, to develop and deliver innovative educational programs to train researchers and practitioners for Hong Kong, Mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region, and to have an impact on the formulation of policy choices and business strategies. This new adventure is co-ordinated by The University of Hong Kong and benefits from cooperation with other local and overseas institutions.

• Center for Plant and Agricultural Biotechnology (Previously known as Plant and Fungal Biotechnology)
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$63.823M (HK$38.823M (2000-2006) + HK$25M Sustained Funding (2007-2011))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2000 - 2011
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof Samuel Sun)
  
  

  To address the problems due to increasing population, shrinking and low-yielding cultivation lands that China and the region face, it is the mission of this project to increase crop production and enhance quality through biotechnology, by generating improved agricultural products, novel technological platforms and knowledge, and well-trained manpower in the field of biotechnology, to serve Hong Kong, China, and beyond.

  The main issues related to agricultural production include: (1) quality improvement (e.g. improved nutritional value), (2) per acreage yield enhancement (e.g. more effective utilization of solar energy); and (3) increase in stress tolerance (e.g. cultivation on marginal lands with adverse environmental conditions). This project selected special issues (related to these major agricultural problems) based on the emerging needs in China and the world. To boost the potential economic value of agriculture, the project team will also attempt to generate value-added products from crop plants.

  In summary, the overall strategy of this project is to build a pipeline for biotechnology crop production, through identification of useful genes from elite germplasms; transfer those genes into designated crops (e.g. rice) to produce new lines with improved agronomic performance; conduct field trials and safety assessment; and finally to deliver a set of carefully designed and assessed parental lines to traditional breeders.

Second Round Exercise

• Molecular Neuroscience: Basic Research & Drug Discovery
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$54.3M (HK$26.8M (2001-2006) + HK$27.5M Sustained Funding (2007-2011))
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2001 - 2011
    
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Prof Nancy Ip)
  
  

  Neuro-related diseases and disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases, stroke and dementia typically affect the elderly. Over the past decade, however, the incidence of these ailments in Hong Kong and other developed countries has greatly increased due to longer life expectancies. Therefore, the development of effective therapeutic drugs to treat diseases and disorders of the brain is of high importance.
  
  A cross-institutional Area of Excellence (AoE) research project led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was awarded in 2001 to push the frontiers of neuroscience research with the goal of developing therapeutic treatments. Cutting-edge research was undertaken and a unique drug development approach based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was established. The combined efforts led to significant research advances in molecular neuroscience that have been recognized in prestigious international journals. Novel TCM-derived drug candidates as potential treatments for brain-related ailments were also identified.
  
  Having received sustained funding for this AoE project, the multidisciplinary team is set to embark on the next phase of this highly commended project. The focus is to further elucidate the complex processes within the brain and determine the mechanisms underlying specific neuro-related diseases and disorders. The team will also focus on developing treatments for other brain disorders, such as depression, while driving the further development of the existing portfolio of TCM-derived novel compounds towards clinical use.

• Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$32.992M (HK$25M (2001-2007) + HK$7.992M Sustained Funding (2008-2011))
    
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2001 - 2011
    
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof Ping-chung Leung)

  A consortium co-ordinated by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with close collaboration from City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has been formed to promote the modernization of Chinese medicine and to provide clinical research for drug development. The efficacy driven approach adopted by this consortium has received wide recognition and enabled it to establish a unique evidence-based scientific model for Chinese medicine research, with a view to identifying complementary or alternative treatments for clinical problems that are not adequately solved by modern medicine.

  Five selected herbal formulae for anti-hepatitis B infection, alleviating menopausal symptoms, promoting ulcer healing, managing childhood asthma and promoting cardiovascular health, have been fully explored for their clinical efficacies, underlying mechanisms of action and safe applications. The present project represents a continuation of the joint efforts of the consortium in further pursuit of the two formulae for promoting ulcer healing and cardiovascular health. It will not only set models for clinical evidence on the efficacy of selected herbal formulae, but will also establish models for clinical trials and drug authentication for Chinese medicine, thereby paving the way for drug development and commercialization.
  

• Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$64.8M (HK$48M (2001-2006) + HK$16.8M Sustained Funding (2007-2010))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2001 - 2010
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Chi-Ming Che)

  Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis combines the expertise of leading academics with high international repute in chemistry and life sciences from The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the City University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with scientific and industrial leaders from around the world. The mission of this AoE is to implement world-class science and technology in the area of drug discovery and synthesis and to invent novel methodologies for the preparation and structural modification of new drug candidates as well as for proven drugs that carry no patent rights. The Institute will also develop technologies for potent drugs evaluation. Through this AoE, libraries of useful drug candidates and chiral technologies will be created. The institute will invent environmental-friendly technologies for drug synthesis, study the chemical biology of Inorganic Medicines and natural products, and devise new biosensors for disease monitoring and drug screening.

Third Round Exercise

• Developmental Genomics and Skeletal Research
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$50M
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2004 - 2010
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Kathryn Cheah)

  Skeletal disorders cause long-term pain and physical disability for millions of people. In 2000, over 300,000 workdays were lost in Hong Kong through degenerative low back disorders which can cause back pain and $200 million paid in workers compensation. This multidisciplinary AoE programme aims to discover and understand the genes, proteins and regulatory networks that maintain normal growth and integrity of the skeleton; how unfolded proteins within cells contribute to skeletal disorders, and what genetic factors underlie degeneration of discs in the spine. The research team, a model of scientist-clinician cooperation, from The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, will employ state-of-the-art technologies in genomics, proteomics, cell biology and transgenic animal models. Through the production of trained scientists, quality publications, intellectual property for genetic tests, unique mouse models and drug targets, the AoE will contribute to biotechnology in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the team hopes to develop methods for reconstituting damaged skeletal tissue, leading to new clinical applications and improved quality of life for the disabled.

• Centre for Marine Environmental Research and Innovative Technology
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$68.58M (HK$45M (2004-2009) + HK$23.58M Sustained Funding (2009-2012))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2004 - 2012
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Rudolf Wu)
    (Former Co-ordinating Institution: The City University of Hong Kong (from 1 April 2004 to 19 January 2010))
    

  The imminent problems caused by hypoxia (low oxygen) in coastal waters are likely to be exacerbated on a global scale. In addition, certain classes of chemicals, albeit occurring in extremely low concentrations in the marine environment, have been shown to disrupt hormonal systems of marine animals, leading to major environmental consequences including population decline. At the same time, the enormous production and extensive use of a range of new chemicals (e.g. fire retardants) in the last two decades has led to a ubiquitous distribution of these chemicals in marine environments, but their environmental fates and effects remain largely unknown. These global environmental problems are particularly imminent in Hong Kong and Southern China, where population density is very high and industrialization most rapid.

  In this project, research will be conducted to develop innovative technologies for early detection, assessment, prediction and control of impacts arising from hypoxia, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and emerging chemicals of concern (ECCs) in the marine environment.
  
  Research will be focused on the following four inter-related areas:

  1. Environmental Diagnosis and Molecular Mechanisms: to develop various novel chemical technologies, as well as genomic, proteomic, metabolomic biomarkers for detection and monitoring of hypoxia, ECCs and EDCs; and to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the endocrine disrupting effects caused by hypoxia, ECCs and EDCs.
  2. Ecosystem Studies: to investigate the effects of hypoxia, ECCs and EDCs on larval settlement and marine communities; to collect a comprehensive time series of the pelagic and benthic ecosystem recovery of Victoria Harbour after sewage abatement; and to determine the role of zooplankton grazing in controlling algal blooms and hence reducing hypoxic impacts.
  3. Impact and Risk Assessments: to develop (a) the next generation of models to predict environmental fate, transport and carrying capacity of pollutants in nearshore waters based on laboratory and field experiments and hydrodynamic modeling, (b) a coupled physical-biological ecosystem model of hypoxia; (c) biokinetic models to predict bioaccumulation of EDCs and ECCs, and (d) public health risk assessment and probabilistic models to assess the risk of EDCs and ECCs in local waters.
  4. Mitigation, Control and Bioremediation Technologies: to develop cost-effective biological and chemical technologies for removal of ECCs and EDCs in wastewater, as well as bioremediation technologies for the clean-up of these contaminants in sediments.

  The above programs will not only be unique globally and at the forefront of research, but also foster economic development along with enhanced environmental protection. Through the above research, the team will develop a range of innovative technologies and models for assessing the health status of the marine environment, and cost-effective technologies for pollution control and bioremediation.
  

Fourth Round Exercise

• Centre for Research into Circulating Fetal Nucleic Acids
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$29.92M (1st Phase : HK$11.28M (2008-2011) + 2nd Phase : HK$18.64M (2012-2015))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2008 - 2015
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof Dennis Lo)

  Prenatal diagnosis is an indispensable component of health care. Definitive diagnostic methods in current use, e.g. amniocentesis, are invasive and pose a risk to the unborn child. In 1997, the project coordinator and his research team discovered, for the first time in the world, the presence of cell-free fetal DNA in the plasma of pregnant women, offering new possibilities for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The project team has further pioneered many diagnostic applications, a number of which are now used clinically by many centres globally. To maintain Hong Kong at the forefront in non-invasive prenatal diagnostic research, a Centre consisting of a multidisciplinary conglomerate of local and international researchers is formed under this Area of Excellence project, coordinated by The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Centre will address a number of high-profile unsolved questions in the field of circulating fetal nucleic acids, including non-invasive molecular methods for the diagnosis of fetal Down syndrome. Our ultimate goal is to make safe prenatal diagnosis available to citizens around the world and to promote the development of expertise in molecular diagnostics in this region.

• Control of Pandemic and Inter-Pandemic Influenza
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$76M (1st Phase : HK$40M (2008-2011) + 2nd Phase : HK$36M (2012-2015))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2008 - 2015
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof JSM Peiris)

  Influenza pandemics are unique in spreading world-wide to affect over one-third of the global population within months of their emergence. If, for example, the H5N1 "bird-flu" virus acquires capacity for efficient transmission in humans, it could give rise to devastating consequences for human health. Furthermore, in today's globalised world, such an event will have unprecedented economic and social consequences. In addition to influenza pandemics which arise from animals and occur at irregular intervals, "human" influenza viruses cause outbreaks every year contributing to over 1000 deaths, many more hospital admissions and significant economic loss through absenteeism within Hong Kong. However, many key questions about the emergence and spread of these viruses and how they cause disease remain unanswered. This AoE program brings together researchers at The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Hong Kong Baptist University working in close partnership with relevant Hong Kong government organizations, with the aim of identifying novel options to control influenza. Furthermore, through knowledge transfer, the development of trained scientists and generation of intellectual property, this AoE will contribute to Hong Kong's development as a regional hub for bio-medical education, research and biotechnology.

Fifth Round Exercise

• Institute of Network Coding
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$80.27M (1st Phase : HK$53.36M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase : HK$26.91M (2014-2017))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2010 - 2017
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof Raymond Yeung)

  The paradigm for data transport through a computer network has long been store-and-forward. This is analogous to the routing of mail or commodities. An intermediate node in routing does not alter the data being forwarded. For this reason, broadband infrastructure is often referred to as the information superhighway.

  The fundamental concept of Network Coding was introduced in the late 1990s, largely due to the work of this team. Network Coding has brought about a paradigm shift in data transport by allowing for the combination and processing of data along the way. In layman's terms, the analogy is that vehicles on the information superhighway can be combined into new ones at a junction before continuing their journeys. In a nutshell, Network Coding makes network communications (e.g., the Internet) more efficient, more reliable, more robust, and more secure.

  Network Coding is considered one of the most significant breakthroughs in Information Science. The main objective of this Area of Excellence is to make Hong Kong a major centre of Network Coding by building a world-leading Institute of Network Coding. This institute will conduct forefront research on the theory of Network Coding and its various applications in the Internet, wireless communications, information security, data storage, and bioinformatics. Top quality postgraduate students will also be trained.

  This Area of Excellence, a continuation of a Hong Kong's story of success, is expected to help Hong Kong to elevate her research and higher education as a whole to the world level, and to fuel her economy by creating completely new technologies related to Network Coding.
  

• The Historical Anthropology of Chinese Society
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$23.447M (1st Phase : HK$14.865M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase : HK$8.582M (2014-2017))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2010 - 2017
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof David Faure)

  A quiet revolution has overtaken the study of Chinese society in the last thirty years, in the wake of a breakthrough made by anthropologists Maurice Freedman and G. William Skinner in the 1960s.* Freedman redefined the south China lineage as a territorial community justified by claims to common descent. Skinner re-discovered the wide application of marketing networks in the structuring of social relations. Those combined insights have spurred three decades of research into a structure of Chinese society which can take account of regional variations within an apparently unified culture. Nevertheless, China historians have not yet been able to account for local variations even as they recognise their existence within the rubric of that unified Chinese culture.

  Freedman and Skinner's approach to Chinese History has demonstrated the value of combining field and documentary research. This project follows that approach but attempts another explanation for variations in Chinese local society. Focusing on the past millennium of Chinese history, it recognises that while the Chinese state had grown both in geographic extent and influence, many social and cultural changes had evolved locally and independently. Yet, different parts of China had been incorporated into the state at different times, and consequently, had come under the unifying influence of the state under different administrative arrangements. Local society, therefore, varies from one part of China to another, but many of its similarities may be related to the history of its incorporation into the Chinese state and the administrative arrangement by which it was incorporated.

  Drawing on historical documents and field research, this project will study 15 geographic areas in China to recover the history of both how local society acquired and identified with its own characteristics, and incorporated into, and accepted, the broad expanse of a unified culture. For its method, it will document objectively observable indications of local ritual traditions (referred to in this project as "significant ritual markers") and reconstruct the history of the local institutions in which they were employed. These indications include architectural features and literate traditions closely related to local religion or ancestral sacrifice, the hagiography of local deities, and village ceremonies performed by villagers themselves or by Buddhist and Daoist specialists. By comparing the time frame of separate local histories, this project will construct a history of China from the bottom up. It will demonstrate the very significance of historical anthropology as an approach to understanding China's history.
  

  * Maurice Freedman, Lineage Organization in Southeastern China, London: Athlone, 1958; Chinese Lineage and Society: Fukien and Kwangtung, London: Athlone, 1966; G.William Skinner, "Marketing and social structure in rural China," Journal of Asian Studies 24, 1-3: 2-43, 195-228, 363-99, 1964-65; ed. The City in Late Imperial China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1977.

• Center for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Research
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$92M (1st Phase : HK$51.75M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase : HK$40.25M (2014-2017))
  
  
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2010 - 2017
  
  
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Maria Li Lung)

  Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a cancer of particular relevance to Hong Kong because of its high incidence among Southern Chinese and its rarity elsewhere in the world. With high prevalence and peak occurrence among "young" cancer patients in the prime of life, the economic and societal impact of NPC in Hong Kong is substantial. At present, the tumor is usually diagnosed only at a late stage; thus, its treatment can be devastating and patients, who are cured of the cancer, may then suffer long-term side effects, adding to the human toll from this deadly disease. Therefore, we seek to better understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms of this cancer to enable early diagnosis and new improved treatment options; we aim to study its epidemiology in order to identify preventable risk factors and to provide public education forums on NPC prevention and detection.

  Creating a Center for NPC Research (CNPCR), under the aegis of the Area of Excellence scheme, is strategic for Hong Kong. In China, NPC is already one of four cancers under strategic national funding. Leveraging Hong Kong researchers' internationally recognized excellence in clinical and basic NPC research, we propose to establish a Hong Kong CNPCR comprising five hospitals and three universities. We will use our complementary scientific and clinical expertise to focus strategic research efforts on elucidating the molecular and genetic basis for NPC to decipher the interacting roles of cellular and viral genes in its development, to identify and validate novel biomarkers for diagnosis, to develop state-of-the-art analytical tumor imaging tools, and to develop alternative and improved treatment strategies for clinical management. We will forge new frontiers including exploring the role of cancer stem cells and tumor microenvironment in NPC, identifying new molecular signatures hallmarking high-risk individuals, and developing early tumor detection and imaging capabilities using the latest biomarkers and tools to detect cancer. NPC patients are in desperate need of improved treatment modalities. We expect to find new targets for therapeutic management of patients and new biomarkers that will aid clinicians in personalizing treatments.

  Hong Kong is uniquely poised to assume a leadership role in NPC and the establishment of the CNPCR will propel Hong Kong's NPC research to the international forefront, making it a hub for international NPC research networks. We have the critical mass of scientists and clinicians, which under a Center, will enable us to synergize our strengths to translate basic science to the clinic.
  

• Institute of Molecular Functional Materials
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$92M (1st Phase : HK$46M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase : HK$46M (2014-2017))
    
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2010 - 2017
    
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Vivian Yam)

  The AoE aims to bring together inter-institutional efforts from the area of synthetic, polymer, material and physical chemistry, and interdisciplinary expertise through national/international collaboration in physics and device engineering towards developing an international eminent research centre in the area of molecular functional materials towards addressing energy-related issues. Strategic development of collaborative research and exchanges with some of the best international/national research groups will be made to develop novel classes of molecular materials and to realize the potential and impact of their physical and functional properties and their underlying chemistry. There are two main themes: molecular materials with (1) photofunctional properties, and (2) energy and catalysis functions. In Hong Kong, materials research individually has attained excellence. Establishment of the AoE is timely, and the multi-institutional team assembled here cannot be easily duplicated in terms of its strength, synergy, reputation and expertise. The team has 3 CAS Members, 3 TWAS Fellows, 7 Croucher Senior Research Fellows, 1 RSC Centenary Medalist, 4 State Natural Science Awards (1 First Class, 3 Second Class), 1 TWAS Prize in Chemistry, 3 NSFC Outstanding Young Investigator Awards, and 1 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. This pool of talents, together with the strategic collaborative links and international/national networking, would form the basis for the establishment of the AoE, whereby chemists of various disciplines and device physicists/engineers would come together to work towards new materials discovery and development.

  The AoE also aims to address some of the grand challenges in energy-related issues with particular emphasis on the fundamental study and understanding from the chemistry perspectives and to serve as a spawning ground for technology transfer, which would empower local/regional industries to develop high-technology, for providing training and education of young talents and nurturing outstanding young scientists to become leaders in their field. The project team aspires to make major impacts that will bring international recognition and make Hong Kong visible on the map. The proposed AoE programme features the following:

  • An interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborative programme involving participation of active, synergistic, and relatively young researchers with outstanding track records in molecular design studies to advocate world-class research in molecular functional materials.
  
  
  • The AoE would have major impact in the advancement of frontier science and the development of high-technology industry in Hong Kong and the region, particularly for developing new frontiers in supramolecular science, materials design in high-efficiency organic light-emitting devices, organic photovoltaics, organic thin film transistors, and robust photocatalysts.

• Theory, Modeling, and Simulation of Emerging Electronics
  
  
  • Total Funding Approved : HK$90.008M (1st Phase : HK$44.944M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase : HK$45.064M (2014-2017))
    
  • Indicative Project Time-Frame : 2010 - 2017
    
  • Co-ordinating Institution : The University of Hong Kong (Prof Fuchun Zhang)

  The remarkable miniaturization of semiconductor microelectronics over the past few decades has fundamentally shaped our everyday lives. If the miniaturization trend continues, devices are expected to reach their physical limit before year 2020. By that time, electronic devices will no longer work under the current designs, and may require conceptually different device structures and operation principles. In addition, new materials, such as low dimensional materials and spin materials, may be introduced. Because of the profound economic, social and scientific implications of the emerging technologies, intensive international research activities are underway to understand and determine the physical properties and performance characteristics of the emerging sub-22nm devices and integrated circuits.

  Modeling plays a critical role in this endeavor. The existing simulation software tools for previous and present generation semiconductor devices and integrated circuits are no longer applicable to the sub-22nm technology. The main difficulty lies in the limitation of continuum models used in the current simulation tools. For the sub-22nm devices, atomic features lead to large device-to-device variability. Another difficulty is that at the sub-22nm sizes the quantum effects, which are not adequately addressed in existing simulation tools, become important. Existing simulation tools cannot account for, or even be patched up to address these effects, as they are all based on continuum models. Therefore, next generation simulation methods and software are urgently needed.

  With our expertise and background in first-principles atomistic simulation methods/formulation development and continuum modeling of devices and circuits, we propose to work together and establish an Area of Excellence (AoE) in Modeling and Simulation of Emerging Electronics. Our focus will be on the modeling and simulation of sub-22nm technology. We aim to develop next generation multi-scale electronic design automation (EDA) tools that combine the atomistic simulation of individual devices, the coarse-grained modeling of integrated circuitries and simulation of electric signals propagation and interference. With these tools, we will study coherent transport through sub-22nm devices, properties of new materials and structures, lithography and new memory devices. As China is developing rapidly its electronics industry, we plan to work closely with research institutes and semiconductor companies in the region, and we expect our AoE to play an important role in this development. Through our activities and efforts, we will strive to establish Hong Kong as a world premier research centre in the modeling of emerging electronic devices and circuitries.