Professor Zhigang BAO was awarded the Excellent Young Scientists Fund 2022
Prof. Zhigang Bao, Associate Professor of Mathematics, was awarded the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) for 2022, a prestigious fund administrated by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. This is a yearly award to support young scholars with good achievements to conduct innovative research in the areas of their own choice. It aims at promoting fast growth of creative young talents and fostering a number of outstanding researchers on the frontiers of international science.
Titled "Random Matrix Theory and its applications in Statistics", Professor Bao's awarded project focuses on studying the spectral theory of large dimensional random matrices. It would investigate the limiting behaviour of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of random matrix models arising from free probability, disordered quantum system, and multivariate statistics.
Professor Shiqing LING was conferred the title "RGC Senior Research Fellow"
Professor Shiqing Ling, Chair Professor of Mathematics, was conferred the title "RGC Senior Research Fellow" in 2022. The RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme aims to provide sustained support and relief from teaching and administrative duties to exceptionally outstanding researchers at Associate Professor rank (or full Professor rank) at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong, with a view to facilitating their full dedication to research and development and helping universities attract and retain research talent. As the Senior Research Fellow Scheme awardee. Professor Ling receives a fellowship grant at around HK$7.8 million over a period of 60 months.
Professor Jianping GAN and His Research Team Discover "Hotspots" of Three-layered Alternatively Rotating Circulation in South China Sea
Led by Professor Jianping Gan, Director of the Center for Ocean Research Hong Kong and Macau (CORE) and Chair Professor at HKUST's Department of Mathematics and Department of Ocean Science, the HKUST research team, in collaboration with researchers from University of Macau and Southern University of Science and Technology, carried out field observations and conducted numerical simulations in the South China Sea (SCS) recently and revealed the never-before-seen characteristics of the three-dimensional ocean motion in the SCS through geophysical fluid dynamic theory. Almost all global models could not accurately simulate the three-layer, alternatively rotating circulation structure and related physics in the South China Sea, which greatly affects the capability for regional climate and ecosystem diagnosis and prognosis. The finding of the 'hotspots' in this study provides a scientific foundation for better realization of the South China Sea. The study found that the three-layered rotating circulations are composed of the dynamically active 'hotspots' of intensified currents along the steep continental slope surrounding the deep basin, instead of an orderly structure in the entire region as previously conceived. The study demonstrated the three-dimensional structure and physical mechanism of the SCS circulation for the first time, and clarified previous misunderstanding of the water and visualization system for ocean circulation and biogeochemical processes in the SCS, which is validated and constrained by both observations and dynamics reasoning. The research results have recently been published in an article titled "Hotspots of the stokes rotating circulation in a large marginal sea" in Nature Communication. The results can also be viewed in WavyOcean online platform.
Professor FU Lin's research paper published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics (Rapids)
Professor Lin FU, with his group member Cheng CHENG, has published a research paper "Consistency between the attached-eddy model and the inner-outer interaction model: a study of streamwise wall-shear stress fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow" in Journal of Fluid Mechanics (Rapids), Volume 942, 10 July 2022, R9.
The inner-outer interaction model (Marusic et al., Science, vol. 329, 2010, pp. 193-196) and the attached-eddy model (Townsend, Cambridge University Press, 1976) are two fundamental models describing the multiscale turbulence interactions and the organization of energy-containing motions in the logarithmic region of high-Reynolds-number wall-bounded turbulence, respectively.
In the mentioned paper, they demonstrate that the two models are consistent with and complement each other, quantitatively. They further propose a Gaussian model to characterize the instantaneous distribution of streamwise wall-shear stress, resulting from the attached-eddy superpositions. These findings are important for developing an advanced reduced-order wall model.
Professor BAO Zhigang was awarded the Science School Teaching Award
Professor BAO Zhigang was awarded the Science School Teaching Award 2021/22. The Science School Teaching Award is given to any faculty in the School who excels in teaching. Professor Bao Zhigang is the winner for this year's Science School Teaching Award.