Prof. Kei May LAU, Research Professor in the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas (EMIA), has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Heinrich Welker Award, a highly esteemed honour in the international semiconductor field. Prof. Lau is the first scientist to receive this distinction based on groundbreaking research achievements accomplished in HK. Prof. Lau has dedicated herself to bridging the gap between fundamental laboratory science and large-scale industrial applications for III-V compound semiconductor for decades. The patented "LED-on-Silicon" monolithic "Micro-LED" technology invented by Prof. Lau has been commercialized and applied in full-color micro-displays for augmented reality smart glasses. Extending her heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Lau, P Prof. Nancy IP stated that the honor also affirms the university’s academic strengths and global reputation rank among the world’s leading institutions, and Prof. Lau's achievement sets an inspiring example for young scholars and researchers.

In a column article, Prof. Erwin HUANG, Adjunct Professor in the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), reflected on the rapid expansion of AI across society and highlighted concerns raised in Pope Leo XIV's 2026 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas about the ethical implications of technological advancement.

Prof. Donald LOW, Professor of Practice in Public Policy in the Division of Public Policy (PPOL), has expressed growing skepticism about the long-term benefits of artificial intelligence. He warned that discussions remain heavily skewed toward AI’s economic advantages while overlooking a range of high costs and risks. In particular, Prof. Low cautioned AI may increase inequality.

Prof. CHEN Fei, Associate Head and Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR), worked with fellow researchers to develop an AI diffusion model that forecasts storms by interpreting early cloud formation. Leveraging satellite data and expert insights, it boosts accuracy by 15 percent and extends warning time to four hours, enhancing preparedness despite urban climate challenges.

An article by Prof. Christine LOH Kung-Wai, Chief Development Strategist in the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR), on the five key lessons Asia must learn from recent global conflicts while it still enjoys the privilege of peace. Prof. Loh remarked that the ultimate task for Asian leaders is to actively build habits that make war less likely before the "fire reaches the house".

In a column article, Prof. Donald LOW, Professor of Practice in Public Policy in the Division of Public Policy (PPOL), examined why China's economic growth is slowing down despite its emergence as a tech superpower. He noted that China cannot sustain its momentum by boosting only one part of the economic growth equation.

A column article by Prof. Erwin HUANG, Adjunct Professor in the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), on the resurgence of digital cameras. Prof. Huang noted the trend represents a critical reflection on the over-processed imagery produced by modern smartphones. From a broader perspective, this trend offers a crucial lesson for modern technology: our obsession with "optimization" risks erasing the value of imperfection itself.

In a column article, Prof. Christine LOH Kung-Wai, Chief Development Strategist in the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR), discussed the strategic significance of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–30) and outlined how Hong Kong must modernize its governance to operationalize its role within this national blueprint.

A team led by Prof. SONG Yunya, Associate Head in the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas (EMIA), and Prof. RAO Anyi, Assistant Professor in the EMIA, collaborated with researchers from the College of William & Mary and Cornell University to propose B3D-RWKV. By utilizing a 'triple-block layout,' this method equips the unidirectional RWKV model with bidirectional perception and enables parallel decoding. While this approach yields an average 1.6 times increase in inference speed, it also results in a performance decline on mathematical reasoning tasks.

In an article discussing how AI technology is rapidly transforming the film and television industry, an interview with Prof. RAO Anyi, Assistant Professor in the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) and Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas (EMIA), was cited. Prof. Rao pointed out that AI and algorithms are changing the nature of artistic creation, shifting it from artist-led processes to a trial-and-error mechanism based on big data.