bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Advertising partner

[Sponsored Article]
A key objective for the Hong Kong Institute of Advanced Study (HKIAS) is to provide a platform for world-leading scholars to engage in pioneering research and share their findings with a wider international audience. 
In doing this, the institute, which is based at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has a far-reaching impact and, ultimately, can touch communities around the world. 
A number of the most important developments were presented in the three talks in the recent HKIAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Physics, which attracted a large online audience. The series was supported in part by the Kwang Hua Educational Foundation and, by spotlighting the latest advances, no doubt served to motivate other participating scientists to expand the scope of their own research.
Addressing the grand challenge of glass
With over 30 years’ experience in neutron scattering, Professor Xun-Li Wang, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Physics at CityU, kicked off the series on April 14 with a lecture titled “Structure and Dynamics of Metallic Glass – Atomistic Insights from Neutron and Synchrotron Scattering Experiments”. 
Listed as one of the top 125 scientific challenges, the structure and dynamics of glass are complex topics. Taking on that challenge, Professor Wang discussed atomistic insights on metallic glass structure and phonon dynamics, while also mentioning the related scientific opportunities that now exist in Dongguan, China. 
There are two main categories of solids: crystalline and amorphous. The former have a distinctive internal structure while the latter don’t. Professor Wang explained that glass is defined as an amorphous solid as it is obtained by rapid quenching from the liquid state, bypassing atomic ordering on cooling.
He added that scattering is a powerful technique to elucidate the structure and dynamics of glass materials as it helps visualise the structure, which gives new insights and understanding. “This is an important topic, and there is plenty of room at the top on this subject,” he concluded.
Strategies for engineering Confined Quantum States 
In response to the demand for low-dimensional physics theory, Professor Ruiqin Zhang, Chair Professor of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering at CityU, presented a lecture titled “Tuning of Confined Quantum States” on April 28.

“Over the years, we have been working on engineering the confined quantum states with different strategies,” he noted, highlighting three strategies in particular. These are surface engineering, stress or strain engineering and - the most recent - excited state engineering, with relevant experimental results and findings.  
This research has been helpful for the development of miniaturised and efficient solar hydrogen production equipment, which has obvious commercial uses. It is also expected to promote the application of low-dimensional materials in fields such as optoelectronics, nano-electronics, environmental care, energy, biology and medicine. 
“Recently, we have put more effort into the area of confined catalysis and growth,” Professor Zhang said. “We hope to obtain more results and go for practical applications, especially for hydrogen generation.”
Introduction of Iron Chalcogenide Superconductors  
The concluding lecture of the series on physics was given by Professor Wei Bao, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics at CityU, on May 12. The subject was “Lattice, Charge, Spin and Orbital Aspects of the Iron Chalcogenide Superconductors”. 

Discovered in a simple metal in 1911, superconductivity is a phenomenon whereby a charge moves through a material without resistance and is associated with very cold temperatures. 
Professor Bao first outlined the history of superconductivity and highlighted that the superconductor has zero resistance, perfect diamagnetism, isotope effect and energy gap at Fermi surface. 
“Using billions of electrons and atoms to make superconductivity at room temperature has been a dream for us for many decades,” he said. The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in normally insulating cuprate ceramics has given hope and led to an iron age of superconductors. 
Professor Bao introduced the findings of Hideo Hosono, the first scientist to discover the iron-based superconductor, and then explored the iron chalcogenide superconductors in their lattice, charge, spin and orbital aspects.
Collaboration underpins advances 
To promote success in such endeavours, HKIAS has adopted the concept of research clusters and recently founded three to encourage collaboration and deliver high-quality results. They are the HKIAS Materials Science Cluster, HKIAS Bioscience Cluster, and HKIAS Mathematics Cluster.  
Led by HKIAS Senior Fellows, each cluster addresses a significant common problem or set of inter-related questions through individual and collective research. Serving as incubators for larger and longer-term collaborations, the clusters intend to attract external funding and generate significant research findings. They will also enrich the institute’s intellectual community, facilitate the mentoring of junior scholars, and contribute significantly to postgraduate training by promoting interdisciplinary learning plus diverse approaches and methodologies. 
This is all part of a broad-based effort to make the world a better place. HKIAS will continue to deliver pioneering research and bring on talented young scientists in many different disciplines. This, in turn, will drive the development of CityU and the international academic community.
 
For more information about HKIAS, please visit: https://www.ias.cityu.edu.hk


HKIAS spotlights scientific breakthroughs in Distinguished Lecture Series on Physics

HKIAS explores frontiers in Physics

CityU HKIAS

Professor Xun-Li Wang, Head and Chair Professor of Department of Physics at CityU

Professor Ruiqin Zhang, Chair Professor of Department of Physics and Department of Materials Science and Engineering at CityU


Professor Wei Bao, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics at CityU


News