Theme-based Research Scheme

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Theme-based Research Scheme Selection Panel

Committee Member	Title/Institution
Chairman
Professor Paul K L Yu*	Provost of Revelle College, William S C Chang Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A. Interests in optoelectronic materials, devices and engineering, modern communication, microwave photonics (e.g. transmission of high frequency optical signals and signal processing).
Members
Theme 1: Understanding Diseases and Disease Prevention
Professor Hongtao Yu*	Chair Professor and Dean of School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, P.R.C. Interests in combining cell biological, biochemical, and biophysical methods; to understand cellular mechanisms governing genomic stability at the molecular and atomic levels.
Professor Xiao-fan Wang*	Donald and Elizabeth Cooke Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, School of Medicine, Duke University, U.S.A. Interests in surgery, elucidation of molecular nature and signaling mechanisms associated with the initiation of cellular senescence and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of various types of human cancer.
Professor James Fawcett*	Head of Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, U.K. Interests in repairing the damaged nervous system.
Professor Tony Gin	Emeritus Professor, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Interests in anaesthesia, pain medicine and pharmacology.
Professor Jennifer Grandis*	American Cancer Society Professor, Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco Interests in Head and neck cancer, signal transduction, precision medicine, and preclinical cancer models.
Professor Kay Tee Khaw*	Professor of Clinical Gerontology, Clinical Gerontology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, U.K. Interests in epidemiology, public health, ageing, cardiovascular disease and nutrition.
Professor Fanxin Long*	Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Interests in molecular regulation of skeletal development, homeostasis and regeneration.
Professor Jonas Rosendahl*	Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany Interests in genetic studies in gastroenterology, functional studies of genetic variants (in vitro/in vivo), clinical research in gastroenterology.
Professor Feng Shao*	Investigator and Deputy Director for Academic Affairs, National Institute of Biological Sciences, P.R.C. Interests in bacteria-host interaction, innate immunity, inflammation.
Professor Richard Strugnell*	Professor of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Australia Interests in microbiology/immunology interface, and in basic bacterial molecular biology of key microbiological phenomena including bacterial physiology, biofilm development and adaptation to intracellular growth.
Theme 2: Developing a Sustainable Environment
Professor Bill Milne*	Emeritus Professor, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, U.K. Interests in carbon nanotubes, graphene, ZnO thin films and devices, MEMS and sensors, field emission.
Professor Pedro Alvarez*	George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, U.S.A. Interests in environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology, bioremediation, fate and transport of toxic chemicals, water footprint of biofuels, water treatment and reuse, and antibiotic resistance control.
Professor David Bergbreiter*	Professor of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, U.S.A. Interests in chemical catalysis, nanoscience chemistry, organic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, polymer chemistry, surfaces, sustainability and synthesis.
Professor Ronaldo Borja*	Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, U.S.A. Interests in theoretical and computational solid mechanics, geomechanics and geosciences.
Professor Mark Andrew Bradford*	Scientia Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia Interests in structures subjected to extreme actions, including fire and blast, geometric and material non-linear response of structures including arches, domes and curved beams, dynamics and elasto-dynamic buckling; numerical methods, structural retrofit, and design codes.
Professor Wesley Cantwell*	Director, Aerospace Research and Innovation Centre and Associate Dean for Research, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science Technology and Research, U.A.E. Interests in composite materials, impact, lightweight aerospace structures, advanced manufacturing techniques, environmentally-friendly composites, polymers, fracture mechanics, dynamic properties of materials and smart structures.
Professor Huosheng Hu*	Professor of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, U.K. Interests in intelligent systems and autonomous mobile robots, networked robots and network enable systems / devices, smart sensors, actuators and mechatronics, sensor integration and data fusion algorithms, tele-rehabilitation, tele-care, tele-health, intelligent wheelchairs, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic and neural networks in robotics, pervasive computing, mobile computing, e-learning, distributed computer architecture and parallel processing.
Professor Didier Pribat*	Research Director, The French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces (LPICM) Interests in Nanoscience and nanotechnologies, crystal growth, and materials science.
Professor Nora Fung-yee Tam	Emeritus Professor of Department of Chemistry, Member of State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Interests in biological waste treatment, bioremediation, mangrove ecology and pollution control.
Professor Andrew Whittle*	Edmund K. Turner Professor in Civil Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A. Interests in geotechnical engineering, constitutive models for geomaterials, analysis methods for foundations, excavations and tunnels, in-situ test methods and ground improvement, field monitoring and sensor networks.
Theme 3: Enhancing Hong Kong's Strategic Position as a Regional and International Business Centre
Professor Nancy Y Wong*	Professor, Consumer Science, School of Human Ecology and Faculty Director, Kohl's Center for Retailing Excellence, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A. Interests in culture, materialism and emotion, cross-cultural research methods, consumer decision making and public policy.
Professor Rosalie Tung*	Ming&Stella Wong Professor of International Business, Simon Fraser University, Canada Interests in international business, international management.
Professor Andrew Tat Tin Ching*	Professor, Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A. Interests in quantitative marketing, industrial organization, applied econometrics, economics and marketing of the following industries: pharmaceutical, healthcare, consumer package goods and video games.
Professor Kai Li*	Canada Research Chair in Corporate Governance & W. Maurice Young Chair in Finance, UBC Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Canada Interests in Corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, culture and finance, corporate innovation, machine learning, gender and finance.
Professor Tim Woonghee Huh*	Professor and Chair, Operations and Logistics Division, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Canada Interests in inventory control, pricing, capacity, operations management, data-driven methods, business analytics and health-care operations.
Professor Harold Huibing Zhang *	Professor of Finance, Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, U.S.A. Interests in optimal portfolio decisions, asset pricing, taxation.
Theme 4: Advancing Emerging Research and Innovations Important to Hong Kong
Professor Wing-kam Liu*	Walter P. Murphy Professor of Mechanical and Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, U.S.A. Interests in nonlinear finite elements, multiscale methods for materials design and engineering simulation, linear and nonlinear fluid structure interactions, seismic analysis and vulnerability of structures, computational nanotechnology, multiscale computational materials design, microfluidics and electrokinetics of manipulation and assembly of nano/bio molecules, modeling of MEMS/NEMS and energy harvesting devices, microfluidic electrokinetic assembly of nano- and bio-molecules, nano-diamond based device for engineered medicine delivery.
Professor Catherine Brinson*	Professor and Chair of Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, U.S.A. Interests in advanced material systems and developing new methods to characterize and to model material behavior.
Professor Roland T Chin	Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Interests in computer vision, image processing, pattern recognition and digital signal processing.
Professor George T C Chiu*	Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, U.S.A. Interests in mechatronics, dynamic systems and control, digital imaging and printing systems, functional printing and digital fabrication, robotics, perception-based engineering, human motor control, optimal and robust control.
Ir Professor Alan Hiu-fung Lam	CEO of Sengital Limited, Hong Kong Interests in Internet of things and artificial intelligence.
Professor Sylvie Lorente*	Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Villanova University, U.S.A. Interests in heat and mass transfer, fluid flows, buildings construction.
Professor Gigi Luk*	Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology,McGill University, Canada Interests in Bilingualism, cognitive development, lifespan development and neuroimaging.
Dr Ray Wai-sing Man	Founder and President of Amonics limited, Hong Kong Interests in Photonics and fiber optics.
Professor Tina Tse-nga Ng*	Professor, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California, San Diego Interests in Flexible electronics for seamless human-computer interactions, and 2D materials
Professor Yuanyuan Yang*	SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Department of Computer Science, Stony Brook University, U.S.A. Interests in cloud computing, data center networking, edge computing, wireless and mobile networks, and parallel and distributed computing and systems.

* Members outside Hong Kong