International award for HK wireless whiz
Wireless communications technology researcher Kenji Yum Tsz-yin makes no apology for having an unfashionable mobile phone in a city where a 3G handset is seen as a necessary accessory.
But the City University of Hong Kong PhD student's love for his old Nokia has not stopped him from trying to improve the technology required by new generation mobile phones. And for his troubles, he has become the first Asian to win the prestigious International Microwave Symposium's Student Paper Competition with his study into overcoming the problems of dropping of calls and fast battery exhaustion in 3G mobile phones.
The competition attracted more than 300 entries. These were whittled down to 26 finalists who were invited to a week-long symposium in Texas to present their papers to judges and telecommunications industry experts.
'I know 3G technology has too many restrictions and its development is still at a very immature stage, that's why I am not rushing to use it myself at the moment,' said the 24-year-old.
Central to Mr Yum's research has been the power amplifier, a device used to boost microwave signals between phones and relay stations. It consumes a lot of power to minimise distortions during the transmission of colour video on 3G handsets.
He discovered that using a pair of devices called anti-parallel reconfigurable transistors could cut energy use by 80 per cent, as well as minimising distortion and reducing cost.
Mr Yum said although it would take time for the technology to find its way into everyday application, contact had been made with Japanese telecom corporations, which might speed up the process.
The university is preparing to file for patent on the technology which took 18 months to develop. Mr Yum does not plan to pursue a career overseas because he says he has experienced the best and cannot settle for less elsewhere.
'I know from travelling to the US that Hong Kong's facilities and laboratories for wireless communication technology research are the best,' he said. 'And life in scientific research in the US is a bit boring.'
