Researchers are key for science and engines of scientific thoughts that form the basis for new research and innovation and shape the future of our lives. In this issue, we will introduce some of our young scholars from diverse fields running impactful projects with great potential, developing collaborative projects with experts from all over the world, and being recognised by awards and honours in the research community. You may get a glimpse of what the future will look like by reading through their selfintroductions which reflect their visions beyond our imaginations.
Dr Timothy Bonebrake
Associate Dean of Science (Teaching & Learning) and Associate Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'When I worked as an undergraduate in an ecology lab, I realised my calling and never looked back.’
Dr David BAKER
Associate Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'Ultimately, we aim to provide insights as to the cost-benefit of environmental protection and ecosystem restoration; such information is essential knowledge for our local policymakers.’
Dr Jin WU
Assistant Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'In the longer-term, I hope to translate our research into actionable plans, and to help resolve some practical environmental and ecological problems in the real-world.’
Dr Louise ASHTON
Assistant Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'I want to increase our understanding of the importance of insect biodiversity and ecosystem function in tropical regions, and help inform policy and conservation to protect nature in the future.’
Dr Karen YUEN
Associate Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'I believe that basic, fundamental research in understanding how nature works should precede or be done in parallel with translational research.’
Dr Chaogu ZHENG
Associate Dean of Science (Teaching & Learning) and Associate Professor of School of Biological Sciences
'Once we understand the organising principles for neuronal development at the system level, there may be a chance to tackle the daunting questions about the formation of the human brain.’
Dr Binzheng ZHANG
Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences
'As a space plasma physicist, a fascinating question I would like to address is whether we can use basic plasma theory to simulate the whole solar system.’
Dr Xiang David LI
Professor of Department of Chemistry
'My research is at the interface of chemistry and biology. My lab develops chemical approaches to address key questions in epigenetics, a new and exciting research area linking multiple hereditary and environmental impacts on our health. The findings from our research will ultimately improve our understanding of human diseases (e.g., cancer) linked to errors in epigenetic processes and may lead to new and improved therapeutic strategies.'
Dr Jinyao TANG
Associate Professor of Department of Chemistry
'We want to explore nanorobot-based functional materials where the material is composed of active and out-of-equilibrium nanomachines.’
Dr Junzhi LIU
Assistant Professor of Department of Chemistry
'The most promising applications of our molecules lie in their molecular structures that can be used in creating advanced organic materials with tailored properties.'
Dr Yufeng WANG
Assistant Professor of Department of Chemistry
'The self-assembly of colloidal particles a few hundred nanometers in size is a promising approach to construct materials for the era of big data, increasing the efficiency of data processing, transportation, and storage.'
Dr Zhiwen ZHANG
Associate Professor of Department of Mathematics
'I am interested in studying deep learning methods for solving high-dimensional PDEs and stochastic dynamical systems in the next five years.'
Dr Benjamin KANE
Associate Professor of Department of Mathematics
'Most of the work of a mathematician is basically being stuck and banging your head against a wall 95-99% of the time, followed by an epiphany that makes it seem like the hard problem you've been working on is obvious. It's all worth it for the excitement of realising something new and stretching your mind in a new direction, though.'
Dr Jane Lixin DAI
Assistant Professor of Department of Physics
'I am particularly interested in performing numerical simulations to study the realistic structures and emissions of black hole accretion disks.'
Dr Shizhong ZHANG
Associate Professor of Department of Physics
'In reality, after sweat and tears, any theoretical research might just turn out to be flat wrong. But I believe that not all is lost. It is just a part of the process where one gains new and deeper understanding of the subject.'
Dr Jenny Hiu Ching LEE
Associate Professor of Department of Physics
'We aim to understand the novel features of nuclear forces and the synthesis of heavy elements; such knowledge is essential to elucidate the nature of many-body interactions and the origin of elements in our universe.'