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。

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!

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 now known as Topological Photonics began in 2013, with the first experimental observation of a Photonic Topological Insulator. The field introduced fundamental concepts from solid-state physics into photonics, including the profound discovery that light-wave transport can be protected from scattering by disorder, defects, and imperfections. Over the years, this field has given rise to new fundamental ideas of its own, offering exciting applications that could become real technologies in the near future, including topological lasers and topological protection of quantum light. 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. We are now more than a decade in, and it is time to ask: Where do we go from here? This talk will review the fundamentals of topological photonics, highlight several key discoveries, and attempt to address the intriguing question of 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 timescales shorter than a single optical cycle. These systems conserve momentum but not energy. Momentum bands are separated by bandgaps in which the amplitudes of eigenmodes can increase or decay exponentially. The lecture will introduce the fundamentals of PTCs and the classical and quantum features of light–matter interactions. Most notably, light emission in PTCs enables widely tunable lasers that do not rely on atomic resonance and draw energy from temporal modulation of the medium. Another important feature is the quantum aspects, which yield a plethora of fundamental features, ranging from generating pairs of entangled photons to controlling spontaneous emission through temporal modulation and creating 2D cluster states. The talk will also cover experimental progress towards order-unity modulation of the refractive index faster than a single cycle, including the observation of time reflection at optical frequencies, and discuss nonlinear optics and new mechanisms for high-harmonic generation in solids.   ALL are welcome.   Enquiry: pearllyw@hku.hk