EVENTS
HKU Centennial Distinguished Chinese Scholars Scheme Public Lecture: From Light to Life, from Seeds to Sustainability
Rayson Huang Theatre, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus, HKU
Food production is one of the most powerful forces shaping the planet, placing enormous demands on land, water, energy and biodiversity. As the global population moves toward 10 billion by 2050, the world must produce more, better, and more nutritious food under increasing climate uncertainty and resource constraints. At the same time, rapid advances in genomics, biotechnology and genome editing are opening a new era of agriculture guided by biological understanding and precision design. In this public lecture, Professor Deng will share how fundamental discoveries in plant biology can be translated into crop improvement and real-world agricultural impact. Using examples from wheat, soybean, peanut, watermelon, pepper, tomato, pumpkin, kiwifruit and grape, he will show how modern plant science can accelerate gene discovery, trait improvement and precision variety development. He will also introduce the “Xiashan Model” ─ an integrated framework linking basic genetic research, crop innovation, efficient cultivation, seed production, brand development and market delivery. The lecture invites the HKU community to consider a larger question: How can fundamental biology help design the future of sustainable agriculture? ~ A story of discovery, translation and agricultural transformation ~ From pioneering discoveries on how plants perceive light to building a modern agricultural innovation platform in China, Professor Xing Wang Deng will share how fundamental plant science can translate into real-world impact and help design the future of sustainable agriculture. 從北大求學，到赴美深造；從耶魯大學終身教授，到美國國家科學院院士；再到重返北大、創立現代農業研究院，鄧興旺教授以植物科學推動精準育種，為中國與世界農業的未來貢獻智慧與力量。
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Science Communication Contest: Myth Busters Challenge 2026
About the competition: Science in 5 minutes Unleash your inner myth-buster with HKU Science! Have you ever wondered if the "facts" shared in family group chats or viral social media videos are actually true? Join our "Science Communication YouTuber Challenge: MythBusters Challenge 2026". This is your stage to find out. Select a widely believed science myth, dissect the truth using solid scientific evidence, and bring your explanations to life in a captivating 5-minute video. Take on popular misconceptions, separate scientific fact from fiction, and join the next generation of leading science communicators! Eligibility The contest is open to students studying in Forms 3 to 5 (equivalent to Grades 9 to 11 / Year 10 to 12) in secondary schools located in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen (including public schools, schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme, international schools, etc.) during the academic year 2026-2027. Criteria: Participation in the contest will be based on a group format, with each group comprising 3 to 6 students. All participating group members must be students of the same school. Each school can enter a maximum of two teams in the contest. *Participating groups must either submit entries through their respective schools or be nominated by their schools to enter the contest If you want to be a YouTuber with HKU Science, please go here for the details!
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Hung Hing Ying Distinguished Colloquia Series: Two Frontiers in Photonics
Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall & CYPP3
Physics Colloquium: Topological Photonics Date: September 22, 2026 (Tuesday) Times: 17:30-18:30 Venue: Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall, P4, Graduate House (Map) Moderator: Professor Shuang Zhang (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong) Registration: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/0vYrBn0KRZ?origin=lprLink Abstract: The research field of Topological Photonics started in 2013, with the first experimental observation of Photonic Topological Insulator. The field introduced fundamental concepts from solid-state physics into photonics, among them the profound discovery that transport of light waves can be protected from scattering by disorder, defects and imperfections. Over the years, this field has triggered new fundamental ideas of its own, offering exciting ideas such as topological lasers and topological protection of entangled photon states. It is currently one of the most active research areas in optics and undoubtedly one of the spearheads of research in topological physics at large. This lecture will review the fundamentals of topological photonics, highlight several key discoveries, and attempt to address the intriguing question on where the field is evolving. Physics Colloquium: Photonic Time-Crystals and Light-Matter Interactions Therein Date: September 24, 2026 (Thursday) Times: 16:30-17:30 Venue: CYPP3, LG1, Chong Yuet Ming Physics Building (Map) Moderator: Professor Yi Yang (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong) Registration: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/5cD0kyB3Br?origin=lprLink Abstract: Photonic Time Crystals (PTCs) are dielectric media whose refractive index is strongly modulated periodically in time, at time scales shorter than a single optical cycle. These systems conserve momentum but not energy, and are characterized by momentum bands separated by band-gaps where the amplitudes of their eigenmodes can increase or decay exponentially. The colloquium will introduce fundamentals of PTCs along with the classical and quantum features of light-matter interactions in PTCs. Among these, most notable is the emission of light in PTCs, which opens new avenues for widely tunable lasers that do not rely on any atomic resonance, and the quantum aspects, which yield a plethora of fundamental features such as generation of pairs of entangled photons, and controlling spontaneous emission through the temporal modulation. The colloquium will present the experimental progress on order-unity modulation of the refractive index faster than a single cycle, and the recent breakthrough of observing time-reflection at optical frequencies. Last but not least, nonlinear optics in such time-varying media will be discussed, envisioning new mechanism for high harmonic generation in solids. ALL are welcome. Enquiry: pearllyw@hku.hk
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